I'm a pretty much newbie in the world of cycling, having only started at it this summer. So far, my rides have been limited to daytime, but with nighttime creeping in earlier and earlier, I get the feeling that I need to start equiping myself for night time biking.

The first obvious thing is lights. I need a headlight, tail light, and I am often pulling kids in a chariot, so need something back there as well. The first obvious question is whether or not a dynohub is worth it. I can understand the convenience factor of never having to charge your lights or change batteries and never have them die mid ride. However, given that my night rides are mostly geared to in-city rides (ie: street lamps, an hour or two at most after dark), is it really worth the extra cost to get a dynohub? Apart from the cost of the actually dyno, the cost of rebuilding the wheel/etc seems fairly prohibitive.

On the other hand, I keep seeing removable USB-rechargeable lights. I'm not a huge fan of having to remember that I need to charge my light when I get home, remember to take it with me, and keep it handy on the odd occasion when I forget to plan to bike at night. But if I leave a removable one mounted on the bike, it is bound to get stolen if I ever park my bike somewhere (like when dropping kids off at daycare/etc).

Are there any recommendations for types of lights to use? Be it battery or dyno? What are the other advantages of a dyno? Do I need head mounted lights as well on the helmet? With a tail light and a headlight, is a helmet light useful?

The other thing I can think of is a reflective vest. Does anyone have recommendations for something? Ideally, I'd like a mesh I can throw over whatever shirt/jacket/etc I have on at the time.

Is there other nighttime equipment that I should have (both in terms of safety and for vision)?

Thanks!

Eric