Originally Posted by
noglider
I had a Philips SafeRide dynamo headlight. Some people found it to be better than the B&M lights, but I found it to be equivalent. That's not bad.
I bought the slightly brighter battery version of the phillips saferide. I had spent a lot of time looking at screenshots and thinking it was the same basically as my b&m cyo dynamo light...then I bought one and I was like...oh, no, I was wrong, the phillips is definitely nicer. My eyes really preferred the whiter more natural light put out by the phillips. It also had smooth light output whereas the b&m has artifacts in the beam of the light. The drawback of the phillips was it through weird bits of light off to the sides but I found it preferrable to artificacts in the beam itself. I was surprised to find myself greatly preferring the philips but I definitely did.
Thing is LED tech advanced since then, and the philips had a smaller battery, it didn't reach the width and brightness my best battery lights do today...but I if philips was still making lights no doubt they'd have updated it and they might make a light even better than what I have.
Originally Posted by
noglider
I should note that I don't need a super bright light. Some do. A shaped beam with a cutoff is a big deal for me, and it doesn't matter to others. These are reasons dynamo lights work well for me. Another reason is that I can build wheels myself, so the cost of a new wheel is lower for me than for others.
In a field where they sell $2,000 - $3,000 bikes, I find the "costs to much" argument a bit absurd...no doubt battery lights are cheaper, but I would I spend only $200-$300 on a light that acts like my car where I just get in and the lights always work? Yes, definitely. Some people spend $1,000 lightweight wheelset. Others can afford to own like 8 bikes. It's not like people aren't spending money for either convience or tiny improvements, it's just a matter of where you want to spend it.
The kind of lighting you need for your route is definitely a factor, and that's where it's right on the edge...my I had a Schmidt Edelux II which is the 2nd brightest dynamo light you can buy, and it...was almost bright enough to handle everything comfortably...but not quite...a battery light gets me like 20% better but it's a really enjoyable 20% improvement, so I end up torn on better lighting for the ride or no battery worries. I actually ended up just doing both, I already own the dynamo and light so I leave it on my bike, then bring the battery light with me. It's not exactly an affordable way to go, and for some rides I'm back to the battery hassle...so close...
My dynamo light is more than enough for biking in absolute darkness, or well lit, but it's not quite enough for those "bright lights, mixed with total darkness" areas we have along the roads. Actually let me rephrase that, it can handle it as long as I bike slower and more cautiously, but you know...I don't want to do that. :-)