Dynamos. Talk to me…..

The Kemo unit is good, but quite large! Also, ensure that you get the M172N, not the plain vanilla M172, as the cheaper one won’t put out enough current to charge a modern smartphone.

Regarding drag, it’s not noticable. Honest.

Come on Jameso – kick Evans into some action with this one! Please 🙂

There is a massive (and slightly confusing) choice of dynamo hubs and lights in Europe – why not simplify things for us all, choose just one or two good combinations and start stocking them as a package.

And what is frankly ridiculous – Evans (and everyone else) sells squillions of different lights yet I can’t walk into a store and buy a single one that is UK road legal. Lights to the German regs would at least be a legal(ish) alternative.

@mick_r UK regs allow for lights that pass equivalent (or better) European regs as legal in this country. So the German road lights are legal here.

I don’t know how much it costs to get a light through the relevant British Standard but I suspect it is high enough and a lengthy enough process that most manufacturers won’t bother for such a small market.

Having say three dynamos and three lights to cover various price points should be enough as stock. I’ve seen one retailer (US based I think) who just stock one dynamo.

Look at somewhere like Spa Cycles: 16 dynamo models some in 32 & 36 hole versions, some disc compatible; different colours, etc. Then they have eight front lights to go with them.

My light and dynamo arrived today. Just gotta find time to build the wheel……
😕

There is a massive (and slightly confusing) choice of dynamo hubs and lights in Europe – why not simplify things for us all, choose just one or two good combinations and start stocking them as a package.

I got a hub/light package from Evans 14 months ago.
Pay attention at the back.
Very happy with it too.

I got a hub/light package from Evans 14 months ago.

Sounds good, what was it?

Pretty sure Evans stock Exposure Dynamo hub/lights…

Like this?
http://www.evanscycles.com/products/exposure/revo-mk1-dynamo-light-with-disc-brake-hub-mtb-specific-ec041794

The 1.5v dynamo is half the power of the 3v Half of what the industry build their equipment to run on. You will not get the advertised performance

I think its 1.5w rather than 1.5v? I would imagine its powerful enough to run some low power “be seen” type LED dynamo lights, but I’ve not found anyone who’s actually tested this.

Would be a good cheap lightweight setup for my commuter which often gets locked up outside

I have an Alfine 1.5W hub I intended to try out but tbh all the data suggests it’s not worth the bother compared to a similar cost 3W hub. I think a micro-dyno Dura-Ace hub would be cool to power DI2 and top up a Garmin though.

mickr – I’m not involved with P+A so it’s not my call. I agree though. I have german-legal F+R lights on a road bike and I bought one from SJS, the other from Bikediscount.de. Very happy with them, my perception is that drivers are too, based on space given and general interaction with traffic at night. But I’m in the minority of riders that think stobing, unfiltered and direct-beam lights aren’t good for the unlit roads where I ride at night, a bit different in cities where something stolen off a U2 lighting rig may make more sense.

So far my research into the fairly complex world of B + M lighting choices has suggested the following to conclusions (correct me if I’m wrong)

The ‘R’ stands for ‘reflector’, which is built in to the lense itself
The ‘T’ stands for ‘daylight’, which I think means it has additional LEDs that run seperately from the main LED for daytime use.

everything else is still a mystery…

Ok further reading has revealed thus:

‘Senso’ means the main light comes on automatically at dusk or night
‘N’ is the absence of the above
‘B’ just means ‘basic’
‘Plus’ means that there is a compacitor powered stand light, so it will shine for up to four minutes after the bike has stopped
‘U’ I think this means it has a bar mounted on/off switch with a USB charging socket

Shameless plug for my 29er Dynamo wheel in the classifieds http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/29er-dynamo-front-wheel-like-new
PD8 Hub

Was used with the Luxos U light, which I have moved to the road bike with another PD8 hub. Great combination. I don’t switch is off during the day anymore as I can’t even tell its on. recently done a couple of 200km audax’s and it have been great.

I got a hub/light package from Evans 14 months ago.
Pay attention at the back.
Very happy with it too.

I was paying attention:-

The Exposure light is very, very nice, but not road legal….

Cheers James – any chance you could send this link to your P&A people? Surely it is a niche in the market worth exploiting (the only drawback being admittance that all those other lights aren’t legal….)

My bro (peterpoddy) just sent me this picture of the Exposure hub he is building up for me, compared with a Shimano M525 disc hub – can’t believe it’s smaller!! he has weighed it at 180g more than the Shimano hub.

The Exposure light is very, very nice, but not road legal….

This is interesting, why not? Surely it’s bright enough? Too bright, maybe?

I think I may have answered my own question:

The suggestion that any lamp on a bicycle might cause undue dazzle or discomfort to other users of the road would have been laughable a few years ago, but not any more. It is not only illegal but doesn’t actually improve your safety, should the person driving a heavy motor vehicle towards you be temporarily blinded by your headlamp! So please don’t let it do that.

CTC website

Mick, I’ll mention it, there’s a few good options from suppliers I think we deal with. The Sigma rear light I got is brilliant, non-dazzling with great visibility angle range – Sigma Mono Doesn’t have a flash mode tho so not sure how it would sell over here.

Cheeky git posting my pics without permission…! 😉

Yep, it’s all fitted and working on the Touring Inbred now. I’ve got another hub for my CdF but I don’t have the right length spokes, so that’ll be a week or so. There’s virtually no detectable drag even just spinning the wheel round on the stand, so I doubt anyone will notice anything out on the road. The B&M light is impressive quality, fits absolutely rock solid and has well thought out wiring and features. I need to get out for a ride once it gets dark to test the lighting capabilities but in the dark garage its obviously a very large pool of light. It doesn’t look anything like the round focussed beam of a MTB light though. This is to be expected as its a German approved dipped beam.

You can just see it rock slightly as it comes to rest, but a gentle push has it running for a fair few seconds.

Looks great! Thanks for the video! What does the light look like?

Cheers James

That Sigma one looks interesting. I don’t think the German manufacturers help the confusion by selling a multitude of similar lights (including some older models that are a bit rubbish).

It is just the ridiculousness of the situation that annoys me – if I went to the shops tomorrow then I can maybe think of one bike shop within a 50 mile radius that sells a legal light (and there are a LOT round here including at least 4 of the big mail order warehouses). Added to that everywhere on the high street (Argos, Wilko, Tesco, Asda etc) also sells non-legal lights (even the cheap leds don’t count under the relaxed rules because they invariably have a non flashing mode).

But if a car insurer wanted to get pedantic about a claim (has this ever happened?) then it is the cyclist that looses out. Most people reading this will be OK because we have the inclination to scour the catalogues and websites to find a combo that suits and mail order it from Germany etc. But does it really have to be so complicated?????

Try looking at the Bearbones website (it’ a bikepacking website in case you’re wondering). They feature the Cycle2charge dynamo at £48 ex postage. No idea if it’s any good.

Stigheed, the Cycle2Charge isn’t a dynamo, it’s a unit that allows the dynamo to charge phones, cameras, batteries, etc.

Have you used it yet?

I fitted a Shimano DH3D32 dynamo hub and B&M light to my Kona Min-ute, I went for the version without the reflector since it gives better visible distance my version also has the day light and the senso function which is all superfluous since its never turned off but rose bikes had a deal on.

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/shimano-dh-3d32-disc-hub-dynamo/aid:670781
And
http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b–m-lumotec-iq-cyo-t-senso-plus-60-lux/aid:457434

Id not intended to get a rear light but being so impressed with the front I’m going to get round to adding one soon, but this weekends project is replacing the crappy cable disc brakes with hydraulics.

Shermer – As in the OP my light is a Busch & Müller iQ Luxos U.
I’ve just been out for a quick spin round the darker areas of Farnbrorough FC car park and the park next to it and it’s very impressive indeed. If you’re used to normal 200000000 lumen MTB lights your think it wasn’t very bright, but that’s not its purpose. The beam is like a dipped car headlight. By that I mean it covers about the same area and is nearly as bright! It’s got various “shapes” to the beam so to speak but it’s very even with no bright spots and a sharp cutoff at the edges. No light is wasted up in the air like on a round beam and I guess that means it’s not dazzling anyone either. The high beam just makes it all a bit brighter.
Output in lumens? Not a clue. It’s impossible to compare with my MTB lights but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s the best part of 1000.
Not tested the USB port yet but I will do. 🙂

Thanks for the write up! Really useful stuff! Any chance of some photos?

Sooty I’ve got no chance of getting pics of the beam. You need to be moving to see it at its brightest. There’s a link earlier in this thread to an American website, he’s taken lots of beam shots. They’re fairly accurate although I think they make it look a tad brighter than it actually is.

I understand you can mix and match hubs and lights, but is there a standard for the cables, plugs etc or are they all different?

Some of the cables are coaxial others are plain copper wire and the son/Schmidt hubs use spade terminals and others use plastic push fit plugs that trap the wire against exposed contacts on the hub – like many bike products there is no standard for the industry to follow

Cables are easy. Most hubs come with a click together plastic plug that you pop bare wires into then plug onto the hub. It’s an AC current so it doesn’t matter which way round the wires go either.

sounds not too much of a nightmare, thanks.

It’s not a nightmare to figure out or to cable up a system on a bike to a decent standard, but if you do decide to go down this route for lighting then i’d purchase a selection box of heat shrink tubing and a mini gas soldering iron with a heat gun attachment – plan where you need the heatshrink tubing before you attach any spade connectors or suchlike and work out suitable cable runs.

The heat shrink tubing will give you a bit extra protection as some of the wires can be a bit thin and may wear through if they rub on gear cables etc – take into account the full movement of the bars etc.

Once you use a dynamo for lighting you will never regret it – it’s just so simple to jump on and ride without the faffing of did i recharge the battery?, i tend to leave my lights on all the time – total fit n’ forget system and if i forget to charge my iPhone i can just plug it in for a boost.

Are there any decent non rack mounted rear lights for the Luxos?

What’s the exact model of Luxos light?, some taillights are not compatible – see half way down this page for more info

Thanks for that,

I was looking at the iq2 Luxos U. It seems the secula will work with it.

Just been out for a pootle and put my iPhone on charge to check it worked. 6.5 miles of riding, maybe 2-3 with the light on (daytime mode I assume being as its automatic) put 6% into my phone battery. Once you’ve been moving about 20 yards the LED on the bar switch goes red indicating USB power is available and you hear the “bong” noise from your phone indicating its charging. Works absolutely perfectly. Can’t fault it.
All in all I’m very very happy with my choice. There’s just longevity to test now…! It’s all good quality kit so I see no reason it won’t last well.

Rt60 yes, that’s the light I’ve got. £84 from bike-discount.de.

Thanks PP, ordered from there.
It will give me some fettling to do until I can get back in the saddle.

Why is the shimano hub linked to by Brother Will so cheap? Will it break?
Any recommendations for pre built dynamo 28″ wheels? Preferably French/German retailers.