Why I Advocate Dynamo Lights: A Story
 

Pretty much whenever someone asks for recommendations for bicycle lighting, I recommend lights driven by a dynamo hub, despite the extra expense. A few weeks ago, I had an experience that illustrated why.

Background: I have two bicycles I ride with some regularity. My daily commuter is a 2010 Dr Dew that is kitted out with an Alfine dynohub and very nice Lumotec lights. I also have a Yuba Mundo V3 for grocery shopping and other cargo hauling. I don't ride it as often, it's larger and more obvious, and putting a dynohub on it requires getting a wheel custom-built, so I currently make do with ordinary battery-powered LED lights.

Well, a couple weeks ago, I decided to go on a shopping trip after work. I needed a few groceries, and also needed to buy some wine bottles from the local homebrew store for the homemade mead I had aging in my basement.

It was still light out when I got home from work, and I didn't expect my trip to take long, so I decided to leave my bag of lights and such at home.

I stop at the grocery store and get the few things I needed. Now I'm thinking "hmm, it's dinner time, and there's a hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint I want to try", so I get dinner. As I'm leaving the Mexican place, it's clear that the sun is going down and the light is getting dim. This is not good.

So I go ahead and buy the bottles I needed along with a six-pack of hard cider I wanted to try, and lash it all onto the Mundo. Now it's almost fully dark, and I don't have any of my lighting gear or reflective vest. And I have a ~3 mile ride home. Great.

So I make my way home, being extra cautious. Fortunately there were enough street lights to see by so I at least didn't have to worry about that, but I was neither as visible nor could I see as well as I normally like.

Thankfully I made it home without even a close-call, but it was a more stressful trip than it should've been.

Had I invested in dynamo lights on the Mundo, I at least would've had those even if I didn't have my reflective vest. A dynamo wheel has moved up my list of things to buy significantly.

And that is why I advocate dynamo lights for anyone who is serious about practical riding. You never, ever have to worry about having usable lights. If you're riding your bike, you've got lights.

Which is WHY I made low-cost (but effective) lights for ALL my bikes.In my thread, everyone said I should have switched out my GOOD lights from my primary commuter. That's great if you never forget them or stay out later than you planned. I'm never on a lightless bike.

I just built an E-Bike and I'm trying to work out a way to power lights from the low voltage feed from my controller.

Headlights are due to arrive or today or tomorrow.
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I bought two super cheap battery powered lights. SUPER cheap. I'm just testing this. I have a 5 Volt supply. I'm hoping to drill small holes in the batter case, run wires in, and solder the wires directly to the battery leads.

I'm sure they are not very good lights, but with two of them, they'll have to do until I can get something better. (If this even works)

I know dynamo lights are great, so please don't think I'm trying to dissuade you from that. But why not just leave a set of cheap blinkies on each bike? That way if you're caught out after dark, you won't be completely invisible. Both my bikes have a set of blinkies permanently attached. I swap my high-powered lights between them.

Max

I recently built dynamo wheels for three of my bikes including the Big Dummy cargo bike which gives me four bikes so equipped now. I also have one with a B&M Dymotec 6 bottle dynamo and am in the process of installing the Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo that is available from Peter White Cycles on a sixth bike.

The Sanyo dynamo or a good quality sidewall dynamo such as the Dymotec 6 are less expensive solutions to installing dynamo lights on a bike that only occasionally needs lights.

That is why I always assume I will end my ride after dark. I always bring my lights no matter when I start my ride. Not really a big deal. You never know what can happen on a ride. Maybe you get mechanical trouble that takes a long time to fix. Maybe you end up walking. Maybe you just decide to go for a longer ride or have side trips or go to a restaurant, etc... Maybe there is a wicked storm that comes on suddenly and you need lights at noon because it is so dark.

The last blinky that wasn't literally bolted-down that I left on a bike got stolen. Why someone would bother stealing a cheap bicycle light is beyond me.

Plus, there's the battery issue....

That's a decent point about the sidewall dynamo. In the specific case of the Mundo, it gets used after dark with some regularity in the winter, and I'm switching to disc-capable wheels soon anyway. Disc-capable wheel + bottle dynamo and I'm half-way to the cost of a dynamo hub wheel.

I like the convenience of Dynamo lights. No remembering to charge batteries or bring spare ones. Install them and forget them until needed just like automobile and motorcycle lights. If you want to be able to treat a bicycle as convenient transportation then a dynamo lighting set is the way to go.

Yeah, I don't get it... are you trying to say you like dyno lights because that way you don't have to think or plan?

Does this model keep running when you are stopped? If not you need battery lights anyway.

Lumotecs have a standlight option. I have that on mine. The light goes a little dimmer than full brightness but stays on enough to be seen. (Just pushing off gets up enough speed to get full brightness with my setup.)

Hey, what about induction motors? Magnets on your spokes pass by coils of wire mounted on your forks. Generates electricity but no heat, friction, or resistance. (Though I don't know how much electricity.)

There is resistance. you can't get power for free.

I'd want a standlight option where the lights were brighter, most importantly the taillight.

Good point.

I like small self contained powerful lights light Fenix LD10 and PBSF. Can take them everywhere, take them off bike in seconds and carry them with you off bike easily. I always have them on bike or in my bag and charger is in 'bike garage' with always a charged set of LSD ready to go so I know I always have plenty of duration.

There's no guarantee a dynohub light will work. Best to build in a little redundancy by having more than one headlight and taillight. I don't like dynohubs (although admitttedly I've never tried one) because I think they are expensive, are heavy compared to a regular hub and you cannot remove them when lights are not needed. Plus, you have to power the light, rather than a battery powering the light.

Love my dynohub powered lights. Especially the front. I use a Planet Bike Superflash on the rear rack as well, since the Lumotec rear light doesn't blink.

Frankly, I think the hub resistance (it's a Shimano) is minimal. I may have noticed it the first time I rode with the new wheel, but I don't now. Plus, it's a commuter bike anyway - I have a rack, and fenders, and stuff in the pannier - weight isn't that big of a deal. And only the most persistent DIY thief is going to steal those lights when the bike is locked up.

I do keep a white LED light in my pannier, just in case of hub light failure, but I haven't had a problem in over a year.

My tail light is just as bright in standlight mode as in running mode. The headlight dims a bit. There is a setup that senses wheel rotation and as it slows down, the tail light becomes brighter (basically, a brake light).

Same here.

I've never felt resistance of the hub (a SON 28 from Schmidt) while riding. spinning the axle in my hand when the wheel's off the bike, sure, but when it's mounted? No. I don't worry about theft too much because the bike that I have the dyno lighting on is my commuter and I park inside a guard-controlled perimeter (no one comes or goes without showing ID), and I lock it up outside the locker room building that doesn't have a lot of people going in and out. So I consider it to be safe.

I haven't gotten around to it, but I should do that.

www.reelight.com

I've seen mixed reviews, but they do what you describe.

Paul

So basically you're advocating dynamo lights because you don't like to take the effort to strap battery powered lights on your bike..

Personally, I use my lights every time I ride. I feel like it helps me be seen, even during the day, and even if it doesn't.. no harm done, I use rechargeable batteries. Even if for some reason I didn't have my light on, battery powered lights are small enough that you really have no excuse not to have one or two in your bag, or even pocket 'just in case'. I always carry a spare as well in case I have issues with my main one, and as far as theft, it takes about 5-10 seconds to take the light off and put it in your pocket. Nobody's gonna steal it then unless you get mugged.

Absolutely. The less I have to plan around routine concerns like "how long will it take to get dark", the happier I am.

If my dynohub light fails, I probably have bigger concerns than just light. Things like "why is my front wheel no longer turning". (The hub is more likely to fail than the LED lights.)

Under and normal circumstance, you don't notice the weight or the resistance of a good dynamo hub.

sweet

except the no resistance part. (which is minimal and not noticeable which is relative to the level of light it put out)