steve0257

I'm currently running a B&M Lyt in my dynamo setup and am planning to get a brighter light. I'm looking at the B&M IQ Cyo and the Philips Saferider for dynamo, both rated at 60 Lux.

So far I have found two sights that compared them. One said the B&M was a piece of garbage and the Philips was very good light, while the other sight was the exact opposite. What I ride are streets with lamps at the intersections, unlit MUPs, and occasionally rural blacktop and gravel. Also, I am a slow rider, usually under 15mph.

I've been happy with the Lyt and assume that the IQ Cyo is going to be pretty much the same beam pattern with more light illuminating a slightly larger area. What I am looking for is feedback from people who have used either, or better yet both of them, about what they did or did not like about them.

Thanks

PaulRivers

Make sure you're actually looking at the review for the dynamo version of the Phillips. There's 2 versions, and if I remember right the battery version is the one that got the glowing review, the dynamo got less-stellar reviews.

unterhausen

the pattern for the Cyo is much nicer than the Lyt and the Cyo puts out much more light.

znomit

The only bad review I've seen on the Cyo is from someone who sells the Phillips.

ijsbrand

I have two Cyos [a 40 Lux & a 60 Lux one] and the Philips Saferide 60 Lux hub dynamo driven light on my bikes. All three are very comparable. None have given me any trouble. Worst thing I can say about any of them is that the Philips can be difficult to mount -- it has to fit on the fork crown, and even then it doesn't always fit because of the size of the headset already there.

The light beam of the Philips is the widest of the three -- which is especially nice when you ride on a lot on narrow roads, or roads surrounded by trees.

To my mind, so fully subjectively, the 60 Lux Cyo is the one with the most light though. It has been the only light as well that made cars slow down when they came towards me. Though this could indicate as well the light beam easily could become bothersome for other traffic. Just a slight upward tilt makes it blinding.

PlanoFuji

I don't have any experience with the Philips lights; however, the B&M lights come in two versions. One is designed for slower riders and puts more of its light closer to the bike while the other is for faster riders and puts most of its light at a distance with very little up close. From your post I would guess you would want to make sure you get the former.

Or if you really want to splurge, the new Luxos U has a speed sensor that adjusts its light pattern for the speed your riding.

Bluechip

I've got the Luxos U and really like it. The beam pattern is very good. Nice and wide. Not as bright as the newer battery lights but still bright enough. If you don't want a USB charger the Luxos B is the same light for less money.

PlanoFuji

The Luxos B is not quite the same light. In addition to not having the USB charger it doesn't have the ability to adjust its light pattern based upon speed.

steve0257

I finally decided to order the IQ Cyo. I like the Luxos, but they are a little out of my price range.

PaulRivers

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlanoFuji

The Luxos B is not quite the same light. In addition to not having the USB charger it doesn't have the ability to adjust its light pattern based upon speed.

Peter White's page -
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m-hl.asp

Just mentions that the "B" version doesn't have "Panorama light at close range".

This is what the beam page says -
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

"By the way, this is the same beam that the Luxos B has....And here is the Luxos U beam at low speed. It reduces the power to the primary LED and sends it to two other LEDs which project light close to the bike and to each side. This happens automatically, and gradually. In other words, there isn't a speed above which the distance beam is on, and just below that the near beam switches on. Oh no. At about 15kph, as you go slower, the distant beam gradually dims, while the near beam gradually increases. It's a very smooth transition as your speed changes.So at low speed, where other headlights are still trying to illuminate the road at a distance (where, at 8 mph, do you care?) the Luxos U is using all of the available power of the more slowly turning hub dynamo to illuminate the road up close, where it matters at low speeds.
The less expensive Luxos B does not have this feature."

I can't decide if this is really worth money or not...it's cool, but not amazingly cool...

PlanoFuji

Yeh, I agree it is cool. I ended up buying the Luxos B for my recent rebuild of my winter/errand bike mostly because I didn't want to wait the three months that backordering was calling for at the time. The light level is amazing, even at speeds as low a 4-5 mph (plenty up close) and at speeds over 10 mph the distance brightness is great. Since as speed increases the power output of the generator increases, all dyno lights, get brighter as the bike goes faster--but changing the relative brightness of different LEDS is one of those ideas that makes you wonder why it took so long to occur to someone.

That said, I have every intention of installing a Luxos U on the touring bike I am building--though mostly because I was the USB power port to allow me to power my GPS device without relying on batteries whenever the bike is moving.

fietsbob

I'd research that, more , Im not sure that is sufficient power to run the GPS thing , continuously,
rather than recharge the battery over hours of riding, to allow a short burst of GPS use off that battery.

PlanoFuji

I have. I had modified a car cable that was designed to use the 12V source to provide power to the device when running in the car. I determined it was dropping the 12v source to a regulated 5V source (per USB specs) and that the current draw was well below the 500ma a dyno hub can supply.

Just to note, I use a Garmin Oregon 450 for my bicycle (and for other purposes) gps. Can't speak to other models. That particular model is able to operate for up to 12 hours off of two alkaline batteries (I use rechargeable), so the current draw is VERY low.

My back-up in case of failure/loss is my android phone, which I have also determined to be well within the power source requirements of the Luxos U USB port.

fietsbob

Perhaps just an old guy, past the age that the advertizing of all this stuff is targeting, you youngsters

.. rode my bike all over Europe with paper maps , had no problems.

even got a map of Poland while underway on the Baltic ferry, from Copenhagen.. from a fellow passenger.

they accumulated to be a nice souvenir of the trips.

PlanoFuji

I doubt you are much older than I am. But I like technology. Built my first home computer in the late sixties based upon some ideas I encountered in Scientific American's Amateur Science column.

Bluechip

I've got the Luxos U and have never really noticed the difference in the beam patter at low speeds. It just gets dimmer. It may be too subtle of a change for me to notice. The only thing I notice is it gets significantly dimmer around 3-5 mph, which is not a problem for me.

I got my Luxos U from a German distributor for quite a bit less than Peter White. I think it came out to be about the same price as he was selling the Luxos B.

unterhausen

I have seen some reports that the luxos u will power a Garmin Edge 800 for 24 hours if you don't use full backlighting. The only person I have seen complain about it insisted on 100% backlight 100% of the time, and even then it apparently almost worked. It seems to prioritize the usb over the taillight, which shouldn't be a problem most of the time. I suppose if you are on a steep 20 mile climb in the middle of the night it might be best to unplug the gps