I never said they should be mandatory.

I did specify at the end of my post serious utility riders (including serious commuters under that category). Those are the terms I usually put my recommendation in.

Another great thing about dyno lights is that they seem more part of the bike. I never bother taking them off at the grocery store or work, but I definitely will remove my easily removable Superflash blinkie.

Dang it, you put a hole in your own argument by leaving the lights at home... But,

That's what I've learned with my own dynohub bike. I tried getting into the habit of putting my Dinottes' batteries in the recharger every night, but whenever I didn't, I was screwed. I even started keeping a charger at work.

Within a week of getting the dynohub, I wasn't charging batteries at all. I could be out as long as I wanted at night and I still had lights. I could wake up and rush to work without taking batteries out of chargers and loading them into their packs.

Basically, it made that bike as brain-dead convenient as a car. I would get really irritated if I had to regularly charge batteries for my car's lights. Grab-and-go, no worries about whether I'd still have lighting four hours later.

BarrackSi;

My own point that I tried to make earlier. Dynamo lights are just more convenient and do not require planning ahead or taking the time to attach batteries etc. A dynamo front wheel and lights adds maybe a extra pound or less compared to no lights and less than that compared to battery lights. It moves the bicycle towards the same category as a car as far as riding convenience is concerned.

Yup. I'm sure that the total weight of my dyno & lights is less than that of the two 4-AA battery packs and lights I used to use. Any drag is pretty insignificant, too, much less than a tire-driven dynamo.

My Alfine dynohub is 680 grams, which is about 540 more than the Ultegra it replaced. That's 1.2 pounds extra just for the hub. I have to agree, drag's negligible in actual use. I'm still not very happy with the light output, but maybe I'll try a Schmidt eDelux if I get a tax refund that'll cover it... they appear to have more throw.

In point of fact, DiNotte's entire high-end headlight, with 4-cell Li-Ion battery pack, weighs less than my dynohub alone. Way less. For about 5x the light output. And I think it's cheaper than my hub/headlight combo, too! :P *hastily cuts up credit card*

Light and Motion Vis 360
130gm

http://www.bikelightingsystem.com/vis360.html

B&M IQ Cyo lamp. You'll be really happy with it, and it's about half the price of an Edelux.

Well, I dunno. The non-R version is still supposed to be only 60 lux, which I believe is what Supernova's claiming for the light I've got now. Maybe my 40-year-old eyes are the problem. But yeah, half the price would be nice :)

Since the dyno users are probably reading this thread, has anyone here in fact tried the E3 Pro asymmetrical and the Cyo back-to-back? Remarks?

Which Supernova do you have right now? If it's a symmetrical 1st gen. E3, then there's a world of difference between that and the Cyo. The Cyo is a brighter lamp because of the focused optics (same that the Edelux uses) and it's about 90 - 95% as bright as the Edelux. I've got a 1st gen E3, an Edelux and a Cyo, so the comparison is from my having used them all on the same bike.

I don't know about the E3 Pro asymm. as I haven't yet upgraded my setup to the new LED and lens/reflector yet.

Seconding the IQ Cyo. I have a Cyo R+ Senseo (close-throw light with standlight and automatic sensor-based activation). It's not "oh my god my eyes" bright, but it'll light up the road nicely, and is pretty visible from the front. There are some videos on YouTube if you want to get a sense of the brightness.

I've got the E3 Pro asym myself. Thanks for the detailed info here, I may just grab the Cyo then. If I like it, I should be able to sell off the E3 Pro and at least break even. Plus then I won't have an unused bundle of taillight wires hanging from my headlight :beer:

I know a guy who zip-tied his blinkie onto his bikesaddle. I think he used 2 zip-ties in a criss-cross format. It's enough to discourage casual theft and helps avoid losing it on a rough road.

Yet another vote for the IQ CYO R. Not as bright as the Amoeba lights I used for MTB'ing, but the beam is much better for on-road use.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1160/...471fc4ae87.jpg

PBSF on the back of helmet, Princeton tec EOS or similar 3AAA LED light with multiple levels and strobe. It's always on the helmet. The strobe function is very useful for daylight/dusk riding when cars have a hard time seeing anything that's not on four wheels. After that any combination of dyno or battery that tickles your fancy.