Union BB Mount Generator
 

Can anyone comment on this generator?

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30...ils&sku=LT7451

I'm starting to enjoy night riding (few cars at 3am, lol) and am looking for a cheaper solution than the Shimano dynamo hub for my bike at the moment. Also, I don't want to invest in a rechargable LED setup yet. I've been using a "be seen" light which is a Cateye that takes 2 AAs and puts out 50 candlepower.

Would it be possible to wire the Union generator to 2 headlamps? I've got a good LED strobe light for the rear, so I probably wouldn't use the Union one. How fast does this generator wear the tire? Could 2 of these lamps mounted low on the fork be decent setup?

Any comments are appreciated.

I used a Sanyo bottom bracket generator for years, starting in the late 70's. At the time it was IMHO the best generator out there--other bottle generators were total junk. The drag is minimal, and after trying a gazillion pre-halogen light bulbs to find a good one, pretty bright. The light shown in the picture *looks* like a B&M, but it could be a knockoff.

The biggest problem you'll have with it is in the rain or snow. When the face of the tire is wet, the roller simply slides and your lights go out when you need them the most--the dark and rainy night. And water pouring down the rear fender makes sure it gets wet! Sometimes mud gets caked on the roller, too, making it bounce out of the "on the tire mode", but once you get the hang of working the engage lever it's a snap to put it back in place. I would once in a great while lose connection to ground and the light wouldn't work, but I solved that by running two wires and grounding the lights back to the generator mount itself.

Because the face of the roller has to be darned close to the face of the tire--like 1/4"--any time you have to remove the rear wheel you have to move the generator out of the way. That wouldn't be so bad now that I run Schwalbe Marathon Pluses, but I was still using the BB generator in the month I had 9 flats in 2 weeks and that makes fixing a flat an even bigger PITA.

You'll want to wrap some handlebar tape around the chainstays where it mounts to keep the generator from slipping sideways and you've got to crank the mount down pretty tight even with the tape.

I switched to the Shimano dynohub and an IQ Fly/DT Toplight led a year ago and I won't look back--and I have *no problem* looking forward :-)

Jeff

You can get a shimano hub for not much more than that. I bought shimano hub with salsa 700c rims for $110.

Thanks for the replies everyone. I found some more pictures of the generator, and it doesn't look like it will fit on my frame after all. :(

Biologic Joule Hub Dynamo and Hella Micro FF Halogen Light Set


Price: US$40.00
http://www.speedmatrixdepot.com/cata...products_id=46

Unfortunately shipping is $52 to the states.