Ever ready bike light

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
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andrew_s
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Location: Gloucestershire

Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by andrew_s »

The older Soubitez dynamos were the best of the BB dynamos.
In the last few years of production, they encheapened the design, and replaced the bearings of the roller by a nylon bushing, and an over-long downhill at maximum speed would wreck it.
The Sanyos were higher power (3.8W), but more power means more drag, which means more chance of slipping, not helped by the rubber "tyre" they had on the roller.

The big advantage of the BB roller dynamo over the sidewall dynamo was that it ran on the tyre tread, so you could run fast skinwall tyres without tyre damage. Most tyres with a dynamo track for a sidewall dynamo are comparatively slow, which makes a lot more difference than any direct dynamo drag (most actual tests I saw had no real difference - i.e BB and sidewall were mixed up in the drag rankings).

After 28 years of dedicated dynamo use, I recently weighed up the cost of a SON 28 thru-axle wheel and Edelux 2, and instead decided to invest in a modern battery light for the new N+1.
It really is quite impressive. There's a handlebar button for dip and main beam, just like a car, and just as bright, at least if you're comparing with my car. There aren't even any worries about run time - from fully charged, it's 3h on main, 10h on dip, or 50h on dim-dip (hold the button for 2 sec, a wide 30 lux)
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Sweep
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Sweep »

andrew_s wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 1:30am
After 28 years of dedicated dynamo use, I recently weighed up the cost of a SON 28 thru-axle wheel and Edelux 2, and instead decided to invest in a modern battery light for the new N+1.
It really is quite impressive. There's a handlebar button for dip and main beam, just like a car, and just as bright, at least if you're comparing with my car. There aren't even any worries about run time - from fully charged, it's 3h on main, 10h on dip, or 50h on dim-dip (hold the button for 2 sec, a wide 30 lux)
Can I ask what the light is?
Sweep
MartinC
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by MartinC »

I agree with everything Andrew has said upthread it's just that I can't get past the fact that with a generator system the lights are always on the bike and always have charge available.
james01
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by james01 »

MartinC wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 9:53am ....the fact that with a generator system the lights are always on the bike and always have charge available.
Agreed. As an all-weather/all hours utility cyclist I need an "ever-ready"(sorry!) bike for day and night use without pre-planning. Dynamo for me every time.
ChrisButch
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by ChrisButch »

BB rollers - I had a succession of Soubitez and Sanyo on my commuting bike for many years. They had to be replaced pretty frequently - but that was on an all-year, all-weather commute on mucky Devon lanes. The roller itself would wear to a concave shape, noticeably increasing drag. The wiring was flimsy, vulnerable and unreliable. If the roller iced up it was wrecked. But the light was good when it worked - especially when halogen bulbs came along.
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andrew_s
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by andrew_s »

Sweep wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 6:43am
andrew_s wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 1:30am
After 28 years of dedicated dynamo use, I recently weighed up the cost of a SON 28 thru-axle wheel and Edelux 2, and instead decided to invest in a modern battery light for the new N+1.
It really is quite impressive. There's a handlebar button for dip and main beam, just like a car, and just as bright, at least if you're comparing with my car. There aren't even any worries about run time - from fully charged, it's 3h on main, 10h on dip, or 50h on dim-dip (hold the button for 2 sec, a wide 30 lux)
Can I ask what the light is?
Supernova M99
Pinkie
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Pinkie »

james01 wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 2:00pm
MartinC wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 9:53am ....the fact that with a generator system the lights are always on the bike and always have charge available.
Agreed. As an all-weather/all hours utility cyclist I need an "ever-ready"(sorry!) bike for day and night use without pre-planning. Dynamo for me every time.
That's one solution, I've gone for spending £ 1 on 30 AAA batteries every 6 months or so, it doesn't seem to be an awful lot more planning than the planning required to own a dynamo in the first place, even more that I need a stock of batteries for my remote, mouse and keyboard anyway

I used to be a dynamo convert back in the day of dim lights and huge exspensive batteries that went flat in a couple of evenings , but like wind up record players they had their day

If I was touring accross Patagonia, I may reconsider
MartinC
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by MartinC »

Pinkie wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 7:37pm I used to be a dynamo convert back in the day...........but like wind up record players they had their day
Well, a lot or people buy them to charge all their other essential electronic equipment now so they seem to be the future!
Pinkie
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Pinkie »

MartinC wrote: 21 Nov 2021, 6:21pm
Pinkie wrote: 19 Nov 2021, 7:37pm I used to be a dynamo convert back in the day...........but like wind up record players they had their day
Well, a lot or people buy them to charge all their other essential electronic equipment now so they seem to be the future!
I suspect ebikes with usb terminals are the future.wind up torches are also useful but they have a limited appeal to the mass market who have access to batteries. When you say " a lot of people " you mean a few thousand dont you?

But I did say touring in places that dont have electricity they may come in handy. But you can get wind up phone chargers for a fraction of the cost. I have one built into my torch
Carlton green
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Carlton green »

Battery lights have their place but as far as I’m concerned Dynamos are the way to go on human (only) powered bikes. Of course if you have an eBike then perhaps lights powered from its battery might make some sense.

Everyone finds their own way forward but on a bike I like the always available and never flat option, aka a Dynamo. In the past I’ve far too often wondered whether the batteries would last until I got home again or die whilst I was still depending on them to continue working. Maybe I should have been using rechargeable batteries but they used to be quite expensive and had limited capacity ... and you have to remember to recharge them too, etc.

It’s true that some non-rechargeable batteries can be bought for relatively little money and I do use batteries where I need to. Of course non-rechargeable batteries have an environmental cost too. Using a Dynamo avoids both fiscal and environmental battery costs.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
MartinC
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by MartinC »

Pinkie wrote: 21 Nov 2021, 6:51pm ..........When you say " a lot of people " you mean a few thousand dont you? .......
I mean enough to make it commercially viable for mainstream suppliers to manufacture and sell the products. I was just making the point that in this market dynamos still have a place. The context we're looking at is the market that will buy either an expensive dynamo or an expensive rechargeable light and increasing requires current for other applications. I'd guess you're alluding to the fact that in the developing world they're all irrelevant.
thirdcrank
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by thirdcrank »

I think we've gone the full circle on some types of bike. The first thing is to forget about bikes which are only likely to be ridden once or twice before going in the back of the garage. Then, a properly-equipped utility bike can now have a hub dynamo giving decent light with no faffing. ie A modern version of the Sturmey dynohub which was once very common on roadster bikes and similar. For cycling enthusiasts whose riding includes night time, modern hub dynamos are a serious option.
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Mick F
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Mick F »

Having a dynohub on Moulton was a no-brainer having read loadsa threads on here about lights and stuff.
I was building new wheels for the beast, so a dynohub was an obvious choice.
If and when I re-build my Mercian's front wheel, I do it with a dynohub. The SP dynohub is cheaper than the Campag Chorus hub on there now. I could sell that hub to pay for an SP dynohub and still use the same spokes!

I cannot understand why people don't specify them on "normal" bikes. Racers don't need them, but we on here aren't TDF riders or TOB riders either.
Mick F. Cornwall
nez
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by nez »

Carlton green wrote: 21 Nov 2021, 7:20pm Of course non-rechargeable batteries have an environmental cost too. Using a Dynamo avoids both fiscal and environmental battery costs.
exactly my own thought. They may be cheap, but we have to consider what legacy we leave our grandchildren, unfortunately.
Grandad
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Re: Ever ready bike light

Post by Grandad »

This thread brings back memories of a ride in the 1960s. It was an evening training ride on the Birmingham New Road, on a tandem. We were moving at a fair speed when a car pulled out from a side street right in front of us, I managed to steer round it and we both had a good shout at the driver. The car stopped the driver and passenger got out and said that they hadn't seen us as we had no front light. We used this particular road as it was a well lit main route between Birmingham and Wolverhampton so a cycle light did nothing to make us more visible..

They said that they were police officers so we asked to see their warrant cards. We then asked them to switch our front light off, which they could not do as being the usual unreliable Ever Ready I had wired it to stay on permanently.

A threat to report them resulted in a very grudging apology. :)

Not sure what the outcome would be in 2021.
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