Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
When I looked at your link I immediately said, "Whoa! That's a little too much". Something that is just a box of silicon chips shouldn't cost so much.
This one here is a more realistic price and throws in a cheap dynamo and cell phone mount to boot. Not that you'll need those since you'll probably get a nicer dynamo hub ( I'm guessing ).
That does seem a little high, but I've gone through some searching on this subject, too. If it's well built, like you say, then it may be worthwhile. I've seen plans for making these fairly inexpensively, but it requires soldering and some degree of know-how that I don't have.
The other option you mention looks interesting. Having used some cheap, bottle dynamos in my day, I would definitely favor a dynamo hub, but I hear there are decent bottle dynamos on the market. I just haven't used any. To me the advantages of a bottle dynamo are: zero drag when not in use; no need to build a new wheel; cheaper. For the OP's purposes, the dynamo seems like it will have to be running most of the time to keep enough energy flowing to charge everything during a day's riding. So I agree that hopefully the OP will be getting a better, hopefully hub-based, dynamo solution. Also I'd want to be sure that the device in question would work with a hub dynamo, like CAt Man Do is saying. I see that it comes with an AC/DC converter. I just don't know enough about electricity to know where that comes into play, but I am thinking you get different flavors of power from a hub vs. a bottle dynamo, so it's just something to keep in mind when considering equipment sold with bottle dynamos in mind when planning to use them with a hub.
I see that the OP is considering using multiple dynamos. I don't think I'd be tempted to go that route. Even with a low-drag, hub dynamo, it seems like you'd start to feel it once you started stacking them up. But perhaps this bottle dynamo set-up might play a role as an emergency backup. But in my experience, bottle dynamos have considerably more drag. If you really needed more energy than you could get out of one dynamo hub, I'd look at scaling back on the electronics, or finding some other back up solution, like the solar solution listed on the Crazy Guy site. Also don't discount the weight that you gain by adding redundant systems. I'm no gram counter, and certainly pack heavier than many folks, but I have noticed that dropping some heavier items can make travel a little easier. I've also noticed that a significant amount of my gear weight is attributed to electronics and ways to power them. Redundant charging systems could certainly add to that weight
As far as expense goes, one reason I have a Luxos U on my wish-list is because when pricing decent generator lights and USB charging solutions, it seems like the combination ends up costing close to, if not more than, the Luxos U. Plus when combing lights with a charging solution, I assume you have to pay some attention to how everything wires together. Seems like the combined unit takes some of that worry out of the equation.
As far as how much sense it makes, that's up to the OP. Everyone has a different threshold. Some people eschew taking electronics on tour at all. Some people think traveling by bike is silly in place where cars are so prevalent. I understand the OP's desire to be completely "off the grid." For my own purposes, I like the idea simply because when I travel, I don't like looking for open outlets and letting the availability of electricity determine where I camp or eat. So, while I would never take it so far as to try and convert the power source of my speedometer from a two year battery to dynamo or a rechargeable battery, I can certainly understand the rest of it, and I look forward to seeing how the OP solves the problem.