Help me buy lights

[cambsno]

^ this, I’ve run this light on my trike and now it’s going to be on my mtb. It’s a little too delicate for offroad but I’m not going to be doing that in the dark if I can help it. It was the using AAs bit that sealed the deal. I was doing some big old audaxes at the time. It’s a lot easier to bap in some new batteries that are easily available at garages and the like than faff about with power banks and all that... great beam pattern too.

I think the opposite - if after every ride you take the light off and charge it, its at 100% next time you ride. With batteries (unless rechargable) you cant do that.

 

[rogerzilla]

There's a big gap in the market for a flashing rear dynamo light but, since flashing rear lights are verboten in Germany and that's where all the dynamo lights are designed, we probably won't get one

 

[si_c]

There's a big gap in the market for a flashing rear dynamo light but, since flashing rear lights are verboten in Germany and that's where all the dynamo lights are designed, we probably won't get one

Probably, that being said I have no problem with using battery lights for the blinkies and having a solid rear light from the dynamo. I tend to have two battery rear lights, one hanging off my saddlebag with CR2032 batteries and a USB rechargeable. I'd much rather ride with no front light than no rear.

 

[Scottish Scrutineer]

Probably, that being said I have no problem with using battery lights for the blinkies and having a solid rear light from the dynamo. I tend to have two battery rear lights, one hanging off my saddlebag with CR2032 batteries and a USB rechargeable. I'd much rather ride with no front light than no rear.

I tend to have my Garmin Varia rear light set to pluse (or flash in daytime) and have in addition a B&M micro rear light.

THe full range of B&M lights and illumination photos can be found at this useful site

 

[Pale Rider]

I'd much rather ride with no front light than no rear.

Reminds me of the lightless roadie who pulled alongside me just as dusk was approaching.

He asked if he could tuck in in front to take advantage of my rear light.

I told him it would be fine - provided he didn't go to ruddy fast.

I was similarly caught out after spending too long in a pub near my brother's holiday lodge.

As I remarked on here at the time, there's a fine rural tradition of wobbling home on an unlit bicycle after a few sherberts.

Moral of both tales is there's a lot to be said for having at least a rear light fixed to the bike all the year round.

 

[Lovacott]

I think you would be very impressed with the light from even a basic Shimano front hub dynamo - provided it's properly wired to a decent LED light.

It's the beastly Germans again - I see Taylor Wheels have plenty of dynamo wheelsets if you fancy going all new rather than a rebuild.

I've been looking at Hub Dynamos but I am planning on keeping my old cheap MTB for the winter and going for either a gravel or hybrid bike early next year. If I go Hub Dynamo with my new bike, I will go for a fully built hub dynamo wheel because I have zero experience with wheel re-builds (I've never owned a wheel worth re-building).

I'm happy to invest the dosh in decent German dynamo lights, but (for the time being), I'll go for the old fashioned tyre driven generator which I can pick up for £20 quid.

A dumb newbie question about hub dynamos. Can they be disengaged to save your legs when you don't need the lights?

 

[Blue Hills]

I have zero experience with wheel re-builds (I've never owned a wheel worth re-building).

i think perhaps you are underestimating them, especially if they use mr shimano's hubs with ball bearings (not cartridge) and you aren't a racer.
I recently took a wheel off a bike I got for £21 second hand - it now runs sweet after some fettling and grease.
Bike was 20 years old but hardly been ridden, just neglected.
I think there's a lot of flannel talked about wheels, fostered by superlight things for specialist purposes, and the efforts of chain reaction etc to upsell.

 

[si_c]

I've been looking at Hub Dynamos but I am planning on keeping my old cheap MTB for the winter and going for either a gravel or hybrid bike early next year. If I go Hub Dynamo with my new bike, I will go for a fully built hub dynamo wheel because I have zero experience with wheel re-builds (I've never owned a wheel worth re-building).

I'm happy to invest the dosh in decent German dynamo lights, but (for the time being), I'll go for the old fashioned tyre driven generator which I can pick up for £20 quid.

A dumb newbie question about hub dynamos. Can they be disengaged to save your legs when you don't need the lights?

When there is no resistance being put through the coil there is almost no additional drag in the hub - my Shutter Precision hub will spin for a good 20-30 seconds or so, not as long as my other hubs but negligible. That being said even with the light on I can't feel it in my legs at all even on very long rides - I've tried turning the light on or off and it makes no difference. It's not like the old tyre mounted dynamos which do produce a lot of extra drag - even newer tyre mounted ones are much better. Overall on a good hub it's barely noticeable.

If you're looking at getting a dynamo wheel built up speak to Spa Cycles in Harrogate, they do bundles where they build a dynamo wheel and include lights etc as well. Worth giving them a ring and speaking to them, they're pretty straightforward in my experience.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

There's a lot to be said for having at least a rear light fixed to the bike all the year round.

110% this. I have a cycliq fly6 on all the time now, but previously kept a rear light for the regular dull and overcast days that frequent NI. Batteries are cheap and/or rechargable

 

[Lovacott]

It's not like the old tyre mounted dynamos which do produce a lot of extra drag - even newer tyre mounted ones are much better.

I'm looking at some lights from Neanversand but the 700mm of supplied cable wouldn't be enough to bridge the gap from the front light to where I plan to mount the rear light (on the back of a carrier).

I reckon I need around 1.5m (allowing for a bit of waste). The longest Dynamo cable I can find online is 900mm which won't do it (unless I splice two bits together).

Is it crucial with Dynamo sets that the wire core is 0.8mm or can I get away with the 0.75mm twin core I can pick up from Screwfix for £9.99 for 50m? Also, does Dynamo cable have to be solid core?

 

[Pale Rider]

I've been looking at Hub Dynamos but I am planning on keeping my old cheap MTB for the winter and going for either a gravel or hybrid bike early next year. If I go Hub Dynamo with my new bike, I will go for a fully built hub dynamo wheel because I have zero experience with wheel re-builds (I've never owned a wheel worth re-building).

I'm happy to invest the dosh in decent German dynamo lights, but (for the time being), I'll go for the old fashioned tyre driven generator which I can pick up for £20 quid.

A dumb newbie question about hub dynamos. Can they be disengaged to save your legs when you don't need the lights?

As Si says, there is very little resistance from a modern hub dynamo.

I had a basic Shimano one, and couldn't feel any, whether the light was on or off.

Laws of physics say there must be some resistance, but in the overall context of a bicycle rolling on the road it is minimal.

Shimano dynamos are well worth considering if you don't want to lash out on a Shutter Precision.

Shimano's factory built wheels are also decent in the real wheel world of which @Blue Hills speaks, so one of those with a dynamo hub built in would be a good quality budget option.

Equally, there's no need to spend £100+ on a Supernova E3 front light.

Mine came with the bike, but if I was buying from scratch I would probably go for a Busch and Muller at £50 or less, which would leave me money left over for a quality battery back up.

Fifty quid for a rear light seems a lot to me, even if it is a super Supernova.

Busch and Muller Toplights are very popular - I had one on my last bike - and much better value at around £20.

Another good shout from Si about Spa in Harrogate.

They are good for wheels and touring kit.

Give them a ring, and they will come up with sensible suggestions based on your budget and requirements.

Here's a few rear lights to be going on with:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-dynamo-rear/?brand=busch__muller

Busch and Muller again for the front, this one is cheap as chips at £25:

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy...MIqLXp_Nm_6wIVGOJ3Ch3vmQ2sEAQYBCABEgJ-E_D_BwE

 

[Lovacott]

As Si says, there is very little resistance from a modern hub dynamo.

Mine came with the bike, but if I was buying from scratch I would probably go for a Busch and Muller at £50 or less, which would leave me money left over for a quality battery back up.

Thanks for the tips. I'm looking at German made and I am budgeting for around £100 altogether including a bottle dynamo.

When I buy my next bike, I'm going to use the local bike shop and I will try and see if they will do a deal where I get a hub dynamo included in the build (rather than trying to fit one myself or swapping out a new wheel for a dynamo wheel). My local bike shop is only five minutes walk away but I've never set foot in the place. I rode past it only two hours ago on my morning jaunt. I hear they are good though. Cycles Scuderia

I get it why a modern Dynamo has less resistance. The one I was using over 20 years ago had to power up a pair of incandescent light bulbs where a good deal of the energy use was wasted heat.

Nowadays, Dynamos only have to power up a few LED's.

 

[Pale Rider]

Is there any particular reason why you want a bottle dynamo?

Modern ones may be better, but they used to be dreadful things, best confined to the cycling dustbin.

For a cheap and cheerful lighting set, I would go for battery lights, either dry cell or rechargeable.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

A dumb newbie question about hub dynamos. Can they be disengaged to save your legs when you don't need the lights?

Yes, in that they can be switched off so as not to drawl power but it’s highly unlikely that your legs would notice either way.

In use, my SON hub dynamo produces very little drag, something like 5 watts @ 20kph which equates to an ascent of about 5 feet over one mile. That's so small as to be not worth considering.

When the lights are switched off it drops to 0.5 watt @ 20kph, equivalent to an ascent of about 10 inches over one mile. That's so insignificant that I doubt the average rider could even tell.

 

[Lovacott]

Is there any particular reason why you want a bottle dynamo?

Modern ones may be better, but they used to be dreadful things, best confined to the cycling dustbin.

For a cheap and cheerful lighting set, I would go for battery lights, either dry cell or rechargeable.

I've got a two sets of rechargeable lights which illuminate the road really well but it's a pain in the arse having to go though the routine of taking them off and charging them up every day.

I'd prefer to go for something which I wouldn't need to worry about (dynamo) and then use the rechargeables as back up (or extra light on dark lanes).

I am going for a bottle dynamo now because I will be buying a new bike in January and I still haven't decided what type of bike to buy. To tide me over, I will buy decent quality lights which I can transfer to the new bike and a bottle dynamo to power them up (for the time being). The new bike will have a hub dynamo.