Originally Posted by
scatterbunn
I just bought a Dutch Union Safari off Craigslist to use as my errand/commuter/"junk" bike and it came equiped with bottle dynamo head/tail lights. As I am fairly new to this style of bike light, I have a few questions I was hoping someone could answer.
1. I will need to replace the tires soon and the current tires have a "generator strip," raised grooves on the side wall for the dynamo to rub against, is this strip nessecary or will it still work with smooth walled tires? (I am currently running both dynamo and battery/rechargable head and tail lights since the lights i already own are brighter than what the dynamo generates and the dynamo lights shut off as soon as the bike stops moving but i like having the dynamo as a backup/failsafe.)
2. How difficult would it be to replace the current incandescent fixtures with more modern LED fixtures? Is it just a matter of disconnect whats there and reconnect new lights or are there additional modifications nessecary?
3. I have found LED replacement lightbulbs built to install/screw in to the existing lights (built especially for this purpose), this seems a much more economical option at $15-$20 than replacing the whole system, just wondering if anyone has experience with these bulbs? how well do they work? (one is from compass bikes and the other is from reflectalite.)
Thanks for your help.
1 - I use a sidewall unit on my errand bike. I put a tight fitting O ring on the part that contacts the tire to make it quieter, but I do not ride that bike in the rain. I suspect that the O ring would slip on a tire on a rainy day. My point is that I suspect other tires will work when dry but otherwise might not.
2 - There are other lights you can install. A couple years ago I bought some clearance priced D Lumotec Oval LED headlights for sidewall generators.
3 - I think the bulb conversions need to use direct current (DC) and the generator puts out alternating current (AC). It might be possible to make it work if you buy a rectifier at Radio Shack or some other source, but I really do not know if that will work or not. Also, the reflector in the light unit might not work well with an LED conversion bulb. I tried an LED bulb in a battery powered bike light and did not like the results because the reflector was clearly designed for incandescent bulb, so I went back to incandescent.
Good luck.