Sorry for wasting your time for a couple of questions everybody knows the answer to on this forum but me. I temporarily mounted my first Dynamo light and rode with it for a few miles to try it out this morning at a low/moderate pace. My first question is: Is it ok to ride this light without a tail light connected(Lumiring)? I'm assuming it has overvoltage protection...Yes? . Which leads me to my final question: When I complete the install on my new bike, which will be a while, will I notice a reduction in light quality with the tail light attached?

I was impressed with the amount of light(fork mounted) that it puts out. My usage for this light will be mostly under 20mph.

it's not a problem to ride without a taillight. I'm sure they assume that the vast majority will not have a dyno taillight. I don't think you will notice when you add a taillight, I never have

Wasn't it necessary to run a tail light with older systems, or you'd burn out your main light?

With incandescent bulbs one needed to match the total wattage of the bulbs to the total wattage of the dyno. With modern dynos and lights, typically the only concern is to not just run a tail light alone.

I expect that just running a taillight is ok too, except in the unique case of the supernova lights. I think most incandescent headlights were ok by themselves, I certainly never had any problem with that setup back when I used one. In fact, my sole remaining incandescent headlight doesn't have provisions for a taillight

B&M, and Spannanga both warn against running their tail lights without a headlight as the voltage regulators are in the headlight. On the other hand, I have upgraded vintage using Reflectalight LED bulbs REFLECTALITE LIGHT BULB FINDER that have their own built in over voltage protection.

huh, that's interesting. There seems to be quite a bit of electronics in the B&M taillights, so I figured there was current limiting in there. Maybe I'll have to read the instructions.

Not in light quality. But should you ride with a hub dynamo, and should you choose a tail light that draws a lot of juice -- the B&M Secula is the worst offender I have come across -- you might experience a slight tremble originating in that dynamo at higher speeds. That is, approaching the 30 km/h | 19 mp/h mark.

With just a front light, those vibrations needn't appear at those speeds. Though that again depends on the brand of hub dynamo, combined with the characteristics of your bike's fork, etc..

Should you use a bottle dynamo, I haven't said anything.

6v Filament bulbs of 3W were used when no, or battery power taillight, used

Then it, taillight of of 0.6W , was used and the bulb in the headlight was 2.4W =3W

there are 2.4W hub dynamos.

I will be using a SP dynamo with Philips Lumi Ring tail light. This will be my "thrifty but effective" build.

I'm also starting a bike build specifically for night time rides and extended rides in the winter since batteries pretty much suck below 20F. I already have the wheels built up with Son28 ISO Disc hub with Luxos U front light. This will be my "not even close to thrifty, but quite effective" build. I'm hoping this setup will be good enough for the high 20mph's. I'm still deciding on a tail light. I want the B&M Toplight Line Brake Plus to work as advertised, because for me, it would be helpful, but the reviews are mixed. So I'll probably go with the B&M Toplight Line Plus.