Dynamo lights, are they good enough?

[Browser]

It looks rather like I'm going to have to replace at least the batteries on my Niteflux, if not the whole shebang and I was wondering if dynamo lights were worth considering. My problem with battery systems is that the current generation of lithium batteries don't have a very long charge/discharge life and becaue most systems are intended to be used off-road they do not have any lensing at all to aim the light output at the road. Consequently, a heck of a lot of light output goes upwards & sideways and doesn't light the road in front of you.
I understand that I will need a dynamo and they aren't cheap, especially if I use the hub option, but I can see that it will pay dividends in not having to charge batteries, not pissing motorists off with my super-dazzling headlights and making full use of the light output, but it'll be of no use if I can't see where I'm going.
p.s. much of my commute is on unlit rural roads, so I need to be able to easily pick out new potholes, clods of mud etc in time to avoid them without having to swerve.

 

[mark barker]

I'm a huge fan of dynamo lighting, but not sure if I'd want them as my only light source on totally unlit roads.

 

[tyred]

I do ride unlit roads with only a dynamo powered B&M Lumotec (halogen version). I find the light is sufficient for speeds up to about 30mph. Near my house there is a long straight of about half a mile and I find that if I'm at one end and a car comes round the corner at the other end, they dip their headlamps so it's clearly visible enough. Combined with a a dynamo powered tail light, I have genuinely fit and forget lights (although I back the tail light up with a battery powered LED. More modern tail lights have standlights and are brighter so not really necessary anymore if you opt for a decent modern B&M tail light).

I recently upgraded my old Basta Quattro dynamo for a B&M Dymotec and although it's not any brighter at speed (why should it be, half and amp is half an amp after all), it puts out very close to full power at walking pseed and has less drag. I believe it's worth the extra. I have heard great reports about the Axa HR Traction as well which is cheaper.

A hub dynamo would obviously be better but they are expensive, a bottle works fine for me. Correctly adjusted, neither the Basta or the Dymotec have ever slipped in the wet and the sidewalls of my Michelin World tour tyre is perfectly intact after after 2,000 miles.

I would at a Dymotec dynamo, a Lumotec headlight and one of the modern B&M LED tail lights would get my vote. SJS have the best range but are pricey. Shop around, you should be able to get the lot for just under £100 and it will last for many years with minimal maintenance.

 

[MacB]

I used to have a standard town led frontlight and a Fenix L2D torch with smartflash rear lights, I now have a B&M IQ Cyo front running from an Alfine dynamo hub and a B&M rear that runs off the dynamo but also has batteries. I find the light spread a bit better from the Cyo than the L2D but am happy running either setup on unlit roads. I was about £200 all in for the new setup, the ready built dynamo wheel was about £90 from Cyclesports UK, I went for the top end IQ Cyo and B&M tail light and they were about £105 from Germany. You could get the overal cost down to about £170 without sacrificing quality.

 

[tyred]

Following on from my post, if you look at this, this is the bottle dynamo I use now on my main winter bike (£17 cheaper than SJS, although it took a while to come from this source), combined with this head light (again, what I use myself and I love it) and maybe this tail light (what I might buy myself for next winter), it's not hugely expensive but very functional and very durable. There are some very bright and expensive LED dynamo lights available now but I don't like the blueish tint that all LED headlights I've seen seem to put out but that's a matter of personal opinion. Most of this stuff is available from Amazon for less than SJS.

 

[palinurus]

I use a Shimano front hub and a B&M IQ Cyo. Bright enough for unlit roads.

I've had that setup for two winters now with no problems. I have a Dinotte as well, although that's really a backup in case of failure.


I think the whole thing cost me about £180 including wheelbuilding. Light came from SJS, everything else from the LBS.

 

[Davidc]

My setups (2 bikes):

The tourer, which often gets used at night on unlit country roads. Shimano hub dynamo - £40, B&M CYO60 front - £70 B&M D Toplight with standlight rear - £20 (off ebay some time ago). Quite adequate for the unlit roads but I always have active backup and now thats the new 1w LED rear from Smart plus one of the older 1/2w LED ones, and a Cateye EL530 front light.

If I was replacing the front one it would now be a Hope 1, but overall I'm happy with this setup up to 25mph in total darkness on roads.

The other one is rarely used away from streetlights, and has the same dynamo, but with a Smart rear with standlight, and a halogen front I've never replaced but am told shows up well in street lighting. The battery backup lights are 2 x 1/2w LED Smart rear lights and it shares the Cateye front one.

Not for unlit roads, but a good setup with the diversity of battery and dynamo. If replacing I'd use a LED dynamo front light, and any replacement battery rear lights would be the newer higher power Smart ones.

 

[Yellow Fang]

I'm not a fan of bottle dynamoes. I've never found that they worked very well. They wore into the tyre or flickered on and off, especially if there was a bulge in the tyre. The bulbs used to blow a lot too, although that was more a fault with the lamp, I suppose. Dynamo lamps seemed to have improved in the last decade or two. However, they're still not as good as they should be IMO. I have a Schmidt SONXS on my Brompton that works quite well. IMO, a front lamp, or perhaps even two, run off a hub dynamo would be a good option for night audaxes and commuting country lanes in the dark. You still need battery powered front lamp or LED to let traffic know you're there when you're stationary. I don't think powering the rear lamp from the dynamo is particularly necessary. It complicates the wiring, and you'd either need another rear lamp, or a dynamo powered lamp equipped with battery or condenser. Rear lamps just have to be bright enough to let traffic know you're there. I have a B&M rear lamp equipped with a condenser, but I don't think it works that well. Now the condenser seems to have failed. I used to have a B&M front lamp with a built-in stand light, but I found the stand light very dim. I wasn't actually sure it was visible to on-coming traffic when I was using the front pannier. However, one benefit of dynamo lamps is that you don't have to remember to take them off every time you park your bike.

 

[andrew_s]

Yes, dynamo lights are good enough.

I use a Schmidt Edelux, which is a better built version of the B+M Cyo. Most of the time I don't have any problem keeping close to daytime speeds, Exceptions are on twisty roads, where less light wasted on the verge on a straight road translates to less light round the bends, and on wet roads where light reflects forwards rather than back into your eyes. It puts as much light onto the road as a Magicshine does (900 lumen claimed, 450 to 500 actual).

@tyred : not only is it brighter than a Lumotec; it's brighter than two Lumotecs (I used to run twin headlights).

I'd recommend a dynamo hub, and using a dynamo rear light. Apart from reliability and no batteries, it switches on using the front light switch so there's no need to stop to light up at dusk or for a tunnel.

 

[Browser]

Thank you muchly for all of the replies. I think if I'm going to go for a dynohub I'm going to go down the quality route and fit a Schmidt SONdelux as it looks like that'll last me a good few years. Add an Edelux headlight (any possibility of a beamshot picture or two please andrew_s?) and I think I'll be on my way. I was thinking of a dynamo rear light originally, but will probably stick with the pair of Smart flashers I've got as they use very little power and are nice and bright. If I so desire, I'll add a dyno rear light at a later date.

 

[P.H]

Peter White cycles has a good beam comparison page, and an explanation of the limitations of such things.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

I have two Son28 hubs and two Supernova E£ front and rear lights. Having seen all the options I have no doubt these are the best, at that price they need to be. I have both the symmetrical and asymmetrical versions, the later has a more defined beam pattern like the Edelux, better for not dazzling oncomers, but not as nice as riding in the total wash of the symmetrical version. An advantage of Supernova is their after sales service and upgrades, it's not worth changing every time a new LED comes out, but after four years I had one lamp serviced asd upgraded to the brightest available and the other converted to asymmetrical.

Dynamo lighting is never going to be as good as battery lighting, there's too many restrictions and too small a market. But it's not as far behind as some think and I've been happy to ride with just dynamos since the introduction of LEDs.

 

[Browser]

Thanks for the link to the beamshots page P.H. , that's enabled me to see what the beams look like. I know you will never get the same raw output fom a dynamo lamp as a battery-powered one, but lighting technology is taking great leaps efficiency-wise with the introduction of high-output, low power consumption LED emitters, and dynamos are getting lighter and more efficient too (see the Schmidt delux). Add to this well-designed and efficient lensing, which unlike all of the battery lights currently available do not waste a scrap of light energy and you've got a good thing going. Finally, with the cutoff designed into the lens you don't dazzle any motorists which I am very pleased about too.

 

[P.H]

dynamos are getting lighter and more efficient too (see the Schmidt delux). Add to this well-designed and efficient lensing,

The Delux is a nice night, but the Supernova Pro E3 puts it in the shade

 

[KWolter]

Here in the states, it's difficult to buy a decent bottle dyno so I went with A Shimano dynohub. I too ride unlit rural roads in the dark and the fancy halogen light I bought to go with the dynohub just wasn't sufficient. I looked at available LED lights at the time but found nothing. Having an electronics background, I decided to build one. I made some measurements and decided that two three watt LED's in series would do the trick. A full-wave rectifier, a capacitor, two white 3-watt LED's and some solid plastic optics was all it took. $40US in parts and time to build it. I calculate it puts out about 4 watts and it provides good light in most conditions. With oncoming headlights on wet roads it does get overpowered but I expected that. I very frequently have people stop at intersections ahead of me and wait for what I consider a long time just to see what the heck I am. A neighbor commented that they make me very visible at night. I've had no one complain about them being too bright. It's been almost 4 problem-free years, and many thousands of miles, since I installed them and now even more efficient LED's are available. But I'm happy with what I have.