I use them every winter with studded tires here in Michigan. No problems.

Marc

In retrospect, I think if I go with studded tires this winter, they'll probably get put on and stay on until there's no more threat of snow or ice. Extra wheels would be nice, especially if I could get a set of snow tires that closely matches the regular duty tires, so as to not have to readjust the dynamo. However, that's added expense, and I am going to be building up a cargo bike which will be sapping some of the funds that would normally go into my daily ride for various bits and bobs. I think I'm gonna stick with my plan and probably get either the AXA HR 6v dynamo or the B&M 6v. Some tests I've seen indicate the AXA might be a marginally better dynamo than the B&M, but no one here in the US sells them, so I'd be buying from overseas with little to no support for any mechanical or warranty issues. At least if I go with B&M I can get it from Peter White Cycles and thus would have recourse for any issues. Still, there are some lights on his site that interestingly I think I can buy cheaper from overseas sellers, even with the exchange rate and shipping.

I am in the middle of putting 2 AXAs on 2 of my different bikes. I planned to have connectors on the wires so I just detach/attach the head and taillight to the different bike. That's my nod to economy.
I have the AXAs mounted, but I got mine from http://www.dutchbikebits.com . I really haven't read anything to worry about warranty issues, so I went with the AXA due to the comparable performance with the B&M, but less cost and less weight caused me to pick that one.

My problems so far have been the pathetic instructions with the Philips headlight and the nonexistent information that came with AXA generator. I guess I'm a spoiled North American. The lighting cable that David sent is for a hub generator instead of a bottle generator. There's a connector on one of the wires that's for the negative connection for the hub and I ended up asking and receiving a new set of wires from Peter White Cycles and extra female wire connectors, so that's my upcoming week's chore, changing those new cable ends. They didn't bat an eye when I asked about new connectors for my AXA generator purchased from somewhere else.

I think I can do this, it's just that it doesn't come easy to me and I hate thinking on my day off :bang:

I was considering doing something similar with my set up. I'd be interested to see what you come up with as far as a way to quick-disconnect your lights in order to swap from one bike to the other. I'm looking at a B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo+ 60 lux headlight and a B&M Toplight taillight. I can get both from a French site (shipped), for less than buying just the headlight from pretty much anyone else. I'll probably get my first AXA dynamo from Dutchbike as well, since they seem to be about the cheapest source. When I get around to finishing up the cargo bike, I'll probably go ahead and spring for a second AXA dynamo. Then again, it might be more cost effective to just buy a couple at the same time and save on shipping, now that I really think about it. What sort of bracket did you choose for mounting your dynamo, and did you go for fork mounting or seat stay mounting? I have front and rear racks which might complicate things as far as mounting on either end of the bike, but I'm sure I can figure it all out. Also, since I'd like to be able to run a bag on my front rack, I think I'll see about mounting my headlight on the stem or thereabouts.

There is a very neat mount for bottle dynamo`s,as long as you have V or caliper brakes.Mine came from Rose versand .de

I have thought about putting sidewall dynamos on my kid's bikes because I don't really want to spend a lot of money on something they will not use that often/might get stolen. I don't think I will ever use one myself because I don't like the noise. They work fine though, my commuter always had one back when it was the only option

Supposedly this newer generation of sidewall dynamos are much quieter than the older units from 20-30+ years ago.

I like the noise they make,especially around pedestrians and dog walkers:thumb:.Draw an imaginary line through the centre of the bottle,and through the wheel spindle for a quiet setting.http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=280904Theres the bracket.

Mounting instructions from Cantitoe Road

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOjq3whcyoI

http://www.cantitoeroad.com/uploads/...ing_System.pdf

I'm currently using three different sidewall dynamos. I have a B&M from Peter White, a Spaninga from Velo Orange, and a Basta from BikeBiz. I like the Spaninga and the Basta but don't care for the B&M. It's the adjustable tension. I can never get that quite right and it when I do get it right it seems to go out of adjustment fairly easily.

My new touring bike is going to try a Tang Lin 12 volt led system.

I'm going to make a bigger wheel at work for it with replaceable tires(fat o-rings) to slow it down and reduce drag by 25/50%.It will run off of the rim.Makes no sense to me to run the wheel off of the tire when I have a perfectly true rim to use.If I have to listen to that thing riding on a tire....I'll just install it next to the trashcan.

And that stupid mounting bracket it comes with,I use the term loosely,must go.I'll copy the one that goes to the brake mount,somebody was thinking......must be German.

I'm going to run the 12volt Cree mr16 led bulbs,front and rear,don't have to build anything,they like AC or DC,just plug it in,instant 400 lumens each if need be.I can run 3 in the front if my legs can take it....:)

Over driving the led's will cut there life short,so they only last 5000 hours instead of 50,000.....Those bulbs have protection and stuff in them,but I'm not sure if they can take 18 or more volts thrown at them for 1/2 hour or more on a downhill.

Suppose to be here Fri or Sat.....this should be interesting.....We'll see

If I hate it,I'll give it to somebody and do it the right way.It's only $50 to try.....That will ALMOST buy the new spokes for the dyno hub......:) Son may have a problem with their hubs if the new SP? (the camara shutter people) unlocking hubs pan out.If I end up with a hub,that's going to be my choice.If it doesn't work or something,I'll fix it at work.I'm half temped to just make one.....Let's see,if my brake rotor had,say,28 good magnets in it......And I had an induction coil or 2......

I just stumbled on this generator by accident,my buddy had an old one so I took apart just for fun.It has a staggered amature with duel windings,to even out the flow some.Plus that makes for 2 seperate systems,front and back.It puts out a whopping 18v on my buddies beach cruiser,not even going balls out :).....4.8 amps front/1.2 amps rear when I was screwing around with it.

That generator was built well,nice metal case,nice bearings,2 spade type plugs,internally grounded so you can use the frame for ground if you want,so it actually has 3 wires,not 2.Looks like it had a steel shaft in it,if it was stainless,this thing would last forever.Still will if you service it.

We'll see.....Hmmmm???? Rotors,magnets,coils....would be Winternationals......I'm too busy to think up stuff like this right now! At least I have it in writing.....

To Whom it may concern:
Please send royalty checks to Booger1 @ Bikeforums.......:)

Thanks for putting up the vids steve!

I just found an old Sanyo dynamo in my parts box that I must have bought 30 years ago. Since I just put together a commuter bike (Scattante XRL Cross frankenbike) , I'm debating getting an LED headlight and seeing if I can make it work for a while until I can get around to getting a hub dynamo.

Try this site: http://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tests/index_en.html . LOTS of information, and I believe this site and Peter White Cycles' site: http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm . That should fill your weekend reading. There is someone else's site I don't have handy that compared almost 20 different generators and had graphs comparing all their performance. That graph was what I based my decision on the AXA vs the B&M.

Don't forget, the standlight function is on the headlight you choose, not the generator. Just checkin'...

Steve and Booger1,

I saw the video for cantitoe road too and I thought it was a help, and it is, but I received this warning reply from David Hembrow, who runs http://blog.dutchbikebits.com/2012/0...ng-dynamo.html Dutch Bike Bits, where I got my lights and generators:

Hi Leo,


The fixed wire on the philips front light goes to the dynamo. An extra wire is needed to lead from there to the rear light. That's it.

I wrote an article about installing dynamo lights, including a simplified wiring diagram, which you can read here:


http://blog.dutchbikebits.com/2012/0...ng-dynamo.html

The electricity doesn't care whether the cables have connectors or not, nor whether there is heatshrink over the cables, nor whether the wire is bought from us or obtained elsewhere (almost any wire will do, just find something of a similar thickness and multi-strand because solid copper will break). The philips rear light has connectors for either bare wire or connectors. You can choose which ever are convenient and both will work equally well.


However, please run the wire from the rear light to the front light as shown in my wiring diagram and not directly to the dynamo. The reason why is that the switch on top of the front light will then also operate the rear light. This is what you'll want should you ever change to a hub dynamo. Secondly, if you should happen to switch off your front light and leave the rear on, you will destroy the rear light if they are connected as shown in the Cantitoe Road video. Thirdly, you then need to run just one wire along the fork to the dynamo. This looks neater and is more reliable (just one wire to break, not two).


Yours,


David.


On 11 October 2012 06:24, Leo Horishny <horishny@saturnnet.com> wrote:


--
D u t c h B i k e B i t s http://www.dutchbikebits.com
Proven parts and accessories

I plan to work on the lights some this weekend. Thursday before last, I hit a pedestrian who was walking in the street on his way to breakfast at 0630. After the fact, I have figured that an oncoming school bus' headlights coming up the hill as he was walking down the hill, in the road (no sidewalks) with a dark hooded jacket on, the bus' lights shot my dark vision as I rolled towards him and when I picked him up in my headlight, 40W 4led battery light, it was too late for me to not hit him. We rolled big time, I was doing about 25, or just under at impact.

I'd hate to know how he's doing, I still have a swollen ankle and bruising on my foot, knee and a pulled chest muscle of some sort, a week later! I helped him home, he ended up with a 2" cut on his head, but the cathcart jacket probably kept him from worse road rash and some impact damage. Although it was his 'fault', he wasn't trying to be a hazard, so we both learned a rough lesson.

I want to get that brighter light going, even if I'm not going to be tooling in the dark that fast again anytime soon. That was my fault.

Shimano 3N72 hubs in 32h and 36h versions at Wiggle for $76.00, with free shipping on orders over $50.

You can build sturdy commuter wheels with one of those, a Sun CR18 rim, and some DT Champion 2.0 spokes for around $120 in materials. An IQ Cyo N lamp is only another $100. Throw in build costs if you don't roll your own, and you're only down $260-ish for a bright, reliable setup that will work in all conditions of rain/snow/slush (with the exception of submerging the thing in floodwaters.)

I wired up a traditional halogen bulb headlamp and an LED taillight in parallel to my sidewall dynamo (ie both lamps wiring to the dynamo terminals).
The circuit to the front was broken for some reason so all the power went to the rear and blew the LED or electronics.

I wish I had caught these latest posts a bit sooner. I could've directed you to some other sites where you can buy a lot of dynamo powered lights quite a bit cheaper than most of the stuff on Peter White Cycles. Also, consensus amongst a few of us is that the price and performance seem to indicate that the AXA dynamo is probably the best buy for the money, perhaps followed by the Nordlicht or B&M.

You're welcome. Glad to be of help.

I received my Tung Lin 12v dynamo yesterday.....It's a piece of crap.Sealed unit means no maintainance,a bushing instead of a bearing at the top,cheesy bracket....JUNK. It's not the same as my buddies older one,his is nice.

I will not be installing this on my bike.....Next round will be a SP hub dyno if I can find one or an Alfine.

I have to admit the,Tung Lin bottle works real well,I just don't think it will stand up to the miles I will put on it.

As for wiring the rear light to the front,the Tung Lin dynamo is actually 2 dynamos' in one,so if you blow out the front light,the back light will be fine.

I've used a sidewall dynamo with a piece of rubber hose over the pulley. It didn't slip when wet, but the dynamo RPM were reduced.

I was kinda curious about these units, mainly because you can run one at high rpms (peddling speeds over 10 mph), and crank out something like 36v which can drive some Cree LEDs at seriously bright levels of lumens. Anyway, I was wondering about the build quality on these. Good to know they're not worth wasting the money on. I'll stick with the AXA dynamo.