So, does anybody know anything about these? The 1983 Specialized Expedition that I'm working on now supposedly has internal wiring to support a charge for a headlamp, via ports on the downtube, from a bottom bracket mounted generator. Are these still being manufactured at all?

Thank you.

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The one which launched in the mid-1970's was the Sanyo.

Sanyo 6 volt bicycle Generators

(scroll down)

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Thank you for this link! I see that the Sanyo NH-T10 has been discontinued, unfortunately; but at least I can see how the system is supposed to have worked now.

Those Sanyo dynamo are cool. I have one i've had since 1982 and I loved it until it... failed. Bearings started screaming bloody murder and not generating any power. I got a NOS replacement, and it... failed. Same way. I got... eh. Long story short, I now have four or five of them, and they are all inoperable. I won't be trying again. Anyone want one? Make me an offer.

I have a couple Soubitez ones that are less elegant but seem better lubricated. I've used one for a year or two with no problems...

In principle I think these are a good idea, but the Sanyo ones did not work out.

Thanks for this info as well. Hmmm . . . by the sounds of it, the Sanyo dynamo would not have worked out well, anyway.

Soubitez? Are they obtainable? What are my options? Thanks!

Sanyos are great for as long as they last. Soubitez came out at about the same time and seems to be a bit more durable, at least the one I have outlasted my Sanyo. I still have both. Here's a Soubitez mounted to the seatstay bridge on my Cimarron.
Cim Soubitez.JPG

I got one at swap meet, and overpaid; the other I got on eBay, remarkably cheap. The latter came with headlight and taillight, both with halogen bulbs, which I'd consider obsolete now. So it must have been from at least ten, fifteen years ago. Nonetheless I'd guess there are more to be had. Keep a sharp eye on eBay and don't overpay! Say, maximum $50 shipped.

Also of note: Pioneer made an interesting dynamo that attached to the rear hub. These too can be found NOS on eBay, worth a look.

imo, just about any design that adds resistance to the surface of a consumable (i.e. tire in the case of generators) is a "fail". I like the concept of the sanyo, but dyno-hubs seem a more reliable mechanism.

Any tire-drive generator is old shop gear. They worked, and many are still in use but I wish hub dynamos had been available back then but, alas, there was only the Dynohub, which was archaic even at that time. I use battery lights now because I'm not going to invest in a hub unit for the riding I do.

My used 1984 Expedition also came pre-wired but w/o a generator, so I found an inexpensive used Soubitez on e-Bay. It has worked well for about 15 years. That included a stretch of 2 or 3 years in the rotation of my commuter bikes. My morning commute was often before sunrise, so it was well used. Early on, I picked up a complete, un-used Sanyo outfit for cheap at a Seattle swap meet. Being French, I expected the Soubitez to fail and I would then install the Sanyo. But the only failure was the latch mechanism that holds it off the tread. Soubitez is propped off with a removable bolt now and the Sanyo sleeps in my parts drawer waiting a call to service. Don

MARGIL of France made rubber caps to fit atop bottle generators so they could be run on the rim rather than on the tyre. Frequently available on ebay.

Also Soubitez from France, and IIRC Union from Germany.

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Bicycle Lighting Systems--Unbiased Information on Dynamo Powered Lights

Lighting systems

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eBay is the most likely source to find one of these. When listed, they're mostly in used, unknown condition. I got a NOS Union kit for around $25 last year. There are a few NOS Sanyo kits listed currently, at what looks like a mid-range sort of price.

Scarbo, I ran one of the Soubitez bottom bracket units for about 6 months. It worked very well, at least from a power generating point of view. The downsides were noise, and noticable drag. It sounded like a small electric motor when engaged. Not horrible, but noticeable. As for the drag, I'd guess it knocked about 1 MPH off when cruising. (Maybe 15-20 watts drag). I've since gone to a Shimano 3n80 dynohub, with great results. I can't feel any difference between on and off, so I just run the lights all the time now.

I never used one but I installed a lot of them BITD. They were the cat's whiskers in the mid 80s. Dynohubs essentially did not exist then -- unless you happened to have an old Raleigh.

The main thing is that they could be used with light tires since they didn't screw up the sidewalls. They were a little quieter than bottle generators too, IIRC. By the late 80s they had gone out of fashion as new high tech $$$$ battery systems came into vogue.

I tried one of these on a Union bottle-type generator years ago and found it unsatisfactory. It could not be brought to bear at the correct angle to run on the rim properly, and when run on the tire I found the generator's rotational speed (remember, enlarging the size of that driven spool slows down its spin) was reduced enough to be too low for adequate lighting. Neat idea, though.

I want to thank everybody for your valuable input. When I started this thread I really did not have a clear idea as to what these BB generators were (I didn't even know what they looked like!). Of course, I do have battery-powered lights I can slap on the bike. But, I was wanting to set it up in kind of an original fashion if possible. I think, initially, I might try to secure one of those Soubitez dynamos and give it a try, with an option to mount some dynohubs in the future if I feel the need.

Thank you all, again.

My Meral Super Randonneur has one of the Sanyo versions that has been modified to be cable operated via a shift lever behind the seat tube. It works pretty impressively for for a setup that is 30 years old, especially with the headlight modified with a modern bulb. Interestingly, I have some paperwork with it that shows that this Sanyo dynamo was marketed by Soubitez.