Another two votes for Magic Shine. My rides often take me out into the wilderness and believe me its dark out there. I have one on my helmet and one on the bar. Its like taking your own street light with you. When I turn my head I can see great. I went through the battery recall but thats not a sigh of an inferior product. Remember Toyotas recall. Sometimes stuff happens, and at least they took care of it.
I give Magic Shine 5 stars.

36 (or is it 37?) later and my generator has never let me down, never needed recharging, and still works as good as the day I bought it.

I just tested a new light, Cygolite 400 usb, flashing before sunset, then on high for ride home.
Plenty of light, plus mounting options.

http://www.amazon.com/CygoLite-Expil...0373263&sr=8-1

Got this tail light, works great.
http://www.amazon.com/Portland-Desig...bxgy_sg_text_b

Given my experience with the Expilion 250, I'm thinking that the 400 would be a super light.

With only one ride using the cygolite 400, I can tell you drivers see me much sooner in daylight on the flash mode.
I was impressed by the amount of light it throws out on a dark road, plenty of light for me, but I'm not riding 30mph either.

Wouldn't they be "riding" lights? I mean you don't drive a bike, right? Sorry another pet peeve of mine, especially in the motorcycle arena. Can't stand when someone says something about "driving" a motorcycle. You RIDE a motorcycle. :)

A tad off topic, but to me the term, "ride" implies passive behavior. "Driving" something means, to me, being active. I can ride in a car or drive it. I can ride in a boat or drive it. So, yes, being ON a bike rather than INSIDE it, might seem like you're riding it. But I'm too active on my bike to just be a rider.

- Just saying...

By the way: I have an endorsement on my DRIVER'S license for operating a motorcycle. The DRIVER'S license doesn't say a word about riding a motorcycle.

;)

The best place to look for comparisons and tech information is Peter White cycles. You can learn more from his website than anyplace I have seen. Personally I still like tire driven dynamos with a good LED. I don't ride in the dark daily, so I like the fact that they are cheaper and lighter than dyno hubs and also don't create any resistance unless they are being used. What I have is here.

Marc

I am surprised that so few people are reporting the use of dynamo hub powered lights. Are there some general issues with these that make less less than useful?

Probably the biggest issue is cost, with the secondary issue be lack of flexibility. One battery powered light can be used on multiple bikes, which is much harder, if not impossible with the generator versions.

You can't just use any old wheel. You have to build up a wheel with a dyno hub.

My guess would be availability. Every bike shop (and REI) in the country has neato-bandito battery-powered light displays. Plunk down the card and walk off with one. If you learn enough that you want a dynamo, then you have to figure out where to get it, and the light, and how to build the hub into a wheel... Plunking down the plastic is so much easier.

Another possibility is that some of us old farts remember the bottle generators from the 19X0s. Hooked up to a flashlight bulb, you could almost see the ground. That was before halogen bulbs, much less high-powered LEDs. (Probably LEDs, period!) Which is brighter, the flashlight bulb you remember from 50 years ago, or that searchlight of a triple LED in that display case right there?!

Me too! Pick me! Pick me!

True enough. But those bottle generators provide plenty of juice for today's LED lights! My Union (I think it is) is over 35 years old and powers a B&M Lumotec IQ CYO (meant for a dyno-hub) and a B&M Topline taillight with ease. The Soubitez generator which came with our '82 Peugeot tandem also handles them easily. I think the Soubitez is lighter and smoother, and on the tandem we never notice any difference whether it is engaged or not, except that the lights come on!

The generators weren't the problem back then, the lights were.

Just another vote for MagicShine - I have one of the 900 lumen models, and another on order. I have found one on high is great for seeing, but I like having more lumens on my helmet. Today I run a cateye on "blink" on my noggin, but will put the new MS on when it comes in. My plan is to run it and the handlebar light on Medium intensity in the dark, and both on flash mode in the daylight. I am totally convinced that the MS on flash mode has made my ride safer in the daytime.

I am new to dark commuting - but I think I like it better than twilight commuting. I have four lights (3 blinking, one steady) on the back, all red, and two headlights, and reflectors. Blinking to be seen, steady (in the case of headlights) to see.

Now just to see how much guts I got for commuting in the cold and wet...

I'm echoing what TSL said, and will add that the people I dealt with at Geoman were unusually customer orientated - I have the MS 900 lumen light, and an MS taillight (comes with a Y-cord, so you only need one battery. Couldn't be more pleased. I only commute 5 miles each way, but it is through a construction zone, so lots of rough riding - so far no problems. I'm also considering buying another from Geoman. I imagine I could get my wife to ride at night with me, these lights are so adequate. If I can't, I might just pop a second system on my ride. The new Geoman battery pack has a truly awesome fixing strap - you can stick it anywhere and as long as you pull the velcro tight, it'll stay.

I also have a dynamo hub on my primary commuter. There are three downsides to dynamos. They have always been so, and remain.

First is cost. My hub was $140, then I had to have a wheel built around it. Rim was $80, 32 spokes at $1.50 each, plus labor. Then you have to buy the lights.

Second is portability. It's easy to move battery lights from one bike to the other. While you can easily move a wheel from one bike to another, there's still the matter of lights and wiring.

Third is light output. Yes, the new LEDs put out tons more light than the old halogen systems. But they're still limited by the 3-watt output of the hub. People with younger and better eyes than mine, or those who ride slower than I do, can probably see pretty well with just the dynamo headlight. I can't.

While I was very impressed with the output of my Schmidt Edelux as compared to a buddy's halogen system, it's still weak and wimpy as compared to a MagicShine. My guess it's that it's 230 to 250 lumens--tops. In other words, a smidge brighter than my DiNotte 200Ls. And that's the light that with one exception (see below) is acknowledged as the brightest dynamo headlight on the market.

This year I faced the choice of trying the SuperNova E3 Triple--an unregulated dynamo light with three LEDs, allegedly two or three times brighter than my Edelux--or buy more MagicShines. I bought more MagicShines.

For less than the cost of the E3 Triple alone, I bought two more MagicShines. If I'd purchased the E3 Triple, it's incompatible with my B&M taillight. I would have had to buy SuperNova's taillight too, and replace all the wiring. I'd have also lost the reflectors that are part of the B&M taillight.

The other thing is that even with the Edelux and a pair of DiNotte 200Ls on my bars, I was still dismissed as "just some guy on a bike" by motorists and pedestrians alike. With just a single MagicShine, I'm respected and treated as traffic by cars and peds. That's worth it all to me right there.

I can be both sloppy and clumsy and have destroyed several batterypack and lighthead setups. I will ride quite a few miles both commuting and training after work in our very long Norwegian winter so I decided to buy some new lights this autumn. The one light that I have not managed to destroy is a Silva LX, not really meant for bicycling but it has served me well both CX skiing and cycling. However I need more light as the years go on and now I bought an Exposure Lights cordless setup with a Diablo on my helmet and a Maxx-D on the bars. No cables for me to wreck and the build quality seems very good. Lots of light !