Originally Posted by
El Cid
I really have my heart set on the Schmidt Edelux II, but damn, is it ever going to cost. I priced out the headlight at about $200, the taillight at $40, and the Son28 hub at $350. Add shipping and the weaker Canadian dollar, and I'm looking at $800 or so. Maybe I'll just get some duct tape and a flashlight.
It's the hub that really hurts. I hope I can find a decent 6v hub for a bit less.
Edit: Ok, I did some more research, took a deep breath, and got over the shock. It turns out I can get 6v sidewall dynamo for $60, the B&M Lumotec Eyc for $80, and the same taillight at $40. Not so bad. I think I'll pass on the BMW of lighting and settle for the VW. Still pretty good.
You can get a sidewall dynamo for a lot less money, but you lose many of the benefits of the hub - you need to buy a tire with a dynamo strip (I think), it's not as 100% reliable in bad weather, the sidewall dynamo definitely has more drag on your bike than the hub version, and it's less theft resistant - it's just sitting on the waterbottle cage on your bike.
I'd personally rather get the cheaper Sanyo h27 hub than a sidewall dynamo. It's $60 I think? It's main drawback seems to be slightly lower quality on things like vibration while riding, and if you turn it "off" the resistance doesn't go down. But it's still better than the sidewall version.
The Shimano version of the hub is somewhat higher quality, it's main advantage is that the resistance does go down when you turn it off. Though like I said, it's not a huge difference, people can't feel the resistance if it's on. Either way it's more efficient than the sidewall version. It's 50% the cost of the Son hub the last time I checked, and this is what I went with.
Rumor has it the premium dynamo hub right now is the Shutter Precision hub, not the Son hub. I think it's more expensive than the Shimano hub, but cheaper than the Son.
I personally wouldn't settle for the eyc. You can get the Cyo Premium for a little more than the Eyc, and it has a much wider and in my opinion much nicer beam pattern. The Cyo Premium is $100 vs $190 for the Schmidt Edelux II, it's more the VW choice of lighting. I'd say the Eyc is more the Honda Fit version.
Personally, the B&M Toplight ($37) is what I wished I had gotten for a tail light. You can get cheaper dynamo tail lights - the Toplight Flat S Plus $25. And I know there are cheaper ones. But the Topline Plus is the only dynamo rear light that I've seen on the road and has been as visible to me as the blinking battery tail lights are.
I think that your original setup is the BMW of lighting. I think you could get Sanyo dymamo hub, the Cyo Premium, and the Topline Plus and still get the VW of lighting. I think the setup you mentioned is more going to the Honda Fit of lighting. I like the Honda Fit ok, in a pinch, but for a little more can you get a much more comfortable vehicle.