Thought I'd share this article. It's aimed at commuters, but it's when I'm out touring that I most need a way to power my devices. How long before more bikes have built-in USB ports?

Five Ways to Pedal Power Your Devices

Wow and wow! This came at the perfect time...I want to take a short (4 day) tour and don't want to have to lug my computer to charge my Walkman. I'll have to check into this.

(A bit later) I checked out solar power w/Amazon and found one that charges quickly and allows you to use your device at the same time. Of course, there's always a downside...the price, but there are options at all ends of the price scale that will do the job.

The link didn't work for me earlier, so I might suggest checking in the Electronics section of the site here.

The title is a little bit misleading. Of the five ways to "pedal power" your devices, two are solar- no pedaling required. Another solution is specific to Nokia phones. Another is a complete bike, not yet released, that has a built in USB port connected to a generator hub. The remaining solution, which seems like the most viable, is a bottle generator/USB charger kit sold by the website that makes the list. No word on how easy/possible it might be to use the kit with a dynamo hub.

I'm intrigued by the idea of powering my devices with a dynamo hub, and there are solutions, DIY and commercial, but when I took a 4 day tour a couple of months ago, I just took a battery pack that kept my cell phone, iPad, and iPod charged the whole trip. At one campground I plugged the battery in to recharge it, but I think I could have made the trip without a recharge.

I still like the dynamo-pedal power idea, but the bonus battery had some advantages, mainly that I could use the dynamo for it's intended purpose of powering my lights. Usually in the daytime this is not an issue, but in rainy or foggy weather, I'd rather have my lights and not worry about taking away charging time from my devices. Also, rather than having to worry about what needed plugged in while riding, all my charging could be done overnight, or could take place in a pannier, without me thinking too much about it.

However, if you were actively using a smart phone while riding, I think a dynamo-based solution would be great. I just tend to keep my device use minimal while riding and shut down unnecessary power drains. I like to track my day with my iPad and use it for maps, but if you download maps ahead of time, you don't need to keep an active internet connection, and if you keep a cue sheet on hand, you won't need the screen so much. I found that I could leave the GPS on, but turn off cellular data, wifi, bluetooth, and turn the screen off for most of the day and end up with great battery life. If you want to be connected 24/7, that may not work for you, but I found checking in at meal times to be more then sufficient. Also by checking cell phone coverage in remote areas, I was able to tell if I was in a "dead zone" and power down my phone, which eliminated constant searching for a signal which drains the battery faster.

I'm as gadget-addicted as anyone, but I found that spending all my time on a bike, I had little time to wear down my batteries. If you're constantly interacting with your devices, even on the bike, you may need extra power considerations, but if not, you may be surprised at how little juice you can use. I thought I'd get the most use out of mine for off-bike entertainment, but it turned out my off-bike entertainment was mostly sleeping.

I'm using a dynohub now. Mostly for lights. Thanks for the info.