Sure, man, I have used dynamos for lighting my commute for many years. I used all kinds EXCEPT for the internal hub dynamo. It just seemed like too much work to re-lace a wheel to put the dynamo hub, but if I was really serious about bike generated lighting, I would consider it.
The cheap Target $10.00 units are "OK". The plastic cover that goes over the generator drive wheel slips on the tire, so you either have to remove or modify it. The bare metal wheel will tear up a road tire or a gumwall. They are "OK" on thick, tuff mtn bike tires.
The best frame mounted generator I ever had was a newer Japanese unit that mounted onto the front fork. The light was mounted directly with the generator, so you don't have the long wiring from the generator to the light like you do on most of the dime-store units sold in the USA. Somewhere on these forums, I discussed this Japanese generator and included a pic. That was more than a year ago, however and was probably lost to some of the server problems we have had. The only problem with this lighting system is that it mounted to the front fork. I was always concerned that it might come loose and fly into the front wheel spokes. We all know what happens next. I ended up giving the Japanese model to a friend of mine who begged for it. He loved it and I haven't heard otherwise from him since then.
The two biggest problem with the dime store generators are:
1) Wiring. This is the biggest problem. The wires work loose or wear through. I suggest that you carry a small flashlight with some electrical tape wrapped around the handle so you can do emergency repair work when needed. In fact, the wire provided with the dime store generator units is too thin/poor. USe better wiring from the start.
2) Generator/tire friction drive: The generators can get gunked up with snow in winter. Also, it takes a while to get it adjusted correctly.
In general, I like generator lighting. You always have a light and never have to worry about the battery going dead in the middle of the ride (and not have spare batteries). Generator lights seem to produce more light than most handle-bar mounted battery units that take hardware store batteries (AA, C, D, etc).
I can say this, after years of using generator lights, today I use battery powered lights - and I ride to work and home every day in the dark.
I can't say when or why I made the switch, but through it all, I gradually switched over to battery powered lights. I guess it is because the generators worked great when they worked and they were pretty reliable BUT... when they didn't work and it was something more than just wiring, they were a big head-ache; more of a head-ache than just switching batteries.
Maybe if I had a reliable hub mounted dyno, I would still be using it today.
Last edited by mike; 12-19-03 at 01:30 AM.