CliffordK

Ok,

I'm getting to the point where I'll be setting up a Generator/Dynamo on a couple of touring/commuting bikes... I hope.

Does anybody know of flashing/blinking generator taillights?

I really don't want to do pure rechargeables if I'm setting up the genset. Nor do I like steady red lights.

I suppose there is the Reelight, but that would be an additional form of redundancy, and I'm seeing mixed reviews on it.

It should, of course, also have the ability to stay on for a couple of minutes.

I believe at least some of the Genset technology is coming from Germany which may prohibit blinking lights.

unterhausen

I have always wondered why there are no blinking dyno taillights. At least I'm not aware of any. I always have a battery taillight on my bikes anyway, so if I run them, I run them on blinking

Tourist in MSN

I live in USA, so I am largely ignorant of German laws, but it is my understanding that most dyno powered headlights, taillights and dynohubs are designed to meet German laws for bicycles. And it is my understanding that Germany is one of several countries where taillights that flash are illegal. I was unable to find any LED taillights that are dyno powered that flash.

For years I used a dyno powered headlamp and AAA battery powered taillight so that I could (1) get one that flashes and (2) I could use my dynohub to charge batteries during the daytime while I also at the same time used a (flashing) taillight and (3) since my bike with the dynohub had S&S complers I did not want a lot of complications when I split the frame, thus I did not want a wired taillight.

I bought my first dynohub about five years ago, and in the past month I finally broke down and bought a dyno powered taillight for a bike that I built up a year ago. That bike does not have S&S couplers so I had no reason to avoid running a wire from stem to stern. That dyno powered taillight stays on constantly when in use, no flash. Many of the taillights out there have a standlight option for a small additional fee to keep the light lit for several minutes after you stop, mine is one of them. But the taillight is turned off when I am charging batteries on the USB charger, so I still have a battery powered taillight that I can use while charging batteries.

znomit

Blinking is verboten under StVZO (German road traffic regulations), because its harder to judge distances.

• Lighting A white headlight and a red rear light are required and must be ready for use at any time. The headlight and rear light must be turned on with a single switch. They must be able to be powered by a dynamo backup, though they can use batteries in addition (as a standlight for example). One additional battery powered rear light may be added at the most; further battery powered lamps are not permitted, including blinking ones or ones on the helmet or body. Racing bikes (in Switzerland 700c x 23 or thinner) up to 11 kg weight (24.25 lbs or 12 kg/26.45 lbs in Austria and Switzerland) are not required to have the dynamo lighting, but may use removable battery powered lights. These lights must be carried at all times. All lighting needs an approval stamp from the German department of transportation in Flensburg - see the image at top or your own B&M LED lamps. Incidentally, the lights that are permitted don't have a setting for blinking. All lights stay on when switched on so that other traffic participants can judge distances well, something that is harder with a blinking light.

Tourist in MSN

One more thing, if you go shopping for a taillight that is of different manufacturer than your headlamp, there is at least one brand that is incompatible with other brands. Peter White covers some of that on this page under the topic compatibility.
Busch & Müller Taillights

Thanks for posting. I was curious why all the dyno powered taillights I have seen are always wired to the headlight, and the requirement that both lights use a single on/off switch helps explain why.

unterhausen

I know the market is dominated by German lights, and they don't allow blinking lights. But others could fill the void, and the German companies could make blinking lights for export.

I feel that a steady light and a light that blinks is probably the safest combo. I like blinking lights that don't actually ever go to zero light, but just vary in intensity.

Tourist in MSN

Agree that there is a market for dyno powered blinkers. I would use them in daytime when I am not using the hub to charge batteries.

Night time, I always use a steady light instead of blinker because the driver that I want to see me, that driver will have difficulty getting depth perception on a blinker, but a steady light is not a problem. There have been a few times I used a steady light and a blinker in traffic.

I usually have two taillights on my bikes, before I recently bought a dyno powered light they were always steady or blink, depending on how you set them.

fietsbob

Planet bike has a dynamo superflash , there is a bit of stand light capacitor in it but not a battery.
same case size, small as their 2AA battery powered ones..
Battery , and dynamo use the same handlebar mount,
the dynamo one has a plug in the wire to let you take it off to go in your pocket.

Red LED in tail lights draw very little power, so a couple AA or AAA batteries should last long enough..

maybe put a red lens over a headlight pointed backwards for the killer rear ender traffic problem.

pdlamb

For all the people who show up wanting to build a new killer bike accessory, I think we've just identified a niche to be filled: dynamo powered flashing red rear light.

Sci-Fi

I had a Trelock LS 820 that went into blink mode when you stopped pedaling and was slowing down. Problem was the brake light feature came on first and could confuse following traffic about your true intentions.

In any case, I find rear blinking lights, especially the super bright ones, can have a hypnotic or annoying effect unless there is a random mode or varied flashing sequence mode to switch to. But that choice is yours to make. Before I made the switch to dynamo hub lights, I used the inexpensive Chinese lights and put in wide angle/beam cutoff lens for both the front and rear lights (clear and red lens). Neighbors said the steady beam was preferable and made me easier to see and judge my speed and distance to their car/truck.

Tourist in MSN

I just spent a lot of time trying to find the dynamo powered Planet Bike Superflash that you cited, could not find it.

I have several battery powered Superflash lights already, would love to get a dynamo powered one, can you please post a link on it?

fietsbob

I recently found them on back order, Planet bike is the importing distributor of Asian made products,
( I've seen same, selling in UK under a different name)

perhaps it is being produced and maritime container of new batch order, is being filled now.

CliffordK

Are you seeing the superflash as a headlight or a taillight?

https://www.planetbike.com/store/pro...headlight.html

Obviously I'm finding a lot of flashing battery powered lights, but nothing in the generator lights.

CliffordK

I'm not as much worried about distance perception. I think the flashing light draws attention to the cyclist, and the driver can see the cyclist as a whole, flashing or not. Plus I tend to try to use light clothing with reflective elements.

Intensity of flash is something I've wondered about... daylight, dusk, and night. Too much can be bad. Although, cars may slow down more when passing a bright flash. Nonetheless, I don't want to blind anybody driving a big vehicle behind me.

Thinking about bike lights, I wonder if they evolved differently in the USA than in Germany.

Back in the 60's and 70's, perhaps earlier the little tire bottle powered generators ruled. Plus non-rechargeable incandescent lights.

Both the USA and Germany mandated lighting, but Germany went a step further requiring lighting on the bikes at all times, while the USA only required the lights at night... sometimes. And reflectors.

Then in the late 80's, the first LED taillights came on the market. Still non-rechargeable, The flash mode was advertised as a battery saving feature. Leave them on for a week or so and they still flash.

Those flashing battery powered lights were rapidly adopted by American cyclists, and the cyclists liked the flashing modes.

On the other hand, Germany apparently was legislating generator lights, and may well have been late adopting LEDs. Thus, no need to flash. Somewhere I read a comment that a flashing incandescent taillight could potentially cause the headlamp to flicker.

Anyway, so Germany mandated steady lamps via legislation, while the USA generally adopted flashing lights with very little legislation.

fietsbob

In most auto sections and auto parts stores there is red plastic sheet to make a cracked tail light red again

to not get a ticket from the PD for, driving with a broken tail light..

just seemed a cheap fix .. (the PB Dynamo headlights are out of stock, right now, apparently )

A logical solution get the dynamo LED Set; head and tail light then augment it with some battery powered blinking tail lights..


though with a credit line perhaps the folks on Taiwan can jump on making what you wish to find..


...

CliffordK

Yeah,

I have to decide what I want, then may end up mocking something up.

If it was only December, then blinking Christmas bulbs would be plentiful.

Many of the current taillights (and headlamps) seem to be highly unidirectional, when I'd like a pretty full 180° wrap around to the sides (a little less up and down).

The nice thing about a rubber band mount is that I can stick it wherever it makes sense at the time, whereas a fixed mount needs to be good for most of the time.

Tourist in MSN

Superflash has always refered to one of their several different Superflash taillights. Not headlight.

I am beginning to think that Fietsbob used the word Superflash when he meant something else. For a while there I thought I could finally buy a dyno powered flashing taillight, but sounds like it was a false alarm.

fietsbob

pick your own marketing phrase.. the company site: https://www.planetbike.com/

fietsbob

pick your own marketing phrase.. the company site: https://www.planetbike.com/

fietsbob

pick your own marketing phrase.. the company site: https://www.planetbike.com/

by not being German, their stuff has flashing modes verboten in DE.

Tourist in MSN

I should have mentioned this earlier but I forgot, you did not say what kind of hub you are using. Some hubs (SP for one) are not grounded to the frame, but Shimano is grounded to the frame.

And some lights are grounded to the frame, some are not. If you are using a Shimano hub with a light that is grounded to the frame, you likely will find that you have to make sure you do not accidentally get your wires crossed, as there will be a right way and a wrong way to wire the light to the hub. With only two wires, there are two choices and if it works, you got them right. And if the taillight is grounded to the frame, that gives one more opportunity for things to get complicated.

CliffordK

I'll have to look at that. I've decided to try Schmidt SON. I was looking at some of the Shimano hubs some of which are dirt cheap, but have found a SON hub at a price I liked.

I've been fighting with cones too much, and decided to try cartridges.

unterhausen

grounding generally doesn't matter. The BuM Luxos had an alarm if the rear light was not on, which gets messed up if the taillight passes current through the frame. But the were supposed to fix their lights, and that was the only headlight I ever heard of that had that "feature"

noglider 

Tail lights are easy, because they require a lot less power than headlights. Here is my approach.

More is better, right? I have a dynamo powered tail light. Because it requires little power, the standlight keeps the light on for longer than the headlight's standlight. And it keeps the tail light on at full power, whereas the headlight goes to low power as soon as I stop (which is OK).

I also have a battery-powered flashing tail light. I can easily remember to charge it more often than necessary, because I probably only have to charge it once a month. I think I do it twice a month.

The combination of the two tail lights is better than having just one.

I also use a spoke light, because it's a great attention grabber, even at low intensity.

If all of that sounds too complicated, then keep using your battery powered flasher(s) and don't get a dynamo powered tail light. You get the dynamo for the tail light. Finding you don't have as much charge for your headlight as you thought is a major hassle. It doesn't happen to me with my tail light. My dynamo headlight has not failed me once in several years of use. Not once. My tail light has failed two or three times, and the cause was always a wire that had fallen out, and riding without a tail light isn't as scary to me.

Tourist in MSN

Grounding generally is not a problem, but when I installed a B&M headlamp that was grounded to the frame with a Shimano hub that was also grounded to the frame, it did not work. And it took a few hours for me to realize that in this case I had my wires crossed. If this was my first dynohub installation, I would have looked at the paper work and made sure I did it right. But, it was my third dyno powered light setup and the first two were SP hubs which were not grounded to frame, so when I did the third I did not bother to worry about the ground, which cost me a few hours of confusion.