I stopped by the Rapha shop in the Meatpacking district of Manhattan. For those of you that don't know Rapha, myself included, it is a line of very high end cycling wear. And the Meatpacking district is a high-end fashion district. This shop is the "club" shop, with a coffee/beer/wine bar, videos of races on continuously during the day on big screens and actually nice. The woman that greeted me as I walked in with my very old Trek 7000 that I just upgraded, in particular with the dynamo, was agog about the bike. She thought it was the best city bike she's seen. Rack, fenders, and that light mounted like a motorcycle headlight below the bars, she just loved it. Mind you, in the back of the store were a collection of bikes that Greg Lemond used in the TdF. And hanging were a bunch of Cervelos. My old Trek was still the star. I gave the wheel a spin to show off the light.

I'm also getting one of the Magnic Light ICs for the rear to make it even more cool.

After that store I took the bike up the West Side Bikeway, and it was sloppy with the snow melt runoff.

Soooo I will update this thread again with some photos but I am officially set up with my new wheel and lights! Shimano alfine and hermans headlight. Looks to be very, almost blindingly bright.

zacster, I was also at Rapha recently. It's a scene, for sure. Some rides start out there, the barista told me. I like how the meat market has now become a meet market. Or something. I live a few blocks away.

it is for a few folding bikes , my Shimano-Brompton wheel shipped
with an Allen Bolt skewer that Schmidt got made, for the hubs they made for
their 74mm hubs to fit folders..

Ends are stainless steel,

where the same sort of skewer that ships with the 100mm wide hubs the ends are Aluminum.

post 51, asking about an Amazon warehouse buy, which has nutted axles
I suspect is a hub with a 100mm axle width.

Happy
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=369659http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=369660

I just bought a Phillips SafeRide 60 with tail light off the 'bay. Best generator light I've ever used. Work just fine from the wimpy Sturmey 3.0W hub:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=370114

Tail Light is real nice too:
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=370115

Nice!

They get rave reviews over here!

I had to get mine mailed from Holland, nobody sells them over here. I replaced a SuperNova laser beam. It was great for blinding cagers but scary on a dark bike path. The Phillips' beam shape is awesome, no wasted stray photons.

next time try Germany :)

Bike24 - Suche

-19% VAT + shipping :)

it's even in English if you don't read German:

http://www.bike24.de/1.php?content=1...aferide;lang=2

edit: ppl over here complain the plastic bezel in the front lights up, which is an extreme defect in the eyes of Germans and Dutch :-/

I have two bikes with shimano 3n72 dynamo hubs. Absolutely cannot tell the difference. However, I have found that the hub might need a slight adjustment when new. From the factory the bearings are a little snug. Always adjust the non-drive side. The drive side, plug side has a little internal wire that you do not want to sever.

In terms of weight of the hub, I don't notice it when I'm riding. I typically carry the bikes to my basement for servicing. The little additional weight is no issue.

That's about what I paid, the guy I bought it from is a private party with a cool website, I decided to support him:
Bicycle lighting, mostly powered via dynamo, and USB power from dynamo

Wouter is really into this subject and it was enjoyable to exchange emails with him.

In any case, the Phillips SafeRide 60 is amazing, I am surprised that nobody sells them in the USA.

Actually, you can buy them on Amazon (oh...well, if you're talking about the battery version...). The problem with the SafeRide was main it's poor battery life - around an hour with the stock batteries, over an hour but a little short of 2 hours (if I remember right) with the best AA batteries. It has some sort of internal timer or something so it would still turn off at 2 hours (or so) even if you rewired it to use a larger external battery pack.

Apparently last fall Phillips decided to stop selling them in the US - right at the same time that the B&M Ixon IQ Premium was announced, with similar light output (and apparently a well designed shaped beam) but with 4-5 hours of battery life -
Busch&Muller battery powered bicycle lights

Here's a guys full review of the new Ixon IQ vs the old one (the new one has similar output to the saferide, the older one was much dimmer) -
Product Review: B&M Ixon IQ Premium LED Headlight | Captain Overpacker

This is a gif he put together comparing the beam pattern of the old one vs the new one (note that the saferide is not in this, and that as always these pics usually appear brighter than they look in real life) -
http://www.stealthtdi.com/Forums/Ixo...omparo-800.gif

Edit: The Ixon IQ is battery powered with AA's (they can be charged in the light though, which is pretty cool). The equivalent dynamo light is the Lumotec Cyo Premium, which has exactly the same output and is believed to use exactly the same led and lens.

That's a very nice post, so I hate to say this, but I will...

using batteries is missing the point and it pains me to see the US so far behind in tech (even with bikes!) because I want to see the US succeed.

:faceplam:

Hmmmmm, not sure how to respond....

There is both a battery and dynamo powered version of the SafeRide. One posted said only the battery version was sold in the US.

not true ;)

anyway, like I always say, the North American market is tiny, and if Philips pulls out, that tells one something :)

their home entertainment electronics and Razor business is more lucrative..

and HVAC units :-/

It seems like most bike shops in the US don't really deal with dynamos or dynamo lights. They tend to push battery lights, both largely USB rechargeable now, but some replaceable batteries typical at the lower end.

There are some bikes that come with dynamo lights stock sold in the US, but its the exception.

Do stores not generally deal with dynamo's because the consumer in the US doesn't want dynamo lights? Or do consumers not want dynamo's because stores push battery lights and they don't know otherwise?

I think part of it is that most bikes sold in the US are for recreation, not transportation or utility: roadbikes where people try to outspend others in the ridding group for the lightest bike, mountain bikes, and hybrid/town bikes used largely for recreation/exercise. These bikes are usually used in the day, so lights are an occasional after thought for most bikers in the US, hence and add-on they can buy and remove when they don't want them.

In some areas using bikes for transportation and utility is growing. Maybe more shops will start catering to these users and dynamo lights will start to grow in popularity, but for this to really happen more of this stuff would need to be in stock and standard on bikes. My guess is that this will not happen quickly so dynamo lighting will remain more niche in the US.

Phillips is one of the largest lighting manufacturers in the world and is well known for their industry leading ballasts and other lighting products. They also own one of the largest LED brands, Lumileds.

What is not true? That there is both a battery and dynamo version of the Saferide light? Or that one poster said that only the battery version was available in the US. I didn't say that it was only the battery version, someone else did. I really don't know.

I do know there was a battery version and you could buy it in the US, at least until recently.

I actually had heard philips was killing the saferide light entirely, not just pulling out of the US. Maybe this isn't true, but if it is then they are pulling out of every market for that product, not just US. This sort of killing of products entirely or in markets is very common for a company the size of Philips. I can't imagine it was a big money maker for them.

The USA is behind when it comes to city bikes, so what else is new? Dyno hubs will be big in the USA when electric shifting takes over. The idea of riding a bike that isn't a goofy 15lb dropbar doesn't make sense to the high end market, 99% of bike shops couldn't care less about the commuter market.

upgrading ... not killing ;)

the dynamo is always "accessible" in the NA market, whether or not it's "officially" for sale is irrelevant.

LOL, just keep making it up as you go along, it sounds great, as if you actually have a clue....

Believe me, I know.

Nope.

The NA bike market will always be behind/different than the rest of the globe.

I assume it will always be like the NA auto market (different/minor).

I assume you noticed that I mention they make both a dynamo and battery powered version.

So I'm curious - what point do you think they're missing here in the US? There's a few of reasons why a battery power version is useful:
1. Smaller upfront cost - d. Dynamo wheels in the US cost $135, $220, or $400 depending on the model and wheel. Obviously a $120-$150 light is cheaper than the wheel + the $110 for the dynamo light itself.
2. If you own and ride multiple bikes the cost is exponentially less.
3. Easier to resell a battery light if you end up realizing it's not for you (shipping costs are much lower than shipping a whole wheel)
4. If you own a race bike, it's unlikely you want to put a relatively heavy dynamo hub and wheel, along with some very slight drag on it. For most bikes it's a non-issue, but if you spend thousands of dollars to drop weight it's not something you'd want to do. A battery light works better as you can remove it for racing/day training.

I mean - I agree that the US is behind in even hearing that dynamo light has gone from being silly (with tungsten lights) to useful (with LED lighting). I've heard that supposedly dynamo stuff is much much cheaper is Europe. But I think there will always be some reasons to have battery lights...

Same things that North America is always missing...

quality-of-life...

why save a few $ when you can reduce stress when the bicycle is the primary means of transport.

this can be extended to work:life balance, healthcare, childcare, free tuition, etc...

the North American market distills everything to a finite amount of $ ... in that regard it's just like China, but with a different baseline.

edit: your prices are way too high, I can easily beat those prices shipped to your door.

Earlier today I was telling one of the battery-light fanboys that I thought he was full of it, now I'm telling a dynamo-fanboy he's full of it. I guess it's been a balanced day...

http://www.bikeforums.net/electronic...ight-gone.html

Wow, hostile group today. I said I heard, not I know...actually read in in these forums at some point, but didn't pay to much attention to it at the time. I even said it may not be true, as I realize half of what I read in these forums is likely not true. Looks like it still being sold in the US too, at least the battery version, not sure if its a new model or the same.

Edit: Thanks to PaulRivers, you can see I don't just make this stuff up as I go, I read it here.
http://www.bikeforums.net/electronic...ight-gone.html