Dynamos

[crossy]

Hi everyone had my trike for around 6 months now and I'm loving it. Now looking to put a dynamo system on it. I've been looking at hub dynamos the only one that takes my fancy is the Sturmey Archer one as I like the drum brakes and would like to keep them. Another option is a bottle dynamo either a Busche Muller or AXA HR. They come in left side or right side I have an ICE trike so which one would I need left or right. Yet another one I found was a Sun Eco thing that fits on back wheel and runs off the spokes I think. What can any of you recommend.

[firedfromthecircus]

Also the Reelight dynamo system that is non hub based.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/reelight-rl7 ... 99141349c9

I have one of these systems but haven't fitted it yet, but I did read some good reviews before I bought.

[Swizz69]

Whilst the Sturmey hub Dynamo on my wife's Pashley has some resistance, it doesn't appear to change whether or not the light is on.

The old bottle Dynamo on my Dutchbike is very draggy but of course only when it's on. As it doesn't get used for any great distances at night I much prefer that trade off.

I'd be interested to hear of anyone who has used Reelights as for ease of fitment they are a no brainer. No special brackets req'd as for a bottle Dynamo, and unlike a hub Dynamo which is integral to the wheel, any problems with the wheel or the generator can be repaired with one not affecting the other. If they work well also then there's a lot to like!

[Brucey]

AFAICT the various reelight models are 'be seen' lights, not 'see with' lights.

cheers

[bazz]

How Do All

I always used to use a B+M dymotec 6 bottle dynamo with Cyo + and Cyo Premium lights. A good dynamo and light system but creates a fair amount of drag on the tyre and the output is only good for a single front and rear light.
But the last year or so I have been using Velogical rim dynamo's, I have several of these on various bikes and trikes and these run on the rim rather than the tyre, even in heavy rain and with very wet rims! the drag is imperceivable so you can run day light running lights at no cost to your speed.
On my ice trike and Radius Peer Gynt I run dual headlights and a rear light with braking lights and front daylight running lights all the time, day and night.
I can highly recommend Velogical as a non hub dynamo, which has the advantages of being able to switch it off and also replace damaged wheels with no hasle, which with a hub dynamo is a hassle.
You can also with the trekking and special versions run a power charging system for phones, GPS and the like!

Here you can see pictures of my Trike set up both with Velogical and dymotec dynamo's and the variations of light set ups I tried before settling on a good layout,cand how I fitted the dynamo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56784659@N08/albums/72157653749993132

And also a link to Velogical's site
http://www.velogical-engineering.com

Be aware, a Velogical dynamo is €150.00 about £110.00 higher than a standard dynamo but much cheaper and more convenient than a hub dynamo.

I hope this helps?

Take care,
Barry

[squeaker]

I can highly recommend Velogical as a non hub dynamo, which has the advantages of being able to switch it off and also replace damaged wheels with no hasle, which with a hub dynamo is a hassle.
You can also with the trekking and special versions run a power charging system for phones, GPS and the like!

Here you can see pictures of my Trike set up both with Velogical and dymotec dynamo's and the variations of light set ups I tried before settling on a good layout,cand how I fitted the dynamo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56784659@N08/albums/72157653749993132

Nice bracketry IIRC the Velogical is said to whine - not good near your ears, IMO - how good / bad is it?

[jayjay]

Left, if using the Ice rear mounting. I use a Nordlicht, the rubber wheels seem to last about 12 months.

[[XAP]Bob]

I used to have a B&M bottle on the trike (left fitting) but replaced with a hub after one summer - it seized after not being used for that long. The hub is still going strong.

The hub I have is a SON, but only because the SA wasn't available when purchased.

Someone else on here was looking at a pair of the SA, although I think they only rate them for one sided operation.

[hercule]

Thanks for the those photos, Bazz - you've neatly answered two problems I've been mulling over, namely how to fit a Velogic dynamo to my QNT, and how to fit a front light when there's a fairing fitted. Does the front of the Streamer cut off the beam of the lights much? I had thought I would fit a dyno lamp on the forward spar of my fairing, but was concerned that vibration might have adverse effects - it also leaves the light rather low for visibility (being seen) purposes. I take it the dynamo is running two front lights and a tail light?

(I like my SA drums too much to consider switching to disks and a SON.)

[firedfromthecircus]

Love the Peer Gynt bazz.

Looks like Johnny 5 from the front.

Did you experiment with different heights for the front lights on the Radius?

[IanW]

I fitted a Sunup Eco DS1-R to a Windcheetah easily enough:

This was to a rear wheel that was entirely unencumbered on the left-hand side.
But it could well work if the left-hand side of the rear wheel is reasonably conventional in size and shape and does not have a disk rotor

[squeaker]

I fitted a Sunup Eco DS1-R to a Windcheetah easily enough:

What do you think of it?

[IanW]

It took a bit of care to get it correctly centred on the wheel, but once that was achieved it runs very smoothly.

In fact when no "load" is attached to the dynamo output, any additional rolling resistance is negligible
i.e. it barely stops the wheel from freewheeling when not in contact with the gound,
let alone when the trike is actually rolling

I run a B&M Cyo RT and a Toplight Line off it just fine.
(But need to note that as it outputs DC, it would not operate a "Toplight Line Brake Plus")

So far I have had no issues, but I am keeping a eye out for any water ingress
The "outboard" side is taped over, but I guess there is nothing stopping water ingress from the dynamo - hub connection side.

[bazz]

I can highly recommend Velogical as a non hub dynamo, which has the advantages of being able to switch it off and also replace damaged wheels with no hasle, which with a hub dynamo is a hassle.
You can also with the trekking and special versions run a power charging system for phones, GPS and the like!

Here you can see pictures of my Trike set up both with Velogical and dymotec dynamo's and the variations of light set ups I tried before settling on a good layout,cand how I fitted the dynamo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56784659@N08/albums/72157653749993132

Nice bracketry IIRC the Velogical is said to whine - not good near your ears, IMO - how good / bad is it?

If the dynamo whines at all, and it shouldn't, it is solely due to the dynamo not being set up properly.
If you are to compare it to a B+M dynamo, then the Velogical is infinitely quieter and as it does not run on on the textured dynamo strip on the tyre but on the smooth rim it runs without any vibration or brrr'ing at all.

Does the Velogical make a noise when in use? Then yes, in a quiet garage or on a very quiet road you can hear it spinning but it is not in the least bit annoying, and in normal road/traffic conditions it is inaudible due to ambient noise, also worth a note is that 9 out of 10 idler systems will drown out any apparent noise from the dynamo, and if you are OK with your idler/chain noise then it is hardly worth worrying about dynamo hum, (ooo! That sounds a bit Frank Zappa

[bazz]

Thanks for the those photos, Bazz - you've neatly answered two problems I've been mulling over, namely how to fit a Velogic dynamo to my QNT, and how to fit a front light when there's a fairing fitted. Does the front of the Streamer cut off the beam of the lights much? I had thought I would fit a dyno lamp on the forward spar of my fairing, but was concerned that vibration might have adverse effects - it also leaves the light rather low for visibility (being seen) purposes. I take it the dynamo is running two front lights and a tail light?

(I like my SA drums too much to consider switching to disks and a SON.)

Cheers! I think you could probably make a neater bracket than I have and maybe even position more forward so that it comes off of the original dynamo bracket, but as I was not using a rear disk brake or the single sided mudguard mount, I decided to mout the bracket where I did just out of convenience, maybe one day I will change this, but it works fantastically as is for now.

The streamer does not cut out the main beam and the road is lit fine ahead, in fact the light also shines down through the fairing and onto the road immediately below and in front of your feet.

Originally I had the lights fitted inside the fairing and on the forward spar. But this is too low for a good spread of light and being so low makes even the smallest ripple in the road look like a mountain due to the elongated shadows. Also the light gets reflected back at you inside the fairing and is quite an annoyance, mounted on top of the fairing gives a nice spread of light and also reduces any reflected light to a minimum.

I also would not change the drums for disks! Been there and I did not like them on the trike, personal preference though I guess.