Getting and fitting a dynamo

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Froom2
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Joined: 14 Mar 2013, 6:04pm

Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by Froom2 »

Hello,

I don't have a huge amount of technical knowledge about bicycles.

I am about to buy a new bike, and have found one I like, but it doesn't have dynamo lights. I would like dynamo lights because I am a rather disorganised person, and changing batteries is something I keep putting off until tomorrow - all through the winter until the summer when I no longer need lights anyway.

I don't need anything fancy - it's just a commuting bike. What would be a rough cost of buying the parts I need to make this happen? Do dynamos come with lights, or do you get them separately? I have tried googling, but I don't really understand any of it and it all looks separate to me.
Do dynamos come with instructions on how to fit them, and how to connect lights?

Should I even bother? Someone has told me that they are more trouble than they're worth, with the wiring and things. Perhaps they are right. It isn't like I need to connect a phone to charge.
Brucey
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by Brucey »

Froom2 wrote: ....I don't need anything fancy - it's just a commuting bike....


on a commuting bike you don't need 'fancy' but you do need 'reliable'. There is no 'just need' about commuting...

You can buy a tyre driven dynamo with basic lights quite cheaply; if you shop around you can find a kit with cheap lights for about £10 I think. But they are not that good and they don't last that long. Better tyre driven generators, like AXA HR cost more but work far better. Both in terms of equipment and time spent on careful installation, you tend to get what you pay for with dynamo systems. Best to buy the parts separately if you are even slightly particular about them.

£10-£30 gets you something basic that may not be that good.

around £50 gets you a decent tyre driven dynamo and reasonable LED lights, or a basic hub dynamo (which you will need to build into a wheel or more likely pay someone else to) and LED lights.

If you want to spend more then the sky is the limit; A SON generator built into a wheel, the best lights and fitting will all add up to over £400 quite easily.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
robc02
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Location: Stafford

Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by robc02 »

Definitely NOT more trouble than they're worth!! They are the most reliable lighting systems I've ever used. Of course, like anything else, they can go wrong but its not very often in my experience. The most likely problem is broken wiring, typically as the result of getting snagged - perhaps while doing maintenance or manoeuvring in and out of bike racks.

As an example of reliability I have a hub made in 1951 that still works, albeit powering modern LED lamps.

Hub dynamos start at around £20, LED front lights from about £13 and rears under £10. Bottle dynamos are the cheapest option starting from under £10. Unless it is only for occasional use I'd always prefer a hub dynamo - though you would have to budget for a rim, spokes and building - or buy a complete wheel.

Some examples:

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bike-components/lighting/dynamo-lamps/headlights/?order=aprice#anchor_products

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bike-components/lighting/dynamo-lamps/backlights/

http://www.rosebikes.co.uk/products/bike-components/lighting/dynamos/hub-dynamos/
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mjr
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by mjr »

Dynamos come with instructions on how to fit them, and how to connect lights, as do the lights - if they disagree, it seems to be the instructions with the lights that are more likely to be right. You'll probably want some speaker wire, heatshrink sleeving and tape or cable ties, more than what is supplied with the lights.

I've little more to add except https://mashing53.wordpress.com/2014/10 ... -infinity/ and one of my systems is described in a comment.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by [XAP]Bob »

So much better than batteries for a commuter.

German Dynamo lights (legal under the 'other EU' state rules) are one of very few ways to have truly RVLR compliant lighting, and they have proper road lighting beam shapes.

They are also fit and forget, the wiring is a complete non issue - if it ever was one, and bulbs no longer fail on descents.

Do you commute cross country (unlit) or in town (mostly with streetlights)?

If mostly in town then any of the B&M Toplight Plus range on the back, and a Lyt at the front will cost ~£25 on top of the Dynamo.
A cheap hub Dynamo, already in a wheel, will cost another ~£60, a bottle Dynamo (assuming your tyres have an appropriate track) can be as little as another £10, but they are less nice.

You can always use a bottle now and upgrade to a hub next season - the lights work from either.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
jb
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by jb »

If you want dynamo lighting and you are as you say a disorganised sort of chap, you want a basic Shimano hub dynamo for around £50 + wheel build and basic Buch & Muller LED lights front (hub dynamo specific) and back at arround £30 & £20 respectively.

Anything less will give you problems.
Bottle dynamos these days are for people who specifically want one for some reason. The cheap sets are for people who like to have 'interesting' rides in the dark.
Cheers
J Bro
dacky360
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Joined: 28 Jun 2012, 1:42pm

Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by dacky360 »

Or you could do what I did and buy a bike from Germany that comes with dynamo and everything else as standard?

Try looking at http://www.fahrrad-ass.de
mercalia
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by mercalia »

since its for commuting u need a hub dyno, many bottle/rim dynos slip in the wet and a pain to set up & vulnerable to knocks. You can get cheap front wheels with basic shimano dynos for very little, from ebay

eg these people

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28-inch-front-wheel-with-hub-dynamo-silver-/331412626329?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item4d29bb5b99

just one of their many for sale there

That with an Axa Pico 30 led light front lamp and a rear led should do the job
The fat commuter
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by The fat commuter »

£28 plus a fiver postage for a dynamo wheel. Looks like it's a 36 hole wheel. Do you reckon that it will be OK? My current normal front wheel has a lip where the rim has its join - I could do with replacing and was thinking of going down the dynamo route. The wheel that I was looking at was a hand built one like this:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 7s170p1794

Having had them build a rear wheel before, I know that it will be good. However, at about a third of the price, the eBay one looks good value if it is semi decent.
mercalia
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by mercalia »

The fat commuter wrote:£28 plus a fiver postage for a dynamo wheel. Looks like it's a 36 hole wheel. Do you reckon that it will be OK? My current normal front wheel has a lip where the rim has its join - I could do with replacing and was thinking of going down the dynamo route. The wheel that I was looking at was a hand built one like this:

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 7s170p1794

Having had them build a rear wheel before, I know that it will be good. However, at about a third of the price, the eBay one looks good value if it is semi decent.



I would suggest u search ebay for the other options from that company, that was the first I saw, they do have some more expensive options, various hubs and rims. eg
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28-inch-front-bike-wheel-ZAC19-with-hub-dynamo-silver/231103012122?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D5c93a0416a514cc9a08303abf22edb8a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D331412626329


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28-inch-front-wheel-ZAC2000-with-Disc-Sport-hub-dynamo-silver/231103012231?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140122125356%26meid%3D5c93a0416a514cc9a08303abf22edb8a%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D331412626329

Seeing as though it is a front wheel and not a arear maybe able to get away with a cheap wheel - eg on my Dawes one-down it was the rear wheel that broke but the front perfectly ok still ( I weigh 15-6 stone). I personally have no experience of that company, other people here might - taylor-wheels-co-uk
Last edited by mercalia on 28 Jul 2015, 11:54pm, edited 1 time in total.
Brucey
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by Brucey »

re the 'lip at the join'; some rims have a step in the joint from new, but if it appears in use it can be because the rim has taken a knock or it can mean that the rim has worn thin just near the joint and may fail very soon. So be careful.

Often if the step is causing a bad pulsing sensation on the brakes, simply reversing the wheel in the fork will fix it.

cheers
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by [XAP]Bob »

If the hub Dynamo wheel is available for £35 then go for it.

They do make life nicer, but bottles do work as well if your budget is limited I'd get the lights and a bottle, then upgrade the bottle to a hub after the first saved tank of petrol.

Actually - you could run the lights from a 9v (PP3) battery until that tank of fuel has been saved...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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mjr
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by mjr »

A fairly cheap (£45 I think) Taylor hub dynamo wheel on one bike here is still going strong after a year of near-daily commuting use.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Froom2
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Joined: 14 Mar 2013, 6:04pm

Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by Froom2 »

Wow thanks everyone!
This is all really amazing advice, I am going to mull it all over.

I feel like possibly one thing I need to do is take another look and see if I can find one that already has it fitted in, if I can't find one within my budget, taking into account these price ranges you've all suggested (which quite honestly, are a lot less than I was expecting!) then I am going to have a go at fitting one myself.

Exciting times, thank you :)
mercalia
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Re: Getting and fitting a dynamo

Post by mercalia »

one thing hasnt been made out is that bits and pieces bought from Germany can be considerabley cheaper than here eg a top class bottle dyno can be about £24 there and £45+ here; similary the Axa Pico 30 - my basic one was £12 from germany but here more like £17+. even factoring postage can be a big saving if u buy enough bits
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