I have the same opinion of the old bottle generators. I would like to know more about modern versions but am too skeptical to test the waters with my own money... plus they are ugly.

I don't mind the looks of a bottle generator, but I do worry about drag. This is probably a silly worry, as I rarely need my headlight anyway. The light I use the most is the tail-light, as I see that one as used more for safety when nipping around from the trail to the car, etc. than the headlamp. I hardly ever use my Cateye, but I use my rear blinky all the time.

Here's the front light my friend is using. She bought it from Soma. It looks a lot like the Lumotec.

For what it's worth, I'm of the opinion it's a really good idea to run a headlight all the time. That's why I like a dynamo hub and a light that's always on for most riding I do. Personally, I wouldn't consider using a bottle dynamo. I'd prefer a hub dynamo, followed by battery powered lights, in that order.

Colonel, that Soma looks perfect.

I won't be dynohub-ing anytime soon. The bike is new, and I'm not building up a new wheel. I don't really use the headlamp much, as I've said, as I rarely cycle on the street. So the Soma would be perfect.

+1. Well, with such a French looking bike, a bottle dynamo would be appropriate enough. They're really pretty good. But hub dynamos are just so simple and foolproof. Don't need a switch or anything; just wire the lights to be on all the time.

I am of the same opinion. I come from the motorcycle world and I believe running a headlight is one of the best strategies for been seen during the daylight hours. Fortunately on a bike one is unlikely to run into issues with the po-po running a strobe light blinnky LED (unlike on a motorcycle where I've been hassled numerous times for having a blinking/oscillating headlight. I also run my car's headlights whenever the vehicle is started (no measurable difference in gas mileage or bulb life I have noticed) It's a Camry and came with the option to run the headlights that way automatically and they turn off the second I open up the driver's side door if the car is turned off.

But a blinking LED light does not use very much battery. Even a small battery lasts a very long time blinking an LED. My next blinky headlight will have an automatic on/off when it senses movement though because I do forget to turn it off sometimes.

WHen one needs to run at night and SEE the road a blinking LED does not cut it -even if you turn the blinking off it's not bright enough to light up the road. At that point one needs more power and a bigger LED emmiter. At that point a generator is helpful. The added minimal drag of a bottle generator in this situation is not a big deal to me since if it is that dark to require a light I'm not running full out any more due to safety issues so what is a few watts of parasitic drag?

One of these days I'm going to pick up a dyno hub for each of my bikes and rebuild the wheels. It's one of the reasons I didn't put SS spokes up front on my Sports when I put the CR18 rims on. Eventually I'll find a SA dynohub that actually puts out some juice and will re-lace it with new SS spokes then. But until then I've got a cheap Chicom bottle generator that I almost never need/use. Mostly it is for looks as such a bottle generator is pretty period correct for a 50's or 60's bike.

Peter White has several (mostly higher end) lighting options and some good articles comparing lights. Great for information and comparing options. Very educational. Cool article comparing light output and beam patterns. (Something I wish I had thought more about before getting my present light.)

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm

Bottle dynamos are nice if: (a) you don't have a dynamo hub, and (b) you only need power sometimes and/or you have it as a backup for a battery powered light. Personally, I am very unthoughtful about charging or replacing batteries, and I tend to end up somewhere in the dark with dead batteries. That's why I like dynamos.

I have a Lumotec N paired with a hub dynamo. You can switch off, but I can't see why you would ever want to, unless you're trying to sneak around. In which case, your target will hear your IGH hub pawls ticking. The beam of the Lumotec is acceptable, but not super great.

If purchasing again, which I am about to, I would get one with a standlight (capacitor charges up and keeps the light burning while you are stopped for a few minutes).

Like many other things, I think the rule is that you can have cheap, elegant, and effective. Choose two.

Eric

I run a led and battery powered conversion of an old bullet style dynamo headlamp. It's not to difficult if you have the right tools and can find the right flash light, but it can be very very finicky. It works for me because like you I don't need to use it much.
The Soma looks perfect, I don't know why there aren't more things like this on the market.
They also make a tail light. One of these on either side of a rack would look stelar in my opinion.
http://store.somafab.com/sosiburesafl.html

oh yeah, one on each side like rocket ship tail lights

Those tail lights are sweet! Very pretty.

I was thinking you could mount them with p-clamps, hanging upside down from the tubes on the rack, sort of where you'd attach a pannier.

Actually, that's my concern with them: I use pannier baskets with the bike. I'll have to ponder this.

I've been watching for someplace local that stocks that Soma light. It looks very nice in the pictures, I would love to see it in real life.

I wonder if there is a way to attach it to your pannier basket... It's a nice basket; it deserves it's own lighting.

If you're talking about the taillight, I have one. It's a pretty nice little light. Perfectly retro-looking, and it doesn't look cheap. I've never seen the front light in person; doesn't look bad, but I'm a little disappointed that the body on that one is chrome plastic.

I'm definitely going to just replace the reflector with a blinky (probably like Southpaw's). I went out this evening, and realized I hadn't brought my spare blinky. It stayed light enough that I never needed it, but I want a good one ON the bike.

The Soma tail light is adorable, but not the right solution for this bike, I think, due to the baskets. I'll ask about the Soma headlight when I go in to get the tail lights done. I like the looks of it a lot.

Re tail lights: I echo suggestions for the fender-mounted Spanniga Pixeo. Super bright, super cute, super easy.

Re headlights: Meh. The ones that look all classic, like the Lumotec Retro are all halogen AFAIK and not very bright at all. I have one if you want to buy it second hand, but I don't recommend it. The CatEye headlight shown on somervillain's wife's mixte is the best option you got, unless you know someone who's willing to replace halogen innards with LED for you.

But more than anything, I really do suggest you consider the bottle (dynamo) as a fairly inexpensive, reliable solution. You can get them for like $30 now, and a bike shop shouldn't charge all that much to install everything.

I actually have that CatEye, Veloria (without the U, I see), because you recommended it. It is great for actual light, I agree. The Viva doesn't need to see. It just needs to be seen, and look awesome. This is truly just for looks :).

My shop carries a different Spanninga in stock, so I'll probably have them put it on. It's a bit bigger than the Pixeo, but same basic idea. On this big bike with its giant fenders, the larger light is probably better anyway. That light will actually be for safety. The headlamp... not so much.

I'm going to order the Soma and put it on just for show, but if you have one for sale that will work, I'd love to buy it from you instead. You can PM or email me. The Viva is already very slow, frankly, so adding any rolling resistance isn't appealing. I'm learning its virtues, and its limitations. My friend suggested I ride a bike in a local 25 mile ride happening this weekend. "I can't," I said, "my Raleigh's brakes aren't working." "What about the other bike," she asked. I pictured myself riding 25 miles on the Viva and shook my head. It's just not that kind of bike. It's a big, heavy city bike that's a blast for 15 miles, but then I'm done. It's not great for hills. I certainly wouldn't commute on it, or ride it in a way that would really require dynamo lighting.

Now, my new Raleigh project, assuming I ever find a suitable frame... there, I'm going dyno hub, all the way!

> The Viva doesn't need to see. It just needs to be seen, and look awesome.

Yeah, I agree that the black modern CatEye won't look "awesome" on the Viva. No.

If you really want the light, I will email you. But I almost feel bad giving this to someone. It's the same light as the one pictured here.

It's likely the same one I have (SPXb). VO carried it for a while, but replaced it with the Pixeo. It's bigger than the Pixeo, but has the advantage of a larger reflector. I painted the black housing silver on mine.

http://gallery.me.com/justinhughes/1...12831821060001

Justin, I have that same Spanninga on my Schwinn Voyageur (formerly on my Shogun which I no longer have):

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2683/...0f87d6ca_b.jpg

I like it a lot, and think it looks better on classic bikes than the Pixeo. Nice touch painting yours silver!

That's the one! I like the silver touch. My fender is cream, so I'll probably just leave it black.

Veloria, let me ponder this. I really want a certain look. I'll have to poke more to decide what it is :).