Studs and lights
So I'm still waiting for my dynamo hub from PeterWhiteCycles.com. Apparently the lights are still to be shipped from Germany, and I have it set up to ship as one order. The hub isn't much good without the lights, anyway, since my current light has a 6" cable.
In the meantime, I have a front bottle dynamo light that is running off the Schwalbe Silento tires, which have a strong track on the sidewall to turn the dynamo. Even with the small track, I have problems with it when wet. So here's my question. Would it be better to: a) keep running the bottle dynamo, 3w front light with slick tires b) switch to my studded tires and run a 5 led front light until the new stuff arrives (2 weeks or so?) The temp is dropping from 60 to 20s and 30s tonight, and lots of precip. |
B. Good studded tires ain't cheap.
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I'd go for b).
Paul |
I must be stupid. I can't understand your question.
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Consensus is for the studded tires (b) with the smaller light. I'll switch them out tonight to handle the ice that is forecasted.
Portis, to reword my question, I could either run my Nokian Hakka 106 tires, but couldn't power my bottle dynamo with them (i.e. no 3 watt headlight, just an led), or keep running my current setup with the bottle dynamo and slick tires (better light, no studs). Unitl my dyno hub and Lumotech Oval arrive, I can't do good lights and studded tires. Of course, the crappy bottle dynamo will still be mounted with the studded tires, so I'll give it a try, but I'm not expecting good results. Thanks for the feedback. Ride safe tomorrow. |
How long are your rides. IF they are no more than 2-3 hours in length you would be better off to scrap the generator type of lights and get a good rechargable battery type. They are brighter and easier to use. A ten watt halogen will throw a pretty good beam of light.
Of course if you do long rides you may need the generator setup. |
Originally Posted by Hezz
How long are your rides. IF they are no more than 2-3 hours in length you would be better off to scrap the generator type of lights and get a good rechargable battery type. They are brighter and easier to use. A ten watt halogen will throw a pretty good beam of light.
Of course if you do long rides you may need the generator setup. Unless your ride is extremely long, I would get a good battery powered light. I run a couple sets of them at 30 watts, plus run studs when needed. I wouldn't want an either/or option. Crashing because of ice or crashing because of low light, neither are good options. I understand that your issue might be temporary, but neither seem to be good options. |
Legot73,
Do you have experience running a sidewall dynamo with the wire brush wheel instead of the rubber wheel? Been thinking about getting one, would like to know if they actually work well. I like the idea of just getting on my bike and riding, with no worries about whether or not I charged a battery recently. I still plan on keeping my Planet Bike 3 beamer on the bike for when I stop at traffic lights, and as a backup |
random, the only dynamo I've owned so far is the Wave bottle dynamo that came with my bike. I don't like it.
I put the Nokian 106 tires on last night in prep for all the snow and ice on the way. The bottle dynamo is working with them, for now, but I'm a little nervous about snow. I'm going to double up with the PB Beamer 5 and dyno light until the better stuff arrives. I considered a better battery powered light, but decided on the hub dyno system for a few reasons: 1) I'm bad about charging stuff 2) I would be stingy with the lights if they had batteries, and I want to run them on all but clear, sunny days. 3) One less setup/breakdown step for locking up, the lights will always be there. 4) I won't have to remember to bring them along if I leave when it's light out, but return when its dark. 5) They're "bright enough" for me to see and be seen where I ride. No doubt, the battery powered lights available right now are a good bang for the buck in the $100-$200 range (to me, at least). With the possibility of a little extra $$$ this time of year (Birthday, Xmas, Bonus, etc.), I might go ahead and get one in addition to the dyno setup, maybe a helmet mount to compliment it and switch to other bikes with no setup. |
Once the dynohub wheel arrives, you will wonder why you rode so long with the sidewall bottle.
Paul |
Originally Posted by legot73
a) keep running the bottle dynamo, 3w front light with slick tires
b) switch to my studded tires and run a 5 led front light until the new stuff arrives (2 weeks or so?) Small 7.2V batteries are cheap at the local radio shack. |
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