carhea

Been reading forums for a long time learning all I can. Came across this on amazon and wondered if anyone had ever tried it?
https://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Chain-...I166YHX77G0BJ3
Did a search and got no results and was wondering how good it might work?

tdister

The first thing that comes to mind is that, unless on a fixed gear or if you always pedal down hill, you are losing the freewheeling charging time provided by a wheel/tire based dynamo.

No telling if their claims are accurate until someone wants to test one. The speed/output claims don't make a lot of sense, even beyond the kg/hr. It's about chain speed on this device, not bike speed.

Probably perfect for a few people but I doubt they will put much of a dent in more traditional dynamos.

njkayaker

There is that.

But it's almost-always going to be used to charge a battery. So, it really might not matter that it's only charging when the chain is moving.

The advantage of the chain charger over a hub/tire dynamo is cost (presumably), installation (possibly), and wiring options (for a front-wheel dynamo).

A (possible) disadvantage of the chain charger is reliability (it doesn't appear very robust).