I really have my heart set on the Schmidt Edelux II, but damn, is it ever going to cost. I priced out the headlight at about $200, the taillight at $40, and the Son28 hub at $350. Add shipping and the weaker Canadian dollar, and I'm looking at $800 or so. Maybe I'll just get some duct tape and a flashlight.

It's the hub that really hurts. I hope I can find a decent 6v hub for a bit less.

Edit: Ok, I did some more research, took a deep breath, and got over the shock. It turns out I can get 6v sidewall dynamo for $60, the B&M Lumotec Eyc for $80, and the same taillight at $40. Not so bad. I think I'll pass on the BMW of lighting and settle for the VW. Still pretty good.

I have an Edelux and a son hub, and it has been great. 100% reliable. I'm not crazy about the dynamo tail lights. For one it is a lot of wiring and you can get blinkers cheap and the batteries last a long time. I like running 2 of the $30 blinkies. I just this weekend got an Edelux II and am interested to try it out tomorrow morning. (Would sell the old Edelux for $100 if you are interested)

People really like the Spanninga Pixeo tail light. I like having a light I don't have to worry about being on the bike

A shimano or Shutter Precision hub dyno can be had for $130 or less, just be careful not to get the 1.5w Shimano hubs. Sanyo hubs can be had for <$50, they are perfectly fine.

Nothing wrong with SP hubs, or Shimano dynamos hubs, I used to have a SON, but went to SP when I changed my fork to disc brakes, really can't tell the difference, Shimano are just the same for power output, but do weigh more.

For lights, have been using an original version of the Edelux for several years now, but if changing there are options from B&M and AXA which are a lot less, put out the same or very similar light and have USB connectors built in.

NB There are a Range of features on various (14) Eyc Headlights .. 15, 25, 30 Lux standlight and so forth Busch & Müller: LUMOTEC Lyt

MHO, the sidewall dynamo is the Yugo. A VW/Civic approach would involve a Shimano or perhaps SP hub; it may still approach $350-400, but it's a beautiful solution that'll probably last you a very long time with no problems.

I've recently bought a whole lot of antique sidewall dynamos on ebay and hooked them up to modern LED lights. It's a decent balance between cost and effectiveness. The lights work absolutely perfectly. The drag is greater than with a dynamo hub, but I saved a ton of money. They also make a lot of noise, but I only run them when I need to. Plus, these dynamos weigh less than dynamo hubs, and installation was quicker and cheaper. So you don't even have to spend $60 on the dynamo if you don't want to!

I agree that battery tail lights are pretty fantastic and therefore you don't need a dynamo-powered tail light, but it sure is nice to have one. My Bianchi Volpe has a dynamo hub and dynamo-powered headlight and tail light. I just jump on the bike and go, without attaching anything or thinking about battery charge. It really didn't take long to wire up the tail light, and it was an investment that paid off. I sometimes supplement the tail light with a battery-powered blinky. I very rarely supplement the headlight. I let the lights run day and night on this bike, because the perceived cost (imperceptible drag) is so low.

[MENTION=361068]El Cid[/MENTION], here is my full dynamo setup, which cost me $160. It's a complete system that serves me extremely well. I didn't factor in cost of building the wheel, which most people will need to do, but as it happens, I'm handy at building bicycle wheels.

My dynamo setup cost me $275, including shipping. It consists of a Shimano 3N72 hub, spokes, nipples, an XM317 rim brake rim, tape, the spoke wrench, and a B&M Cyo Premium light. It puts out an incredible amount of light. I also didn't go with a dynamo taillight, but I have a MagnicLight on order for that, if he ever actually ships them. I built the wheel myself, and then bought a tensionometer and rebuilt it when I found it wasn't nearly as tight as I thought. It is pretty satisfying to build your own wheels. I also built a back wheel to match but that isn't included in the stated cost.

I would call this setup mid-range, between the Schmidt/Edelux and a bottle dynamo/discount light combos. You can't go wrong with this setup.

You can get a sidewall dynamo for a lot less money, but you lose many of the benefits of the hub - you need to buy a tire with a dynamo strip (I think), it's not as 100% reliable in bad weather, the sidewall dynamo definitely has more drag on your bike than the hub version, and it's less theft resistant - it's just sitting on the waterbottle cage on your bike.

I'd personally rather get the cheaper Sanyo h27 hub than a sidewall dynamo. It's $60 I think? It's main drawback seems to be slightly lower quality on things like vibration while riding, and if you turn it "off" the resistance doesn't go down. But it's still better than the sidewall version.

The Shimano version of the hub is somewhat higher quality, it's main advantage is that the resistance does go down when you turn it off. Though like I said, it's not a huge difference, people can't feel the resistance if it's on. Either way it's more efficient than the sidewall version. It's 50% the cost of the Son hub the last time I checked, and this is what I went with.

Rumor has it the premium dynamo hub right now is the Shutter Precision hub, not the Son hub. I think it's more expensive than the Shimano hub, but cheaper than the Son.

I personally wouldn't settle for the eyc. You can get the Cyo Premium for a little more than the Eyc, and it has a much wider and in my opinion much nicer beam pattern. The Cyo Premium is $100 vs $190 for the Schmidt Edelux II, it's more the VW choice of lighting. I'd say the Eyc is more the Honda Fit version.

Personally, the B&M Toplight ($37) is what I wished I had gotten for a tail light. You can get cheaper dynamo tail lights - the Toplight Flat S Plus $25. And I know there are cheaper ones. But the Topline Plus is the only dynamo rear light that I've seen on the road and has been as visible to me as the blinking battery tail lights are.

I think that your original setup is the BMW of lighting. I think you could get Sanyo dymamo hub, the Cyo Premium, and the Topline Plus and still get the VW of lighting. I think the setup you mentioned is more going to the Honda Fit of lighting. I like the Honda Fit ok, in a pinch, but for a little more can you get a much more comfortable vehicle.

Well I have to say, this is pretty much the advice I was looking for. I had some trouble learning enough about dynamo lighting myself, and having everyone chime in with what lighting setup they like and why did the trick.

So I'll steer clear of sidewall dynamos and get a dynamo hub -- I see that the Shimano hub is just $100 and the specs are almost as attractive as the son hub. More importantly, it'll power the 6-volt german lights I'm after.

Now I looked at various taillights, and I settled on the only one I could find that said it was made to attach to a seatpost. It seems like almost every taillight out there is made to fit either on a fender or rear rack. Still, the B&M Secula doesn't seem like a bad choice to me. I might keep my led blinker as a backup, but I want to get away from relying on battery power.

I still really want that Edelux II, but if I go with a Shimano hub, I can get my budget down to about $400. Not so bad after all.

Great. :-) I'm pretty sure forum users here have used the Sanyo hub with the 6 volt german lights just fine, but the Shimano hub is great as well, and that's what I chose.

On another topic - your bike with a dynamo hub doesn't have a rack???

Lol...but seriously, have you considered adding a rack? I don't mean a whole panniers setup, but dang, I have a full carbon bike that it used to be impossible to find a rack for (there are more racks available now that are designed for that) and it been a real pain. Might rain and need to carry light rain gear? Good luck. Biking into the sunset, where the temp drops, and need to carry a bike jacket? Yeah, good luck again. Ditto with having a destination where you want to sit for a minute and need a jacket. That doesn't even get into wanting to be able to put shoes on at your destination, I'm just talking about "strictly for riding" kind of stuff. I'm either putting a rack on my current bike or buying a new bike by next year (the new bike is for other non-rack reasons). But either way I'm not dealing with not having any sort of rack again.

I'm torn about what to say about the rear light. The topline is designed to be put on a rack, and it's not a small light. One very unfortunate part of dynamo rear lights is that for some annoying reason, no one offers a blinking dynamo rear light. (There's a long reason involving german lighting standards, and the lack of good dynamo lighting from american companies, but I don't feel like getting into it). I prefer a rear blinking dynamo light, and I find that the topline is the one non-blinking light that was still very visible, so I guess I don't have a strong opinion either way.

Nothing wrong with running 2 rear lights, that's what I do with all my on-road bikes that have battery powered rear lights.

Here's a review on the Secula -
Taillamp: Busch & Müller Secula, fender mounted

Lol, I'm very torn on whether it's worth it or not. On the one hand, 90% more cost for 10% more light and metal housing? Pass. I've owned a Cyo for years, and it's worked fine. I actually prefer the look of the Cyo to the look of the Edelux.

But then I was reading that the Edelux uses a higher quality led that has better color temperature and more accurate color output. And then I got the Ixon Iq Premium, the battery version of the Cyo Premium, and they use an led that puts out more purplish light than the previous Cyo (the Cyo and Cyo Premium are 2 different lights). And I start to wonder if the bump in cost might be worth it...

With the Sanyo hub, when I turn the light off, friction does go down. It probably just doesn't go down as much as with other hubs. But it's moot, since I cannot feel the friction when I'm on the road.

I have a Spanninga Pixeo tail light on one of my dynamo bikes. Consider that as a possibility. It has many mounting options. I got it from an eBay business for about $25.

You can get complete front wheels with dynamo hub for as little as $100 now, which you should consider strongly! I call that a good value.

I bet those $100 wheels with dynamo hubs aren't going to be 50mm Rabbit Hole rims.

I bought my Shimano 3N72 hub for $79 on eBay, brand new in box. The 3N80 is more money and weighs slightly less. For the light, the Cyo Premium T senso plus that Harris Cyclery and Peter White carry is now $121, not the $110 that I paid, plus shipping.

If Dirk Strothman of Magnic Light ever gets his act together and starts shipping the MagnicLight, I'd recommend it for the rear. The latest version of this light has a flash mode which can be turned on for the non-German market. It is self-powered and not dynamo hub driven. It runs off the eddy current generated by the internal magnets of the light in the rim, and the magnets then spin in reaction to the current, and power the light. It is all self contained, frictionless as it never touches anything, and just pretty cool. There are no spoke magnets or any other attachments. I had the earlier version until I lost it when the mounting bolt loosened. It really does work and is very bright. In the meantime I'm using a PB Super Flash, like half the rest of NYC.

True. But in that case you're looking at an extremely niche product.

It's just a generic, box section, double-walled, slightly wide aluminum rim with machined sidewalls. I've been using one happily for about a year. I'm happy to have it. I do think, though, that the Ssnyo is probably the ugliest of all the dynamo hubs...



I also have a cheaper wheel that I bought here in Sweden (~$60) with a 2.4 Watt nutted Shimano hub and a double-walled alex rim. This one works great too, but I use a battery-operated rear lamp.

is this going on a 29+ bike? What is the front hub standard you need?

What's a Rabbit Hole rim?

I have the Shimano + Cyo Premium + Toplight on my commuter and I think its price/value ratio is great.
You can mount the Toplight on the seatpost with a simple adapter too.