Originally Posted by
01 CAt Man Do
I don't understand why you would consider taking a battery on or off a bike "coddling". For the sake of the argument there is no rule that states you have to do anything to your bike that you don't won't to. If you want to leave the battery/lamp mounted on the bike you can that. If you want to leave the entire bike out in the elements year round you can do that too but probably not a good idea if you want it to last a while. You can also store a battery in an area that gets very hot. I wouldn't do it myself because I know it's not good for the battery. Personally I feel your argument is weak. This is not to say I disagree with you and your preference for a dynamo. If you like it for it's "no worry, ready to go " status that makes sense to me but to say removing a battery is "coddling"...well, that's just being overly argumentative.
I like my bikes to be ready to ride. Having to take the battery off the bike to charge is something I accept, though I do that in air conditioned space simply because I don't trust charging lithium based batteries unless I supervise them (they have a record of fires). Under what I consider normal conditions they last me about two years before they hold a charge a short enough time I consider them spent. cyco and I have had that debate on other threads, and his statements were what I consider to be argumentative; hence my response. In my opinion taking a device off of a tool meant to be used outdoors is coddling, it certainly isn't in the realm one should expect of users.
As I have said, I consider a bicycle a tool for transportation, much like a car. I expect it to always be ready. I am willing to perform maintenance. I lube the chain every month or so, I put air in the tires about once a week, etc... I don't consider installing and removing batteries for the lights to be in the same category as such maintenance. To my mind, if the lights require that behaviour they aren't designed well for use in an outdoor situation.
I will routinely travel by bike for days, even a couple of weeks at a time. I stay in primitive camping situations frequently when doing so. When I first started doing this, I packed enough battery power to last the length of the trip (since charging wasn't available)... Temperatures extremes are common on those trips. Why shouldn't I expect the battery to just work? That is why I prefer dyno, it does just work.
Battery lighting is very suitable for most riders; however, it has severe limitations for significant segments of the cycling market. Fortunately, those segments of the cycling market are less concerned about dyno's principal disadvantage-cost.
Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
My cheap batteries that I use on the Magicshine and the $35 eBay light stay on the bike out in the garage at all temps unless I take them in to charge them. The oldest is now 4 years old and still working fine. Maybe the "best quality" ones don't last as long if they're not "coddled"?
That is certainly one possibility. Another is just random chance for you or me--either you are getting an unusally long service life or I am getting an unusually short life. Do you keep track of how long they powered your lights when new versus how long they power your lights now? That is how I base my 'time to get rid of them'.