Bike Forums - Dynamo Hub/light setup vs. Traditional

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Michel Gagnon

P.S. I can't assess Peter White's taillights because I use Vistalite SuperNebula taillights. That way, I didn't have wires going all the way to the back of the bike, and my lighting system works whether I ride by myself, with a trailercycle, with a child trailer... or with both.

Michel's experiences match mine. I can help with the taillight issue, however, as I have the B&M Standlicht. The 3 V, .6 amp taillight bulbs are very hard to find in the States, so you have two reasonable options. One is to buy one of these LED taillights. The other is to fit a 3.0 W front headlight bulb and use a rear blinkie. When I tow a child trailer, I simply add a blinkie to the trailer.

Paul

You should be able to find taillight bulbs in any LBS that carries dynamo systems. If not, you can order them from Reflectalite. They're in the UK, but they ship to the US and I've never had a problem with an order. The bulb you want is the GV601 Screw-cap 6V 0.1A 0.6W

http://www.reflectalite.com/vacuumpage.html

Quote:

Originally Posted by randya

Dynamo regulator:

http://www.nscl.msu.edu/~daniel/sreg.htm

Yikes! Hairy looking circuit! I can swap parts in my guitar, but that looks crazy. I wish Jet lites made a dynamo hub recharger circuit. This is one of the smartest ideas I've heard. I'm surprised nobody has brought anything to market in this vein.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sbhikes

I wish I had a dynamo light instead of the Nightrider light I paid $120 for. Maintaining the battery is just too complicated.

If the battery just needs to be "topped off" (how do you know??) you charge for 4 hours. That means I'd have to charge it as soon as I get home and stay up until at least 10pm (I go to bed early) so I can be sure to unplug it in time. Don't forget!

If the battery is exhausted (which you aren't supposed to do), charge it for 9 hours. The only way I can do that without setting an alarm clock for the middle of the night is to charge it at work. That I don't mind, but what if the battery isn't exhausted yet, but there's not enough power to get home? There's nothing to indicate this.

Dynamo sounds perfect. No babysitting batteries.

Buy a lamp timer for $10 and then set the timer and go to bed, no more babysitting. You can upgrade to a "smart" plug and forget charger too. Call night rider and ask them if you're interested.