USB Charger

[JohnCKirk]

I like the look of the Axa Nano Plus:
http://www.axa-nano.com/
That's a front light with a built-in USB socket, so you could just run a cable up to your handlebars to recharge equipment. However, I'm not sure how easy it is to get hold of.

[rualexander]

I like the look of the Axa Nano Plus:
http://www.axa-nano.com/
That's a front light with a built-in USB socket, so you could just run a cable up to your handlebars to recharge equipment. However, I'm not sure how easy it is to get hold of.

That looks good, don't know why it's taken this long for a light with USB output to come on the market, it seems an obvious thing to produce.
Found it available from a couple of German sites for around 90-100 euros.
http://www.fahrradsaturn.com/Fahrradzub ... 23224.html
http://www.rad-speyer.de/43172.html

[andrew_s]

Nokia dynamo phone charger bodge

[JohnCKirk]

I like the look of the Axa Nano Plus:
http://www.axa-nano.com/
That's a front light with a built-in USB socket, so you could just run a cable up to your handlebars to recharge equipment. However, I'm not sure how easy it is to get hold of.

That looks good, don't know why it's taken this long for a light with USB output to come on the market, it seems an obvious thing to produce.
Found it available from a couple of German sites for around 90-100 euros.
http://www.fahrradsaturn.com/Fahrradzub ... 23224.html
http://www.rad-speyer.de/43172.html

Thanks for the tip - I've been using Google Translate with those websites, since I don't speak German. Rad Speyer have the light in stock, but unfortunately they don't ship to the UK. On the other hand, Fahrrad Saturn will ship to the UK but they don't have it in stock: they expect to have it available on 31st December. I've ordered one from there, and I'll report back when (if?) it arrives.

They charge €86.95 for the light + €16.50 for DHL shipping. You then have a choice of payment: either PayPal (add on 1.9% and €0.35) or doing a bank transfer in advance. I bank with Lloyds TSB and they charge £10 for an international bank transfer so PayPal looks like my best option. That worked out at an extra €2.81, i.e. €106.26 altogether. At the current exchange rate (£1 = €1.12572), that's £94.40. I may also have to pay £1 as an overseas transaction fee, but it's still cheaper than doing a bank transfer and hopefully I'll have a bit more protection this way if things go wrong.

[Aushiker]

Hi All- I'm trying to find a good off the peg USB charger to connect to my hub dynamo, to charge my lights, kindle and phone on tour. I'm considering Tout Terrain's Plug Version 1, does anyone have any experience of it? Or any other decent alternatives? All advice gratefully received!

Hi

Not sure if this fits the "off the peg" category but I have recently purchased a PedalPower Super-i-Cable. They have other options as well. Yet to try it out but as I had to wait for the dynamo hub to come etc.



Anyway maybe something to consider.

Andrew

[rollinbone]

I been running a eWerk in all weathers for about a year now - result TD is excellent (pic-the eWerk is on the bikes frame above the water bottle)

P5023098_1.jpg (145.94 KiB) Viewed 2048 times

Its powered by a Son Delux hub that is also connected to the lights
The eWerk I have connected to a Satmap (see pic) so it charges as I go along

Note:
If you have 2 devises running at same time then the power from the hub is split (so you will find the lights will be dimmer than normal)
I find the charge only works when you are going above 6mph

I did buy the eWerk battery, but have never used it because it takes AGES to charge up and then another age to transfer the power to the devise.
Better idea may be to charge your iPod or whatever as you go along while its stored in a pocket of a front pannier or handlebar bag where its dryer

[nmnm]

well it appears I got it wrong, the reecharge is a 1600mah (thought it was 1300mah) battery and the one on the kindle is 1530mah... ...So fully charged the Dahon reecharge will fully charge the kindle.

I think the kindle 3 (the last one with the keyboard) has a 1750MaH battery (wikipedia), if that's important, although the charging light probably switches to green a bit before that. I did find the kindle doesn't charge all that quickly from french shaver sockets, so one of these external batteries would have advantages if it can charge quicker while the teeth are getting brushed then refuel the kindle at a leisurely rate in the pannier.

[bealer]

I've got a Dahon Reecharge. Well had one. It got pinched. It worked very well though. It struggled to charge my smart phone, but handled my Samsung MP3, Garmin Edge 705 GPS and Kindle very well.

I've got by without one though since. My laptop is a netbook, so has around 9 hours charge. In the tent during the evening I write my journal entries while it charges my GPS and other bits. It's obviously not as convenient though. And I'm never away from an electrical point for more than 4 days. During which I charge my laptop and camera.

You could consider a high capacity battery. It's way cheaper, won't get pinched (as you keep it in your pannier, not on the frame), and it means you bike is far more simple (less wiring to get snagged etc...). Depends where you are cycling, but you're usually never more than 5 days without seeing a plug to charge from.

For £36 I've always been tempted by this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Trent-iCrui ... 677&sr=8-1

[nspire]

Cash being an issue in my world, I looked at this device on ebay - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BICYCLE-DYNAMO-POWERED-PDA-USB-CHARGER-6VAC-5-2VDC-/180755890547?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a15e40173. Haven't bought one yet however.

I also looked into the Busch and Muller E Werk and in principle it seems great, since it's the only one I've come across that has the option to charge 12v. However, given that there's resistance when running 6v lights on a hub dynamo, I can only imagine that this resistance is amplified when you move up to 12v. Because of this, I choose to leave my netbook at home when touring and use an Ipod touch instead. Also the price of the B&M is prohibitive.

Currently I'm using the Solar Gorilla solar panel for USB charging and it's very good. I use the Power Monkey battery pack (compatible with the Ipod) and transfer the power to whichever device I'm using. The benefit of the Solar Gorilla is that you don't need to be pedalling to get energy. The downside is that it's a slightly seasonal charging device.

The amount of resisance is so slight, I cannot recall precise figures in the research I did, but it was something like climbing 1m in altitude for each 1000m of travel. i.e You really would not be able to tell the difference. For example, when spinning the wheel freely by hand with the headlight on , the wheel just continues to freewheel the same as if the light was off.

[francobaresi]

Dear All

Thanks for all the great advice. My main criteria were amount of charge for modern gadgets, and price of course. I've plumped for the Dahon Reecharge, here are my initial thoughts:
It's a nifty gadget, easy to attach/ detach to the frame, and it's easy to use.
On a full charge, the reecharge put more or less full battery into an almost dead HTC Smartphone, so i'm well pleased with that. Yet to charge anything else. Also, i haven't charged the reecharge from empty on the dynamo, just via the wall socket, so when i get around to that i may re-post (got my winter wheels on right now, saving my nice new dynamo- hub equipped wheel for next tour).

[Nico_S]

Tout Terrain have quite a nice adapter between USB and a dynamo, http://www.en.tout-terrain.de/accessori ... e-plug-ii/

[JohnCKirk]

Thanks for the tip - I've been using Google Translate with those websites, since I don't speak German. Rad Speyer have the light in stock, but unfortunately they don't ship to the UK. On the other hand, Fahrrad Saturn will ship to the UK but they don't have it in stock: they expect to have it available on 31st December. I've ordered one from there, and I'll report back when (if?) it arrives.

Following up on this, there's no sign of the light yet. I checked their website on 31st December, and they changed the expected delivery date to 13th January. I checked again yesterday, and the expected date is now blank. I'm not sure whether that means the date that they would receive the light or the date that customers would receive it. Since it has to go from Germany to England I need to allow a bit more time, but they haven't sent me any emails recently. I ordered the light on 26th November, and PayPal shows that I paid them the full cost the same day. FahrradSaturn then sent me an email on 28th November, saying that my new order status is "Paid". Based on that, I'd expect a similar email when they post it, like the ones Amazon send out.

I wonder whether this means that the lights are still "vapourware" (to use IT terminology). The main argument against that would be that Rad Speyer stocked the lights. However, I just checked their website again, and it says "Product is not currently available".

If this was a UK company, I'd complain, or at least email them to ask what's happening. However, it's a bit harder when I don't speak German. I can figure out their websites with Google Translate, but I'm not sure whether it would produce a sensible translation in the opposite direction. Since they've got my money, I just have to wait and hope for the best, but if anyone else is thinking about buying one then I advise you to hold off for the time being.

[JohnCKirk]

Following up again, the light has now arrived! The FahrradSaturn website says that it's in stock, normally shipping in 1-2 business days. They sent me an email last Wednesday (8th Feb) to say that they'd posted it, and Parcelforce apparently tried to deliver it on Friday (10th Feb). I've just collected it from the post office, and it looks good, but I can't verify how well it works until my new bike is ready. So, I'll post another update later, but at least I can confirm that it's possible to buy these now.

[Cunobelin]

i purchased the e-werk charger with cache battery. Works well, but bot fully tested yet. When charging interefered with my cateye wireless computer, and the cache battery stoppped charging my iphone when apple changed their OS. Works well with everything else I've tried though. Do a google for e-werk bosch and muller. Best solution I can think of. Will be changing the cache battery though to an Apple compatible unit.

Good luck!

IXP1-500

About £6 from Amazon




Plugs into any USB charger and alters the charger output to charge Ipads / Iphones etc. Never failed yet on multiple USB sources including some solar ones.

[DoctorRad]

Nokia dynamo phone charger bodge

You don't even need to do the bodge, you can buy adapters which convert the Nokia power plug to Micro-USB for your device. Also think that you can use the electronics with a hub dynamo, but you may wish to check that for yourself.