The problem wasn't that you weren't running a dynamo hub; the problem was that you made an assumption that everything would go exactly as planned, and bet your safety on being right, all so you didn't have to carry a pound or two of gear.

What happens when something goes wrong on your dynamo lamp?


I always carry two rear lights and two headlights. All four of them can be set solid or blink. They all take the same size batteries, and I carry enough spares to replace the batteries in any two lights.

The old adage is: Two is one; one is none.

It wouldn't have been a problem if you had used your head instead of your stomach.

It's not a dynohub issue, it's a judgment problem. Dynohub or no, you've have had lights if you hadn't decided to blow it off.

Yes, I have a dynohub on my primary commuter and grocery getter, which also has two battery headlights and one battery taillight. Belt and suspenders? You bet!

My other bikes each have, at minimum, be-seen lights permanently attached to them. Yet I don't leave the house without putting the MagicShine on them. Worked out today because I got the battery packs mixed-up and had no be-seen light for the daytime segments of my commute. (Well, as bright as it gets here on an overcast day.) Had the MS though.

I have to agree. I was given a Shimano Alfine dynohub, so I said "what the heck, I should give this dyno thing a chance." Got a Supernova E3 Pro for it. On standlight, it puts out less light than a good 10-gram Photon II keychain light powered by a button battery. Yeah, that's JUST what I need in the middle of a busy 4-lane while I'm stopped waiting to make my left turn, a light that barely shows up.



Solution: I throw on a battery-powered flashlight to supplement the E3 Pro, for full-time "see THIS!" impact even when stopped. It puts out about 250-ish lumens for >5 hours, then drops to lower output and keeps on going for several more hours. For rear lights, a SuperFlash is a good all-rounder with seemingly-indefinite battery life. I'm sure it's at least as bright as the best dyno taillights, it runs when you're stopped, it has a flash mode... ok, no integrated reflector and it's thievable.

Being a diehard daytime-running-light guy, I practically always have lights onboard regardless. Even on road-training rides, I'll usually have at least a SuperFlash and some sort of 150-250 lumen headlight along, plus reflective legbands in case we really get caught in the dusk.

I don't have that setup, but it is available. My tail light just stays the same.

I prefer to do my judgment well in advance so I'm covered if more short-term judgment fails.

I don't think a belt-and-suspenders attitude should be necessary for relatively short, day-to-day rides. No other form of day-to-day travel or locomotion demands that.

+1 for generating your own light

What sort of Dyno setup are you running??

I'm not putting down dynohubs but I don't understand either. There are all kinds of lighting options, many of which are inexpensive and portable enough to use as backups. The fact that you didn't have ANY on your person or your bike was the problem.

You don't get power for free. If you're generating power, there's going to be some resistance.

In all reality, I've never noticed the extra resistance with my dyno lights.

my primary light is a Stella 200L. It burns for 6hrs on high 200 lumens, and 24hrs on low 50 lumens.
I used this light during my attempt at the Tour Divide MTB race... I've yet to totally drain the battery.

This thread is stupid. OP needs to do what smart people do and plan ahead. If he/she is too lazy to carry proper lighting while running errands, I suggest taking the bus where lighting is never an issue.

WARNING SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

It's the MagtenLight kit. I'm the US Distributor for it. Works as advertised. Can be a real PIA to install (we are working on comprehensive instructions).

I did plan ahead. I just did so incorrectly, not expecting it to get dark as quickly as it did. That's absolutely an error in judgment on my part, but as I suggested to tsl, I prefer to do as much planning as possible once and have it stick in the event I make a mistake down the line.

IMO my greater error in judgment is not that I didn't bring lights with me, it's that I haven't equipped the bike with as-close-to-never-fail-as-possible lights sooner.

Whatever works for you is fine, but one could easily make similar arguments in favor of battery lights. I don't want a bike with generator lights because they add weight, resistance and costs. My commute route is very hilly, and the last thing I want is something making it more difficult.

I always leave a PB Superflash attached to my bikes if there is any chance of riding in low light or dark. I also have a helmet with another Superflash attached to the rear. I have a Fenix LD20 flashlight that I can install and remove from my handlebars in about 10 seconds, or just keep it attached to my helmet. I carry a spare set of batteries for both lights in case my lights run low, and the spares take a small amount of space in my seat bag. For my regular commutes, I also keep a Magicshine light strapped to handlebar of my bike during months when days are shorter. None of this takes my effort or planning.

I recently purchased a Shimano dynamo hub for $90 and a Lumotec headlight with the standlight option for $26. I saved money by building the wheel myself. I love the set up. The light is very bright and dependable and you do not have to screw around with batteries. As Arcanum points out you always have light even when you -gasp- don't plan correctly.

I'm a big advocate of dyno lights, but I also contend that battery lights have their place where they are the better option.

As for the weight issue: A Shimano 3N80 hub is ~475g, and a typical dyno lamp head is under 100g. The total weight of the system is approximately the same as that of a good battery lamp system with a modest runtime (3 - 4 hours).

Resistance: Jan Heine gives a 1.5% penalty to battery lighting vs. dyno lighting in the Cyclos Montagnards rules. IOW, dyno lights (on average) are only sapping 1.5% of your total performance. In an event like a 1200k grand randonnee, this can be a big deal; over 90 hours it can be a net loss of 81 minutes which may make or break getting to a late stage control in time. On a commute that averages 60 minutes with battery lights, switching to a dyno will bump that up to almost 61 minutes. It's like catching an extra red light.
From personal experience, you don't notice the additional resistance between lights on and lights off with a good dyno (3N70 or better).

Cost: A 3N72 can be had for under $100. You can buy a built up generator wheel with one for around $175, and an IQ Cyo lamp is around $120. So total investment is around $300 on the low end. Pricier than many mid-level battery driven systems, but not outrageous.

Where dyno lights really tip the scales is for endurance lighting: If you ride all night. Solo touring. Randonneuring. Having to carry enough batteries to get yourself 9 (or in some areas 12 or more) hours of lighting is when you'll really start racking up the weight. Whether you need it for 12 minutes or 12 hours, a generator setup always weighs the same amount.

Where battery systems have the advantage is 2-fold: Intensity is the first one. You won't find a generator lamp that can out-power the massive lumen output of a high-intensity battery system. If you need something for 24 hour racing where you have a pit crew that can swap batteries while you're eating dinner, a 1200L system will stomp a Supernova E3 Triple into the dirt. Transferrability is the other advantage: It's easy to swap a battery system between bikes and doesn't cost a dime extra to do it. It's not so easy with a dyno setup unless you can use the same wheel on every bike, and you still need to get one of the limited selection of swap-mountable lamps (most are hard mounted).

Then by all means, cut up your AAA card and get that darned jack and spare tire out of the trunk. And who needs that cell phone for emergencies?

EDIT: Further, you can cancel that On-Star service since no one ever needs it.

I guess I was expecting something that would show why you'd want a dyno system vs. any other type of light.

What we got was:

1. I didn't have lights on my bike or my person.
2. It got dark.
3. I had to ride home without lights.

I understand the advantages of dynohubs and why the OP likes them but you could easily take this story as a reason not to advocate for dynamo lights. Because the OP is sold on them and because they're on the expensive side, especially if you need a custom wheel built, he didn't have any lights at all on that bike. A person who wants lights for night riding and is fine with battery powered lights probably would have.

Interesting. Installation does look fiddly, but then the alternative is building a wheel with a dynohub. This, along with the $80 price for the whole setup, would make it attractive to some who are put off by the expense and installation trouble of a dynohub setup.

I'll take your word for it that it works as advertised, but durability remains to be seen, since it's so new. My combo of Shimano dynohub and B&M lights has made it through two winters, and there are plenty of other users who can vouch for the reliability of this setup.

You just summed up our approach to this solution. It fits somewhere under the dynohubs and above standard lights.

I'd feel more comfortable about a company that could afford to keep it's website running.

I may do a dyno hub one day, but charging my magicshine battery once or twice a week hasnt really been that much of a burden. I have more trouble remembering to pack underwear with my clothes for work.

Here I thought I would be reading a story about battery powered lights failing and being left in the dark, etc, but you DECIDED not to take lights with you.

While a dynohub is nice, it's not always practical.

Deciding you don't need to take lights with you does not put battery lights at fault.

No, the OP's story just illustrate how people actually are instead of being some demi-god like entities that never forgets anything and always are prepared for any contingency.

Call people stupid and lazy but the fact is that people forget. They forget their lights, they forget to change batteries, they forget to buy/recharge their batteries, they forget to turn of the lights so the batteries are unexpectedly flat the next day, they forget that cold weather can affect battery run times, they forget how much battery power is left, they accidentally activate the lights when putting in their bag so they are flat when returning home, they fumble and drop their lights so they break, they loose lights when the light holder are badly designed (*cough*Cateye*cough*), they forget to take their lights off so they are stolen etc. etc.

Dynamo generated lighting systems on bikes are a proven method to reduce the amount of "ninja" cyclists, because people are people and stuff happens.

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Regards