Dynamo front light

[Tynan]

Howdy

In the LBS today for all manner of nonsense but also asking about a decent road front light for the Dun Run and commuting thereafter, for a budget

They suggested a dynamo driven halogen, £35 ish plus fitting

Will it be bright enough for windy country lanes and will it be negligible as regards drag/weight, I understand there's some noise

ta

 

[RedBike]

Will it be bright enough for windy country lanes

Most front lights are only 2.4/3watts, My halogen light wasn't quite bright enough to use on unlit roads. Mine would also dim slightly on steeper uphills. Heck of a lot better than most of these cheap LEDs though.
(I belive you can get high powered LED dynamo lights which are significantly better.)

and will it be negligible as regards drag/weight,

I never noticed any drag from my dynamo front hub at low speeds. However, the bike was a few mph slower downhill. (Without a speedo I probably wouldn't of noticed this.)

The front dynamo wheel was rather heavy but the lights weighed nothing.

understand there's some noise

The hub was more or less silent, although I belive the dynamos that run off the side of tyres can be quite noisy (Never used one).

They suggested a dynamo driven halogen, £35 ish plus fitting

£35 seems relatively expensive to me. Although obviously some lights wil be better than others and cost more than others. You can pick a basic set of dynamo light up off ebay for about £15

 

[piedwagtail91]

the best dynamo/hub driven light I've come across is the lumotec fly iq, it's 40 lux led and is very bright,
it's more expensive than the one quoted for but should last indefinitely, without the bulb problems.
http://www.bumm.de/index-e.html
click on catalogue, headlights lumotec fly iq. it shows the difference in brightness.
i used it last winter and theres no problem going down 30 mph twisty descents

 

[Tynan]

thanks

suck it and see I guess, not sure what worries me most, noisey or drag, last saw dynamos when I was a kid and they were hideous in return for a flickering glow

long suck it and see for Dunwich clearly

 

[Yorkshireman]

I recently fitted a Basta Pilot LED to replace an older halogen

Light output is more than adequate (and comes on full power at walking pace) for the unlit lanes and woodland paths I ride (though not as quite as bright as a lumotech), it also has a standlight that stays lit for about 4 minutes. Cost £27.49 inc post from SJS. At the same time I changed the old Union sidewall dynamo for an Axa HR

£23.00 inc post from SpaCycles. The Axa makes a very slight humming sound, and there is a little drag but it can't be much as I've sometimes not flicked it off the tyre after getting home, and set off the next day in daylight and not noticed. I found that correctly aligning the dynamo(wheel) with the tyre helps keep drag/noise down. You don't say what your budget is, but as a 'tight arsed yorkshireman' (as my wife often calls me ) I'm delighted with the price and set up.

 

[Tynan]

that's excellent info fella, thank-you, very happy with that

and it tallies with what LBS said

 

[Danny]

I recently fitted a Basta Pilot LED to replace an older halogen

How easy was it to fit the light? It looks like it could involve a lot of faffing about.

 

[Yorkshireman]

How easy was it to fit the light? It looks like it could involve a lot of faffing about.

Very easy as I had a mount in place for the old light

though I had to drill the lamp mounting hole out a bit to fit the original one.
The Basta came with two mounts (you can see one of them here)

I use the double wire system as I've found it more reliable over the years, so all I had to do was undo the lamp back and cut the wires, joining the original wires to the new ones inside the lamp (the new wiring wasn't quite long enough to reach the dynamo at the rear wheel). The Pilot also has little plug connectors for the rear light, so I put a couple of new wires from the rear light to the Pilot. I was so pleased with the new light that I just had to get something similar for the back ... So these had to go

to be replaced with

Fitting that was a bit less straight forward as the rack light mount/fitting was this type

so I made an adapter

So now I have bright lights (with standlights) both front and rear .

 

[Tynan]

nice

LBS said it was a fiddly faffy job to get right although I suppose they would possibly

 

[Yorkshireman]

nice

LBS said it was a fiddly faffy job to get right although I suppose they would possibly

Strewth! It's no more fiddly faffy than say ... replacing v-brake blocks.
The light can be mounted using the crown bolt (assuming your bike has one - or at least a hole for one), thats the bit where the front reflector is fitted here

(I might remove that as the new light has one built in). Mounting a dynamo is just a matter of bolting it on a fork (if that's where you want it), or a rear seat stay using a suitable mount, and adjusting so that it runs true with the tyre. I think it took me about half an hour.

 

[Tynan]

collected it back today on the way back from the chippy with the two nippers in tow so a bit rushed, axa HR dynamo (which google say people rate) and a basta front light that the mechanic at the LBS said was really bright

just ran it with the wheel held up and was dismayed at the drag, granted it was the wheel spinning alone but it felt and sounded like a whole loada drag on the back wheel

try it with me on it I suppose ...

the light is rather handsome, it smacks of serious manly riding, suspect I'll have to take up smoking rollies and get a stained cap for the full effect

 

[Yorkshireman]

There's bound to be some drag Tynan, but if you take a little trouble to set the dynamo up correctly it's not a problem. The optimum set up is when an imaginary line passes through the centre line (top to bottom) of the dynamo and lines up with the wheel axle (that also ensures that the dynamo drive wheel is lined up with the tyre sidewall). Adjust the presure that the dynamo applies to the tyre so that it's just enough to stop it skipping or skidding when wet. I often set off for a ride to have someone point out that I've got the lights on 'cos I forget to pull the dyno off the tyre after the previous nights ride. The noise that I get is just a slight humming sound (and I find it blends quite well into the normal tyre noise), but that may vary with the type of dynamo track on the tyre sidewall. Just out of interest ... Which light (model) did you get?

 

[4F]

just ran it with the wheel held up and was dismayed at the drag, granted it was the wheel spinning alone but it felt and sounded like a whole loada drag on the back wheel

Hmmmm thats what I remember about dynamo's Think I will stick with my twin smarts and flashing LED

 

[Tynan]

axa HR traction dynamo and a basta horizon front light

for all my deciding to rely on the LBS to do the fiddly work it seems to my ignorant eye that it's far too much drag on the wheel

really not sure, it's a nice bike and I like to go quick and I'm used to the back wheel spinning endlessly, now it's barely spin three times before stopping rather quickly

fiddle with it then I suppose, galls after the experts supposedly doing it for me

and thanks for that prompt reply

well and good fat fella but my night ride to Southend learnt me what riding down an unlit country road is like with a commuter LED front light

 

[4F]

well and good fat fella but my night ride to Southend learnt me what riding down an unlit country road is like with a commuter LED front light

You old town / city boys with your street lights. Countryside commuting with a fading LED avoiding low flying pheasants is where its at