almost all Cygolyte headlights now have a shaped beam. they do it with a fresnel lens. I keep forgetting about the shaped beam. There was one time I was on a road with a lot of short, steep dips, and I turned on the Cygolyte (it's my backup) so I could see better at the bottom of the dips. It didn't' do any better at illuminating them than my B&M.

I'm starting to research dynamos, because this is what I would love to have. I'd love to hear what you have, or if you would prefer to have something else since you got yours!

I don't remember which model I have, but better ones have been made since I got it. Any dynamo hub will do, really. Put the most of your money into the headlight, because that's what counts. You can also power a steady taillight with a dynamo, and I do, but a flashing taillight is a good thing, so I use both the steady taillight and a battery-powered taillight.

You can get a 700c wheel with a dynamo hub for as little as $100 at IDC, which is unbeatable. Or you can take a hub and build it into a wheel. I build my own wheels, but not everyone can.

Not bad, I have 700x32 wheels now... I can't build my own wheels, so probably paying someone to build a hub into my existing wheel will be cost prohibitive.

Don't assume that. The labor is $50, and if you don't want to pay that, we here can walk you through building your first wheel. We do that a lot here, and I've taught many people to build wheels. It's not beyond you, and it's very satisfying. There are youtube videos that walk you through it, too.

Do I only need the back wheel for a dynamo? Or do I also need a front?

No, those wheelsets have dynamos in the front hubs. That's the normal place for a hub dynamo, though a few weird ones have been built into rear hubs. So normally, you need a dynamo hub that goes into a front wheel, plus any rear wheel will do, as usual. Then you get a headlight and, optionally, a taillight. Then you wire them all together using the wires that come with the lights. Roll the bike, and the lights come on. The lights build up a charge in each of them, with a capacitor. When you stop rolling, the lights stay on for a few minutes, though the headlight is reduced.

The drag that the hub introduces is negligible. I don't feel it. If you calculate it, you might argue that I get to my destination 1% slower, but that doesn't matter.

Ah, ok.. That is why the IDC wheels are out of stock for front wheels, and only have the back ones :(

Well, that stinks. There are dynamo hubs available from other companies, though. You can email me if you want specific help.

Speaking of dynamos, I came across this interesting light, that uses magnets (how do they work!?) instead of a dynamo: https://www.magniclight.com/

I'm going to guess that they don't get very bright, but might be ok for the rear, but super cool concept, you don't need a special dynamo to use it.

I think I read about them. Either it's vaporware (not ready yet) or it's more expensive than a regular dynamo. In other words, it may be promising, but I determined that regular dynamo front hubs are still the best value. My first dynamo system, on a bike I no longer have, cost only $160, including both lights and the hub. It was as reliable as a rock.

Ok, now that I've spent my fourth day in a row obsessing over bike lights... I'm starting to think that I want a B&M Cyo Premium, which I can get when I'm in europe in July for around 55$ USD. Until then I'll use my cheap lamp...Now I just need to sort out the actual dynamo part!

I would probably aim a little higher and get an IQ-X. The German online shops have really good prices on SP dynohubs, not sure about SON dynohubs. I don't know about brick and mortar shops there. Of course, you have to do a little work to get your VAT back.

that seems like a good price not sure I need another light but man for that price it might be worth having on hand.

The reason why I decided against the IQ-X was because I read people saying they had both the Cyo (note: Premium 80 version, its an upgraded version to the older model) and the IQ-X and couldn't really notice a difference. The IQ-X feels more like a direct challenge to Edelux lights. It does have a higher light output, but the beam is very narrow. It also seems to have a pretty weak standlight (its only powered by a capacitor). It does look like a higher quality anodized steel casing, which would last longer.

So the beam is really narrow, from what I've ready... there is a narrow degree arc in the front, and other than that, everything is totally dark, it seems a bit *too* focused. But maybe that shouldn't be a problem?

The switch appears to be electrical, instead of mechanical, which means if the light has no power, you can't use the switch.... Lets say you turn the light off, and stop... you can't turn it back on again without spinning the wheel to feed it power. That seems a little annoying. Not to mention the switch light glows on the back, constantly. Sure its dimmer at night, but do I really need a blue circle in my peripheral vision at all times (people do say its not annoying and they don't notice it, but still... I turn on lights for a reason)?

Finally, the standlight probably would mean I'd need a battery light to supplement it in my urban riding, which kind of defeats the purpose of the dynamo. I think the Edelux 2 would be a better version of the same... but it costs a lot more.

The IQ2 maybe is a better compromise, it has better side visibility, and a much more powerful standlight... I don't want/need the remote and usb charger though, so if I don't need those, why pay more for this light, when I can get a cheaper Cyo Premium, which has upgraded goodies?

Yeah, the problem is that I probably cannot return to Canada with a dynohub, without paying a lot of import duty, which will probably make the whole thing not worth it.

I think you'll be happy with the Cyo Premium. Not everyone descends mountains at speed in the dark, which is where I would pick the IQ-X

If you never ride with someone else, then maybe you would not be able to tell the difference. I have both of these lights, and I think the IQ-X is obviously superior. I have been somewhat disappointed with my Cyo Premium. Don't have any idea if I would be satisfied with the IQ-X under the same conditions. I agree about the standlight though. I think it's probably adequate, doesn't have to be that bright. As far as the switches go, I never turn my lights off. I wish the version with no switch had the same light output.

I feel they could make the beam wider on all of their lights, but I don't know of a company that does a better job of that. The only B&M I have been happy with as far as beam width goes is the Luxos U on high beam, but I wouldn't recommend those because they totally botched the weather proofing.

I think the standlight is probably adequate for stopping at a stoplight or stop sign. I usually have a battery powered helmet light in an urban setting.

Having said all that, last Saturday I rode 180 miles with my Cyo Premium. I was never particularly unhappy about the light I got.

The Edelux II has the same optics as the Cyo Premium. Supposed to have less output than a IQ-X, but when I ride with the friend that has one I can't tell the difference between our lights.

I suspect the beam width isn't a deal breaker, but I don't want to say one model is much better than another. I suspect the status LED won't bother you, either. Dynamo lights generally don't put out a ton of light, so as [MENTION=136384]unterhausen[/MENTION] says, you won't be flying down mountains. I can't really go faster than 15 or 20 mph with my B&M light, and that's a small price to pay. The shaped beam is great for me. The Luxos U has given some people problems, so it's good you're not considering that one.

I buy my B&M lights from xxcycle.com in France. They ship fast enough, and their prices are good. They seem to have every conceivable model, so shop carefully. I was careful to get a light WITHOUT the ambient light sensor because I want full power in the day.

I've used a Sanyo dynamo hub, the cheapest and worst-rated one, and it was perfectly fine for me. I now use a Velo Orange, now out of production, and I think it was made by SunXCD. I'm sure all the Shimano hubs are good. If you want to spend more, you'll get an even better hub, but honestly, the crappiest one was totally good for me. It just vibrates a bit at 20 mph.

There is an outbound thread on MTBR that may intetest you. The company owner seems honest. The lighting is supposed to be excellent.

What I don't like about them is no replaceable batteries. My lights have 18650 batteries and I could take spares with me. And once the battery wears out, I don't have to replace the whole light.

If it is worth to you, YOU have to decide.

I myself use a $30 flashlight on handlebar. Has over 1000 lumens. And a $60 headlamp with over 1000 lumens on my helmet. That gives me good far and near lighting, some redundancy and also replaceable batteries.

YMMV

Keep in mind that cutoff beam lights can't be run upside down.

Unless the manufacturer makes some kind of light specific mount, they can't be used underneath a GPS on an out-front style GoPro mount.


-Tim-

can you give link to cygolite deal?

I have never felt the need to turn off my IQ-X, it's really only an issue if you have a 'bent and can't reach the light.
The IQ-X can rotate 180° in the housing so it can be mounted upside down.

I have a Cyo premium on my training bike, it's a good light but the IQ-X is much wider and a little brighter.
A mate has an Edelux, he insists I go first so we can see better.

+1
I've got the Cygolite Hotshot Pro 200 .... amazing light with very long battery life. Extremely bright but you can set the brightness. Also very good for daytime cycling

If you don't have a Dynamo setup, the Cygolite front lights are amazing .... I like this one:

Expilion 850 USB https://cygolite.com/product/expilion-850-usb/

you can buy additional USB 'battery sticks' if you are planning on going on a long tour

Oh... I bought the 100, because I got the impression the 150-200 were too bright and annoying for people. I didn't realize you could adjust the brightness, or I would have got the 200 because they are essentially the same price.

Outbound just launched a new self-contained helmet light, its pretty nice. If I was in the market for a helmet light, I'd get it: https://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night...n-1103700.html

I can't seem to find dynamo hubs that are already built into wheels. Maybe its a Canada thing, but I can find the wheel, and I can find the dynamo, but never together. That means I'd have to have the wheel built, which is going to run me an additional $150 or so. Yes, I could build it myself, but I'm not ready to dive into that right now.

How does the mount attach to the helmet?

It looks like it uses sticky tape.

How is it an additional $150? Here in the States, the labor charge to build a wheel is around $50 US. If you have a bike coop, you might be able to do it for free. We offer lessons at my coop, for a voluntary contribution.

Rantoie, my first post here, i just want to give an hopefully helpful answer to your question as a user of IQ cyo premium, Outbound Road (and Lupine SL-F).

My city bike has a dyno with the IQ Cyo Premium. I thought about buying the iq-x, but decided the cyo premium is enough for the city and the iq-x was not worth the higher price. Haven't regretted that yet.
The cyo premium works perfectly as city light, as you always have background illumination to cover higher reach. In really dark spots it is also fine to detect potholes etc. However it has a not enough luminous flux/output to see much of your own beam pattern when encountering oncoming cars. Here are bike paths along roads on the "wrong" side and roughly 50 cm lower than the street level, so car headlights then tend to blind a lot. In this case the Cyo premium is hopeless. So that is why i bought a Lupine SL-F and (only out of curiousity) the OL Focal Road. With these lamps you can see your own beam with oncoming cars and you do not drive into a "black hole" after the car has passed and your eyes adapt back to the darker environment. One big advantage of the OL Road and the Lupine SL-F in the city is the fact that oncoming car drivers tend to respect your much more, as they probably perceive me as a motorcycle.

As you wrote you'll be in europe, I'd throw in the bm ixon space, which you can get in (german) online shops for 150-170 EUR. It has a clear cut-off, integrated battery and a nice output (7.5W, measured 500 lm, probably 200-300 lm more than the dyno IQ-X version with 2.4W). I compared the OL Road with the SL-F and the Ixon space in a german forum. in the mtbr forum (lights and night riding; thread: outbound focal series discussion) is a post of mine (post 748, can't post a link, as i am too new), where i link to the german post and translate the most important text of the test description.

The new hangover does not seem to be made for city riding, no cut off

tl;dr: OL Road not needed in a city, (very) nice to have, gives you more respect from motorist however

So , where did you look?
 

wholesalers to bike shops build wheels with parts at wholesale & ship to your LBS, who sell it to you..

typically hub is shimano, maker of several dynamo hub models..







....

No one in this or the MTBR thread wants to address how the Outbound Hangover mount attaches to the helmet.

I've asked a second time in the MTBR thread.

The photo on the website looks like it attaches with tape.


-Tim-