Dynamos suck for Day Safety.

Where you are, yes. I agree. Can you post a picture of the bike you were riding in post #21 ?

I rode 70 miles with this guy. His lights were barely visible in the bright sun light. It was my first experience seeing a dynamo light in action.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...3July21001.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h.../TxFlag014.jpg

That dynamo light aims all the beam on the road (plus it's not bright at all), so it doesn't have a conical beam shape like your magicshine or chinese flashlights. A dynamo light that has a conical beam and puts out 600 lumen is very bit as bright as your magicshines.

I bought all of my lights for Day Time Safety....Found that they also work so good at night.

Thanks for your comments and education on the dynamos.

For day time safety nothing beats reflectors... Unlikely to find any portable light that exceeds the brightness of the sun.

It looks like he is using a a halogen (pre LED dynamo light) the Lumotec Oval. If you are comparing any LED light to that then yes the dyno light will be found wanting.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=337352

I had no idea that's where L&M was located. As a strong supporter of American and other well-paid laborers, I'm going to have to support them.

Their company/factory is located on Cannery Row, in Monterey, CA.

(Cannery Row is where the Monterey Aquarium is located and it was made famous by Steinbeck's novel of the same name. Sorry if I carry on, but Monterey is one of my favorite CA coastal cities.)

I used the light last night and I was able to ride a little faster because I could actually see where I was going. :D I really like this light, its only drawback is the awkward mounting system.

Light & Motion Urban 550 light

On Sale: http://www.westernbikeworks.com/prod...Fadj7AodRl0AHA

I agree on Monterey, although my favorite place is definitely Carmel by the Sea. Monterey seems more affordable as far as living there is concerned, though.

I'm actually a recent dynamo+LED convert (especially as I ponder a move to Sweden) but the compact size of those along with the brightness makes them attractive as an infrequently used or backup light. I also find myself willing to buy Paul and Phil components, too, in order to support the local folks here in California.

I love Carmel. Before the economy tanked (wiping out some of my investments) I had considered Carmel as a potential retirement spot. Now I will be lucky if I can retire in Seaside. ;)

It's unfortunate dynamo lighting/rando crowds frequent peterwhitecycles.com, peterwhitecycles.com is awful. I could order from peterwhitecycles.com but I boycott peterwhitecycles.com.

Why? I have found them pleasant to deal with.

Sheesh. These discussion sure tend to quickly go down the rabbit hole. It appears to me your point is that nobody should use disposable (or even rechargeable) batteries because they all contribute to the waste stream. That's different than the point I was making. I was responding to the assertion that someone should not choose disposable batteries because many people don't dispose of them properly. That's why you don't think they should. I was specifically making the point that others not disposing of batteries properly does not need to affect someone's decision. They can choose anything they want regardless of what others are doing with their batteries. Let me put it this way: The fact some recycle batteries, some throw them in the trash, and some choose to not use batteries at all does not control what I choose to do.

I'll just point out that dyno lighting isn't free of environmental impact either, though it's likely less than using various types of batteries. There's waste generated when they're manufactured and they'll eventually wind up in the trash or recyclers at some point in the future. And the power is provided by the rider via the food he/she eats, the production and transportation of which has it's own environmental footprint. Granted, it's not a lot. To generate 15 W of output you likely need at least 22 W of input which equates to the rider burning about 80 Cal/hr, along with it's attendant production of CO2.

I don't find discussions about the relative pro's and con's of the different lighting choices to be 'going down a rabbit hole'

I made the assertion that dyno lighting is a more environmentally friendly choice than battery lighting since the former doesn't make use of any consumables. The rest was a spurious assertion that rechargeables are better than disposables, which they are; however, both are ultimately part of the waste stream. And if that is important to someone, then dyno's are the only choice to prevent that.

The point I started with is that neither option is always the best. They both have different pro's and con's. The rest was a simple discussion as to what those pro's and con's were for each along with some coloring as to individual preferences in weig

Most of the posts have usable information. But my original comments are central to anyone starting out in night riding.

1 - plenty of good lights - but none of them do you any good in they are not being used regularly

2 - remember - no matter how good your "bright lights" are - they will not save you from drivers with poor attention

3 - my experience suggests every cyclist should have at least one light that they can "point" directly into the eyes of a threatening motorists - either side lights or a helmet light.....

Here - added - just for kicks

I'm sorry - I just don't understand this comment. A dynamo light, to my knowledge, is nothing more than a light that does not need a battery. Quick searches show plenty of different dynamo lights on the market with different beam patterns. Wouldn't Day Safety just be akin to selecting the appropriate light? From my reading, dynamo lights are able to produce as much lumen as battery operated ones - are they not?

When it comes to dynamos, I think one of my questions to ppl who swear by them is if you feel a difference in the ride having the extra dynamo in the hub, vs a regular wheel. Is the drag, or the extra energy used to power the dynamo something you feel? Obviously, there is some extra energy that is required to power a dynamo vs a battery light, but is it even significant/a factor?

When it comes to Day Safety, how many people actually ride with lights on? There is a bike sharing program here (Bixi) that have dynamo front mounted flashing leds that are always on, but short of them, I don't think I have seen any cyclists in town ride with running daytime lights. Does it really make a difference?

Thanks!

Eric

It depends on the quality of the dynamo. Higher end dynamos like the Alfine, Deore XT, SON, SP Dynamo have drags that are barely noticeable.

I see folks with battery lights flashing during the day, personally, I leave the dynamo light on most of the time, even during the daylight.

maybe this kind of bike light will help you. it is a bike head light at the same time it can worked as a safe light, in other words, both in safety(marker-side)) and for vision.

I ride with at least one light on at all times.

You're responding to something I didn't say.

Really? Sure looks that way to me!

There can be no debate that dyno lighting is more environmentally friendly than battery (any kind of battery) lighting. It's one of the pro's of dyno lighting and one of the con's of battery lighting. Of course, not being a tree hugging, bunny loving type myself it isn't really an important consideration for me, but for those who are concerned about such things it is a factor that should be considered when choosing between the two light choices.

I've listened to the pros and cons between both battery and dynamo set-ups till the cows came home and nothing I've read so far can really convince me that one is particularly better than the other.

As I see it someone that prefers a dynamo is usually concerned about having unlimited run time. To me this is it's biggest advantage. However if you typically ride at night no more than three hours a battery set-up is probably the easiest/least expensive way to go.

I've been riding with battery lighting for a good number of years now. When LED/Li-ion set-ups came out I was over-joyed. They are small, light weight and in most cases attach to a bike in less than a couple minutes. I now just leave the lamp head on the bike most of the time unless I plan to leave the bike outdoors unattended for more than a couple minutes.

I've never tried Dynamo lighting. Not because I don't like them but because I'm not convinced that I would be satisfied with the beam pattern/ output level. The lights I use now cost me very little and meet most of my expectations. If I went through the trouble of having a wheel built with a dynamo hub I doubt that I would be able to return the wheel/hub if I ended up not liking the resultant set-up. Dynamo lamp heads are another issue. There are many to choose from and I'm picky about having a lamp that provides a beam pattern that covers the WHOLE road ( from directly in front of the bike to a good distance in front of the bike ). I don't like "dead zones" in the beam pattern.

All that said, I think I'm relatively intelligent enough to find a dynamo system that would work for me but it would involve a lot of shopping around on-line and reading a lot of reviews. If I ever decide to do a road endurance event where I spend more than six hours riding at night than I would prefer a dynamo. Since I'm not into such events I'll likely continue using battery lights because they are less expensive and also work very well. With a good two cell I can even get over 2 hrs run time if I watch how much I use the high beam. Since I ride with lower output levels most of the time anyway this is really not a problem for me.