Randonneuring Lights
 

I'm spec'ing my next randonneuring bike, and I'm looking at lighting options. Maybe this group can help.

I've been doing brevets for about ten years, and have run dynohubs from the start. I know LED lighting has improved since my last build, and I want to consider non-dyno options. The purpose is to save drag, weight, and wiring. I'll typically do a 1200k once a year, so my lighting has to work for that distance.

For reference, my current headlight is a B&M IQ-X at 100 lux. I find it adequate. I don't power any electronics with my dyno, just lighting.

I think the two things I like most about running dyno are the ability to use lighting without worry about battery life, and the ability to park the bike and go to sleep at an overnight, not fiddle around with charging like I see other randos doing. An example of the former is the worse-case scenario when an all-day rain happens, when I'll run lighting day and night. More typical is lights-on from dusk to dawn, on the first night of an evening start ride. For the latter case, when there are a hundred randos in a gym with a few outlets, charging can be a zoo.

What I don't like about dyno is fiddling with the wiring (particularly after I've traveled somewhere and have to re-assemble the bike), the vulnerability of wires (I have ripped wires out on a crash), and at least the notion that the drag might be costing me real time on a 1200. I said weight, but it's not really that big a deal.

Basically I want brightness for urban, suburban, and pitch black rural, with rain, long running time, and low fuss-factor. As far as budget, under $300.

Suggestions?

I like these solar lights. I normally have two headlights, so if the battery goes flat on one, I can use the other. Some people may use even more. At the time of writing the original post, they were under $US15. I suggest buy a couple, then let us know what you think.

https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...le-lights.html

I have had the same thoughts. My power is meager, and using a couple watts for lighting adds up over a long ride. I'm not going to switch from dynos though.

For headlights, I have considered Outbound https://www.outboundlighting.com/store/ Considering this to replace my Cygolite expillion that I have as a backup headlight.
There are a couple of taillights that I find interesting but I can't remember them right now. But Cygolite hotshots are pretty amazing and you can easily throw one in the bag for a spare.

Wiring is the reason why I have not brought a dyno powered taillight with me when I traveled with my S&S bike. Instead there are two battery powered taillights on the back, one is mostly for backup purposes although in fog or heavy overcast I will run both. One of my taillights died from corrosion from frequent rain on one of my bike tours, I was glad I had two on the bike.

My wires from the hub to the headlight are permanently zip tied to the fork blade, the SP or Shimano quick connect at one end and 2.8mm spade connectors at the other end of the wires. That short run of wiring is so simple that it is a non-issue, only takes a couple seconds to connect the wires. I do not recall the gauge wire, I think it is 22 gauge. I used two separate wires, twisted together and then zip tied to the fork. That wire is robust enough that it would be hard to break in a crash.

You cited weight as a concern, weight of an SP hub instead of a plain (non-dyno) hub is pretty close to insignificant. I suspect that the weight of battery power for a headlight on a 1200k would weigh more than a SP hub. Thus, dyno powered headlight might be the lightest option.

A backup headlight could be quite light weight and probably would not have to have a very good beam if you have a really reliable dyno powered headlight system.

Bad things can happen. On a cold day I did not take my glove off, when I tried to pull the SP or Shimano connector off the hub, I accidentally pulled the wire out of the connector while the connector stayed attached to the hub because I did not have a good grip with my winter glove. I will be more careful next time. Nothing is totally accident proof.

The notion of a solar-powered headlight is too ridiculous to even consider, for obvious reasons. So let's move past that suggestion.

I think you'll get a weight advantage only for shorter rides which involve only a little darkness, which will allow you to carry one headlight and no backup power. For longer nighttime rides, you'll need a light that takes an external (or otherwise replaceable) battery, and you'll need to carry a spare battery - which is heavy. Or you'll need to carry two headlights, and recharge one (from a power bank) while using the other - which gets heavy. See where this is heading? The dyno setup actually involves little (if any) weight penalty over a system that will work well. And if you go with a good dyno hub (Schmidt is best), you'll give up only a few watts to drag.

Somebody here mentioned a new magnetic dyno light connection -- perhaps it was https://www.dyna-snap.com/ ? Just MHO, it looks like a great way to connect and disconnect the wiring without all the fiddliness of spade lugs.

I do not currently use a dyno hub, but I am planning on building up a bike with one.

I'd look into running a strip of helicopter tape over the wires to protect and retain them. That stuff is robust (it's often used as chainstay protector), would leave no more stray wire exposed than necessary, and would make for a clean-looking install.

K-lite sells a dyno headlight and an inline switch so you're not putting a load on your dyno hub when you don't want to. I've been following Igaro, which currently sells a dyno-USB converter and is working on a headlight that also has USB-out; when that is released, you'll be able to control the light's parameters via an app.

Almost all dyno powered headlamps have a light switch built in. No need for a second switch. The rare exception is that some lights were built for use with a sidewall tire driven dynamo without a switch but they are quite hard to find.

If you wire a USB charger in parallel with your lights, when you turn on the lights almost all power goes to the lights. Turn off the lights and all power is available to the USB charger. If you are not chaging anything with the USB charger and your lights are off, there is very little drag on the hub. The exception is that some USB chargers have a pass through cache battery, with those you could have some hub drag if your hub is charging up that internal battery.

One possible solution is to use two solutions for your headlight. Use a dynamo and a good headlight. And get a battery-powered light. A lot of the USB-charged headlights can run while plugged into power. Check before buying. Get an external battery or maybe a few. They are lightweight. My favorite battery is the Anker Astro E1. I used to use bigger, heavier ones with larger theoretical capacities but the E1 is quicker to charge and seems to give more watt-hours per gram. I have occasionally carried two with me. You might want to carry three or four.

Even if you decide you don't want a dynamo, my recommended method for using batteries could help. And you may not need to charge anything on a 1200k.

Tail lights are easier to get right since they use so much less power.

If weight is a concern: Velogical rim dynamos (works in wet and slippery conditions as well), 75 grams. Still wiring required, but very short wiring. Also the new SP dynamos (9 series) have in the best case 300 grams.
The mentioned magnetic connectors are not needed, Schmidt/SON offers a cables with coaxial plugs

Otherwise the mentioned Outbound lighting is good, i also recommend the B&M Ixon Space, with can be charged while in use (via USB). The Space has a bit narrower light field than the Outbound lighting (basically the same as the IQ-X, just with more power), but is better suited for seeing things in the distance. The Pedalcell system might be interesting, can be switched off and used as backup power source if one runs out of battery.

I forgot about the Ixon Space. Wish it wasn't so expensive.

In a pinch you can charge some lights while running them, via a USB battery pack. My low end helmet light can recharge and run simultaneously in high, low and flashing modes, and isn't picky about USB cord or battery. The Light & Motion Rando 500 can charge and run but only in low power and only with their proprietary USB cable.

Check with other light manufacturers to see whether their models can run and charge simultaneously. The main drawback will be compromised weather resistance with the USB port exposed (even with the USB cable plugged in), and securely mounting a USB battery, which can be bulky and heavy if it needs to last an entire day and night.

Ditto, taillights -- some can charge and run simultaneously, some can't.

For some all day/night casual group rides I've duct-taped one or more USB batteries to my top tube, stem or handlebar with cords running to the headlights. Not elegant but it works.

I use battery lights to finish a 200 or 300 in the dark now and then on my CX bike, love the fat tyre options and lower gearing over my regular dyno/IQ-X equiped bike. The light is a Gloworm alpha. I really find fussing with light modes and worrying about battery levels is a complete PITA. Would drive me nuts on a through the night ride.

I forgot the Lumintop B01, pretty reasonable price (~35 USD) at aliexpress/banggood, runs with 18650 or 21700 cells. 450 lm max constant output, light distribution is ok (not perfect when used in non-blinding adjustment, very homogeneous if adjusted a bit higher (blinding others)) see this post

Well, at the moment bike24.com offers it for 93 EUR (plus 20 EUR shipping to the states), which is dirt cheap (MRSP is 170 Euros) although i don't know what the import duty and tax in the US is.

Generally small orders will not have any customs duty when shipped to USA. I have bought several items from Bike24 and other German sellers and never paid duty. One of those orders was my Rohloff, which I expected to have to pay duty on because it was close to a thousand USD, but I got lucky on that.

The only time I had to pay customs duty was on a bike frame that had a bunch of other bike parts in the box, the total value was over a thousand USD and was high enough that it tripped what ever threshold the customs people use.

Sounds like you would enjoy modified B+M lights like Laempie.de offers.
He has several models with switchable flood lights and even ones that use a battery pack to increase the light even more.

• https://www.laempie.de/cyo A modified Cyo Premium with switchable flood light 80/110 Lux
• https://www.laempie.de/mk4 his own design with long-throw, floodlight or even battery-added light.
• https://www.laempie.de/luxos A Luxos with extra LEDs that can go to 130 lux in flood light setting to even 200 lux with an external battery

Other than that I would recommend using SON's coaxial cables and connectors in all the places it makes sense as it will probably just pop open if it snags in a crash.
It also allows for the use of things like:

• junction boxes
• quick release plugs on your dynamo
• Coax plugs
• coax adapter for another quick release hub option

One more quick note on ordering from Europe, a lot of stuff that gets shipped across the Atlantic is transported on passenger aircraft. And if passengers are not flying, a lot of their aircraft are not either.

I ordered something from Europe in March, tracking indicates that it was put in the que to leave Europe on April 8, and it is not here yet, US Post Office says they are still waiting for the shipment. I suspect that some warehouse in Europe is getting fuller every day.

Thanks for the info, everyone. I'm going to stick with dyno for this bike, and reconsider for the next gen. A couple takeaways are breakaway connectors and helicopter tape.

Cheers

I have two randonneuring bikes with dynamo lighting, but my most recently purchased brevet bike uses battery lighting. On the vast majority of brevets I ride, dynamo lighting offers no practical advantage over the AA battery powered lights I use. On every distance up to 600k I don't need to carry any extra batteries so battery lighting is no more hassle than a dynamo. For longer rides, a B&M tail-light will last a whole 1200k on one set of batteries, and I can easily run an Ixon IQ for 3 nights on 3 sets of batteries, so I need to carry 8 extra AA batteries in my bag if the there is no bag-drop. The Ixon Core is a good backup as it uses the same mount as the IQ and also uses AA batteries. My favorite dynamo headlight is still the Edelux II.

Whilst my dynamo lights aren't super bright (B&M) - surely lights powered of a couple of AA batteries can't be very bright can they? E.g. unlit country lanes?

The B&M Ixon IQ Premium puts out 80 lux for 5 hours or 15 lux for 20 hours. The Edelux II puts out 100 lux, so the battery powered light is a little less bright but totally adequate. When I need more than 5 hours of lighting I leave the light on low except for descents and pack an extra set or two of batteries. I've ridden a lot of miles in the dark with 15 lux and it's fine for me. I've ridden GR's with both dynamo and battery lighting and there are pros and cons either way. As I mentioned, I decided not to put dynamo lighting on the bike I got last season having ridden the last several seasons with a dynamo.

So, the Ixon IQ is your recommendation for a AA battery-powered light? Is it bright enough for riding in the country at night?

I use the Ixon IQ Premium with a fork crown mount and a Pure or a Pure B as a backup since they are smaller and use the same mount. You need a backup for the Ixon IQ Premium because the one downside to that light is that they don't last forever and you need something to get you home when they crap out.

Thanks for the rec, kingston . +1 on the backup - always a good idea.

By "crap out," I presume you mean the batteries die, and not the light itself(!)

I mean the light itself. I have had 3 die in the last 8 or 9 years since I got my first one. They have a 5 year warranty so 2 were replaced by the retailer. I could have gotten the third replaced but I was too lazy to send it back to Germany.

Ahh, that is good to know. Hmm.

I don't know if that's normal. Most of my training has been early morning in the dark with those battery powered lights so they get used almost every day rain or shine, and my training bikes don't have fenders. I think it's the water and vibration that eventually kills them. I have the same issue with every headset I've tried except for CK. The Ixon lights aren't all that expensive in the grand scheme of randonneuring expenses, especially compared to dynamo lighting, so I just bought a few spares.

Another tip is to get a bunch of eneloop rechargeables and a smart charger.

I have the Ixon IQ Premium (the battery powered one), and i used it for a long time (it is now unused in a shelf due to the fact that i have more expensive much better lightning toys now, but i am still happy with my (dyno powered) Cyo Premium for city use, which has the same reflector and LED and identical output)
At this time of writing, the beam shape is still nice, but it is woefully underpowered. Also the 80 lux is only available on a small area, the rest of the beam is notabely darker. It is still sufficient though in case of dry, totally unlit roads, if there is no oncoming traffic. Then your eyes can easily adapt to the low light output and you have a nice beam shape. The definitive advantage of that light is: you can really easy swap the AA cells on the road. Here is a nice video of the IQ Premium: youtu.be/WwM7vDvvGhU
The mentioned SON Edelux II uses the same reflector as the IQ Premium, albeit a better LED binning and has better cooling, so runs on a bit higher power.

A newer dyno light like the B&M IQ-X beats the IQ Premium easily, those 100 lx are spread out much wider than the 80 lux from the IQ Premium. On Lux Values see here

Probably B&M never intended them to use with the fork mount with out mudgards/fenders. so i'd say kingstons observations are not representative :).
I agree to get proper eneloop rechargeables to avoid high self discharge of standard NiMH cells.

I guess lighting is a very personal thing. I have ridden a lot of miles at night in the rain with the 30 lux Pure and find that to be totally adequate. I've also ridden all night in the rain with the Ixon IQ on low (15 lux) and thought that was just fine too.

I think under normal conditions, it doesn't take much light to be just fine. Descents under less than perfect conditions are the exception. That, and urban potholes. Unlit country lanes don't require much light at all in my experience.