Battery versus Dynamo

[Mick F]

A simple question:
Given that a dynamo and lighting system is forever, and that battery lights need charging etc ..........

Battery or dynamo?
If I want to ride at night, and I want a bright light, and I don't need lights most of the year, what would suit best?

Decent dynohub @ £150, plus building a front wheel, plus a front light @ £75
or
a decent battery front light @ £250 that would be FAR brighter, but would need charging and have a bulky battery?

[al_yrpal]

With a dynamo when you stop the light goes out.

Modern battery powered lights can be very very bright and are rechargeable.

Al

[PhilWhitehurst]

With a dynamo when you stop the light goes out. l

No they don't , my dynamo light has a capacitor and will stay on for about 5 mins whilst stationary

[Brucey]

good dynamo lights can come with a standlight, front and rear, and are more than bright enough for most on-road use.

A chum of mine has a DH-3D35 and there is genuinely very little drag indeed when the light is off. It seems to be far better than most other inexpensive (£30-50) hub generators I have examined; however I have not found any test data for it as yet.

You can buy a cheapo battery system (e.g. a Magicshine type one) for about £30, with 600 lumens (think car headlight power) for fooling around in the woods. Some people use them on the road but the beam shape etc is antisocial. You do need to take the blessed thing with you, too, charge it up, and you can't leave it on your bike when you park it.

Horses for courses.

cheers

[Mick F]

...........and you can't leave it on your bike when you park it.

Same as a dynamo light?

[meic]

An often forgotten but costly problem is that rechargeable batteries do need some love and attention when you are not using them.

[[XAP]Bob]

For reliable commuting I'd go dynamo, they just don't run out when you hit the unexpected.

For night time off roading the question is harder.


Of course with the saving from fuel you could get both pretty fast...

[Brucey]

...........and you can't leave it on your bike when you park it.

Same as a dynamo light?

dosen't seem to be a problem in quite the same way; they are not QD, and are sufficiently unusual and anonymous looking that tea leaves don't seem to target them, despite the terrifying cost of really good ones. You need to look closely to tell the difference between a ten quid halogen and an LED version five or ten times more expensive, too.

cheers

[mig]

as the owner of a few battery lights i wished i'd had a dynamo hub wheel last week as the thing went unexpectedly bang on the way home leaving a lovely run home on unlit roads

[Brucey]

when I used to use battery lights I would always carry a spare if going any distance; they just are not quite reliable enough for me. With dynamo lights I don't really feel the same need, although I will often carry a set of tiny 'be seen' LEDS running on CR2032 cells as a backup.

Although a 'mechanical' isn't that likely with decent kit, a small LED battery light is always useful when running a dynamo, so that any repairs can be carried out OK; a standlight doesn't necessarily go long enough, or point in the right direction.

cheers

[Tigerbiten]

I run both on my bent trike.

The dynamo light I now tend to leave on all the time as DRL.
I think it may help me slightly with a SMIDNSY driver.

The front battery light I tend to run in flashing mode, again more as an anti SMIDNSY, in town at night or if the weather's a bit iffy.
Only running solid beam out of town at night.
It helps to back the dynamo light up at either sub 4 mph uphill when the power of the dynamo is dropping off or at +40 mph downhill when you need to see as much as possible.

Best of both worlds I think ..........

[stewartpratt]

Decent dynohub @ £150, plus building a front wheel, plus a front light @ £75
or
a decent battery front light @ £250 that would be FAR brighter, but would need charging and have a bulky battery?

XT dyno is about £50 from Germany, a Cyo is a similar price. My setup with those plus rim and spokes set me back £150 in total.

If your battery light budget is £250 tgen you needn't have a bulky battery; check the Exposure Strada and Toro, for instance.

[Big T]

No need to spend £250 on battery lights for road use. Ixon IQ (£70) or IQ Speed (£120) will give you all the light you need. Batteries for the IQ are just AA Lithion rechargables, will last for 150 charges and about £20 to replace. You can use alkalines in an emergency.

[niggle]

You can buy a cheapo battery system (e.g. a Magicshine type one) for about £30, with 600 lumens (think car headlight power) for fooling around in the woods. Some people use them on the road but the beam shape etc is antisocial. You do need to take the blessed thing with you, too, charge it up, and you can't leave it on your bike when you park it.

You can reduce the antisocial nature of them by fitting a wide angle lens like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wide-Angle-Le ... 0752532003 so it doesn't project up as much, then rotate the lenses so it tilts down on the right and run it at half power.

This is plenty for riding on the flat on road, but descending fast is better with full power, then if a car approaches I dip it manually by flipping it right down, reasonably easy with the o-ring mounting. I also like the fact that you get a more diffuse 'hot spot' and a good view of the near side verge/hedge/wall, handy when going along a twisty country lane. I can even read the gear position indicators on my STIs levers. I have ridden next to someone with a Cyo at night and its only half as bright as a T6 Magicshine on half power, and has a rather narrow beam in comparison.

But yes, you do have to take them off if you leave the bike anywhere, though they are quick to remove. The 4 cell Li battery pack weighs about half the weight of an XT dynohub, but that is not allowing for the weight of a standard hub, so I would guess weight is similar over all. Also you can detach it from the bars and point it anywhere you want if you need to, or even attach to a headband that is available as an accessory, great for camping (as long as you can re-charge it).

[stewartpratt]

I have ridden next to someone with a Cyo at night and its only half as bright as a T6 Magicshine on half power, and has a rather narrow beam in comparison.

I've ridden my Cyo alongside a Toro in the dry and we reckoned the Cyo was a smidge under the medium beam of the Toro for brightness; the Toro does put a lot of additional light elsewhere but for the bit you actually need the Cyo is good. You do lose the ability to pick out signposts easily.

If you want the best of all worlds then the B&M Luxos (due out in a fortnight) might be just the ticket. A little brighter than the Cyo, but additionally with a 50% (in lux) brighter main beam which hopefully should resolve any complaints about the Cyo's tight beam. Also it has a remote switch for the bars to switch between the two modes and an integrated USB charging socket.

If your budget does extend to £250, that would get you a Luxos plus XT/Ultegra hub plus rim and spokes; or a Luxos plus SP-PV8 hub plus spokes if you use your existing rim.

If all you're doing is your 24-hour ride then a battery light will be fine and will be easier to resell if you have no future need for it. But personally I found the dynohub to be, in the little microcosm of road riding at least, something of a life-changing step forward. YMMV.