Dynamo Lighting - fit and forget?

[Brucey]

By coincidence on the day you wrote this I was setting off on a tour running a B&M mini rear permanently wired to the dynamo but the front only on when needed. It lasted a day before failing.
The website said it is overload protected, I didnt see any further small print.

I just looked on the B&M website at the Toplight Mini Plus and I couldn't find anything about the nature of the overload protection. The linked pdf instructions referred to a different model... However Peter White's website says

Full over-voltage protection. In the event of a headlight failure the Toplight Mini Plus taillight will not be damaged by the full power of the dynamo.

Which either means that is not really the case (not for very long anyway) or you were unlucky....

cheers

[Gattonero]

Just a heads up, but Amazon may have good prices for:

B&M 'Eyc T': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busch-Müller-L ... IUC74?th=1 - £20

and

B&M 'Cyo Premium Senso': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busch-Müller-L ... s_sp_4_vtp - £29

The descriptions are confusing, but the model numbers check out. I've ordered the latter (there are only 4 left, currently).

I may actually upgrade my old Cyo that is likely to be only 40lux, though is already good enough for actually see where you're going I won't trust it downhill without a backup (then, of course, the best would be to have a spot-light on the helmet), that price is really good.

By the way, at the rear I've a B&M Secula which seems really good except one thing: the capacitor is inside and you can't switch it off
It's not the end of the world, but there are times when you need a bit of privacy (i.e. quick stop for the call of nature ) and I'd rather be able to switch the light off, like some old B&M lights where you could touch two connectors with a metal thing (like the lock key or a coin) to disarm the capacitor. Has anyone tried to make a similar mod?

[Des49]

By the way, at the rear I've a B&M Secula which seems really good except one thing: the capacitor is inside and you can't switch it off
It's not the end of the world, but there are times when you need a bit of privacy

My Supernova lights have this same annoying "feature". The standlight continues even if the light is turned off!

Not normally a problem, except it has led to people running after me saying I have left my lights on, a meeting being interrupted as the hotel staff (thoughtfully) tried to find the cyclist who had left his lights on, plus people tampering with the lights as they tried to switch them off for me!

[Brucey]

I have heard of folk carrying a dark-coloured plastic bag around with them to cover up the standlight.... FWIW I think that fully discharging a supercapacitor is considered to be 'bad for it'; my understanding is that (like most forms of electrolytic capacitor), they need to be 're-formed' when they are charged from fully flat, and each time this procedure is carried out there is a chance that the capacitor may suffer damage or even fail.

So of the two options

a) installing a shorting device or
b) installing a switch that isolates the capacitor

I fundamentally favour the latter approach, unless the former can be made to leave the capacitor with some (rather than none) in the way of charge in it (eg by using diodes in the discharge circuit, and of course series resistance to limit the peak current). Adding a shorting device is probably easier, in that it can be set in parallel with the capacitor, and requires no breaking of tracks on the circuit board.

cheers

[mjr]

I have heard of folk carrying a dark-coloured plastic bag around with them to cover up the standlight....

Me! I don't like to show a red light on a railway platform.

[Gattonero]

I have heard of folk carrying a dark-coloured plastic bag around with them to cover up the standlight.... FWIW I think that fully discharging a supercapacitor is considered to be 'bad for it'; my understanding is that (like most forms of electrolytic capacitor), they need to be 're-formed' when they are charged from fully flat, and each time this procedure is carried out there is a chance that the capacitor may suffer damage or even fail.

So of the two options

a) installing a shorting device or
b) installing a switch that isolates the capacitor

I fundamentally favour the latter approach, unless the former can be made to leave the capacitor with some (rather than none) in the way of charge in it (eg by using diodes in the discharge circuit, and of course series resistance to limit the peak current). Adding a shorting device is probably easier, in that it can be set in parallel with the capacitor, and requires no breaking of tracks on the circuit board.

cheers

Given the very low rate of failures in those old B&M lights, I suspect that the two contacts would activate a discharging circuit rather than simply emptying the capacitor (which BTW can be replaced for pennies)

[edocaster]

So I've had the Cyo Premium for a few days now, including riding through awful rain. My impression so far is positive, although I found the beam a little too optimised. The Axa Pico was a little more forgiving, whereas the Cyo needs 'perfect' aim, yet I'll seldom be riding in a flat, straight line.

I also miss having a bright patch ahead of me. It just makes more sense for urban riding. In any case, the light definitely illuminates well enough in total darkness.

[gregoryoftours]

I'm not sure if I've posted in this thread already- I can't remember and I can't be bothered to search. But my B&M cyo-t lumotec IQ has been far from fit and forget. I would recommend dismantling on buying it and using silicone grease to seal it as well as possible before use. It might also be worth making a gasket from old inner tube for the near field/standby led unit. 2 of my 4 LEDs failed after a couple of months, on a bike fitted with full mudguards. The aforementioned unit has a white chalky looking residue in it where water got in and the LEDs blew. Very shoddy on a £50 light.

[nigelnightmare]

I use AXA LUXX 70 PLUS on mine and have had no problems in two(2) years. Handy for charging the phone during the day.
Basically fit and forget.

[Gattonero]

I'm not sure if I've posted in this thread already- I can't remember and I can't be bothered to search. But my B&M cyo-t lumotec IQ has been far from fit and forget. I would recommend dismantling on buying it and using silicone grease to seal it as well as possible before use. It might also be worth making a gasket from old inner tube for the near field/standby led unit. 2 of my 4 LEDs failed after a couple of months, on a bike fitted with full mudguards. The aforementioned unit has a white chalky looking residue in it where water got in and the LEDs blew. Very shoddy on a £50 light.

I've been riding two Cyo (one standard and one Premium) for a while, including many days riding in heavy rain for long. No problems.
Surely is worth checking the bolt at the bottom, if comes loose than the seal at the top won't be effective

[freiston]

I've had no problems with my Cyo T Premium after a few years of low mileage all-weather use, including torrential rain.

[andrew_s]

Just a heads up, but Amazon may have good prices for:

B&M 'Eyc T': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busch-Müller-L ... IUC74?th=1 - £20

and

B&M 'Cyo Premium Senso': https://www.amazon.co.uk/Busch-Müller-L ... s_sp_4_vtp - £29

The descriptions are confusing, but the model numbers check out. I've ordered the latter (there are only 4 left, currently).

Just in case anyone thinks they will have all been sold by now and doesn't check...

The "4 new from £29" doesn't mean only 4 left, but available from 4 sellers.

(Also the price has gone up to £35, now black friday is done with)

[gregoryoftours]

I'm not sure if I've posted in this thread already- I can't remember and I can't be bothered to search. But my B&M cyo-t lumotec IQ has been far from fit and forget. I would recommend dismantling on buying it and using silicone grease to seal it as well as possible before use. It might also be worth making a gasket from old inner tube for the near field/standby led unit. 2 of my 4 LEDs failed after a couple of months, on a bike fitted with full mudguards. The aforementioned unit has a white chalky looking residue in it where water got in and the LEDs blew. Very shoddy on a £50 light.

I've been riding two Cyo (one standard and one Premium) for a while, including many days riding in heavy rain for long. No problems.
Surely is worth checking the bolt at the bottom, if comes loose than the seal at the top won't be effective

the bolt wasn't loose and the main body of the light was dry. I assume that water got into the near field and stand light module by capillary action where it's clamped to the main light, it's not sealed like the heat sink on the top.

[Greystoke]

Are LED lights really fit and forget? My 2 off 3w halogen dynamo lights worked fine this morning but my led head torch packed in.

Forgot to mention it was -2degC on my commute this morning

[Des49]

Are LED lights really fit and forget? My 2 off 3w halogen dynamo lights worked fine this morning but my led head torch packed in.

Forgot to mention it was -2degC on my commute this morning

The answer is of course no, LEDs are not fit and forget. But they are so much better than old filament bulb lights, until something goes wrong then not so easy to fix! I have gone through a few LED head torches, mostly wiring failures, one a potentially dangerously hot battery pack from a short.

I run Supernova dynamo lights, just had a bit of a saga getting some lights returned from Germany over the last 5 months. The 4th repair I have had on a headlight. Three tail lights have failed and been deemed unrepairable by Supernova, I know it is the wiring in one of them, but not the other 2, so disappointing. I will add my experiences are over about 5 bikes set up with Supernova dynamo lights over the last 8 years or so. Overall still highly reliable, but not fit and forget forever.

My lights are on all the time every ride unless out on a racing bike, so they see a fair number of hours. Other family bikes see less use.

No lighting set up is 100% reliable, I generally run battery backup front and rear lights at the same time as my dynamo lights at night, sometimes even 2 battery rears. At some point something will happen, wires may fatigue somewhere after a few years of service at the minimum, or the lights may experience a failure eventually too (standlight capacitors fail frequently but at least do not stop the light working properly on the road). On critical overnight trips I may well pack a powerful head torch in addition, had to use it once when the wire to the headlight from the dynamo started to work intermittently and had to be replaced when home.