francophile 

Update 14 March: GIVING MOST OF THIS AWAY FREE, just pay S&H! I need it gone.

I'll include everything pictured below *EXCEPT* the Soubitez dynamo/generators - you still get at least half or more of the dynamos, ALL of the lighting stuff, and I guarantee max S&H will come in under $30 total anywhere in CONUS..

Hi-res pics here: https://imgur.com/a/0qDPCAy
More lights added at no cost: https://imgur.com/a/ivpy0Rc

ehcoplex

Wow- some of those are neat! If riding at night where I live wasn't an outright death wish I'd be tempted!

francophile 

Riding anywhere where I live is a deathwish, count your blessings

francophile 

Found more lights to add at no cost. These Soubitez generators usually run about $20-30/ea on eBay, there are at least four in this lot between both piles.

In this addition, there's two Soubitez rear seatstay tail lights, one lamp in good shape, one in great shape, both generators excellent shape PLUS three "Schwinn Approved" Soubitez front lights, bracket is in rough restorable shape, one light is great shape, other two are just fair PLUS one other tail light that's unknown maker, and in poor, restorable shape. Plus a few bolts, odds, ends. Link to pics is added in my first post, but here are some smaller pics showing the lot, and closer pic of the lights.

Bianchigirll 

Night Sun? They were great lights but the early batteries were huge. You could get a 'mount' to tape on your helmet to attach the lights to for MTBing at night and you just carried the YUGE battery in a knapsack

francophile 

Yup! Weird part is, the one w/wiring that's identical to Nightsun's classic wiring has zero branding on it. The other one, with the more-modern looking wiring is definitely branded Nightsun. Different brackets. One only looks 15-20yrs old at most, other looks like it's at least 30. Some of this is clearly incomplete. I'm perfectly happy with modern lighting. Don't need any of this. I have needed Cibi and Soubitez dynamos in the past to finish projects though, which is the main reason I had a lot of these. Some owner, somewhere along the line, never failed to pull them off.

steelbikeguy

Is the little block dynamo at all collectible?
"Block dynamo" was a term used to describe the dynamo's with an attached headlight that mounted on the fork. Handy, and easy to quickly remove or attach, if you didn't ride at night a lot.

I've got a Jos model that I bought in the 70's and used a fair bit. I hope there are people saving this sort of thing for their vintage rando bikes or similar.
Here's a shot of mine...



Steve in Peoria

francophile 

Critical, yes. If you want to power things with low voltage. Collectible, though? I think anything is collectible if you make it so.

I've had many projects with lighting over time. Lamps intact but no dynamo. Or missing lights and dynamo totally. I tired of spending the same amount I normally blow on tires for a single dynamo and/or lights, so I started collecting parts from incomplete projects, trading or buying lighting lots, whatnot. That's where all this came from. I have a similar stockpile of random bicycle computers, cables, and sensors I need to list up sooner than later.

Now everyone in my household is squared away on cycling for the next years and I rarely work on bikes with lighting, 3 years of never touching any of this, I'd love it to find a new home. Someone to carry the torch on this stuff. But I'm sure most people feel like it's junk. Which it is ... until you need it to finish a project!

That Jos unit is pretty sweet, Steve!

steelbikeguy

maybe you should be advertising these to the folks collecting the Herse's and Singers, who need a proper dynamo to finish off their bikes? I wonder where they hang out? I do love some of the old stylish headlights on some of those bikes!

I've got a small number of old lights, including an old Schwinn dynamo set that someone gave me. My old Belt Beacon tail light, along with the Jos block dynamo, might be the only ones with any sort of emotional attachment. The rest need to find a new home. I'm guessing that their best future might be recycling.
My pile of old computers is modest, and mostly Avocets. I'm still using Avocets on my vintage bikes, so no plans to dump them yet. The contrast between a humble Avocet 20, with a single row of digits, and a modern Wahoo or Garmin is huge! While my friends are futzing around with their Garmins before a ride, and downloading their data after a ride, I just hold the two Avocet buttons and clear it. So simple, so small, so trouble-free (with the exception of the lousy sensor wiring).

yep, it's important to go through the boxes of stuff and realize what you haven't been using and probably never will again. It's gotta go!
Easier said than done, however.

The Jos dynamo is now a project... I'm trying to rig up a LED replacement for the bulb. It's partly just a matter of curiosity, and partly to see if it can be done. I've seen some of those classic old lights that don't get used because incandescent bulbs are no longer acceptable, but it would be a crime to rip out or modify the light to accept the guts from a modern light.

Steve in Peoria (with more projects than time)

francophile 

I'm gonna guess the CABE is probably the best spot for that, but I'm a perpetually lurker at CABE, I've never signed up for an account. I think @juvela and a few others on here are CABE members though.


There's always eBay ... there's always someone out there looking for stuff... you never know! If I can't eBay it, I donate to the local co-op.

I've been enjoying the CatEye "STRADA" wireless models. It seems to sorta hit that compromise between the feel of older computers, larger screen, no clumsy setup, just press and go. And no wires to deal with. Flexible enough. I think this is the exact one I'm using now ---- link. I got it on eBay for $12 shipped, I think? Gotta love no-reserve auctions!

HelpSingularity 

I am so thankful to be living in the golden age of bicycle lighting.
If only I could have had these (Son generators and LED headlights/taillights) in the 70's when I was knocking out centuries and double centuries like nobody's business.
Why I did not get squashed like a bug back then with all the inadvertent night riding I did I'll never know.

francophile 

BUMP for freebies.