Originally Posted by
Rick
I can still remember the drag from the bottle generators I used in the mid to late seventies. The drag was very noticeable. When I was at Fort Ord in California in 1980 a local bicycle shop had the Sanyo generator that mounted in the kickstand area in front of the rear wheel. I purchased one then and the difference in drag was quite pleasing. They didn't last as long due to the location were the rear tire sent sand and dirt into them.
It will be interesting to see what Schmidt does with there new headlight. I know that Sinewave cycles made some changes to there Beacon headlight. The first one flickered annoyingly at slow speeds, so the Beacon 2 was produced to solve this problem. The Supernova M99 DY PRO high beam dyno headlight doesn't achieve a steady headlight beam in low beam mode until 6 to 7 mph according to one reviewer. I am hoping that B&M and Schmidt do better with there new high beam headlights.
I do not recall my Luxos U headlight flickering, I think that the internal battery keeps that from happening. But all my other dyno powered headlights flicker at really slow speed. That is what you get for putting an AC power supply on a bike.
But at 3 or 4 mph, you do not need much light to see the ground in front of you. I think if I planned to do a long ride after sunset, I would bring a headlamp for my head for anything like that. I bring one on rando events in case repair is needed or puncture occurs. But if I was pedaling up a hill at 3 mph (or walking up it at 2 mph), I would be wearing it too. And the battery taillight would be on.
I am aware that Sinewave has been making some changes in their lights, but I am not shopping for one so I am not following them.
For touring, I do not even put a light on my S&S coupled bike, I only use the hub for battery charging. I carry a light that I can strap on the handlebar with an elastic just in case I need one, that one I can plug into a power bank. My light touring bike that I used on my last tour, I have an IQ-XS on it, not the biggest or most powerful, but if it is after dark it has been bright enough for my purposes, the price was right, I like that light enough that I also have it on my rando bike.