LUMOTEC IQ Fly senso plus

[piedwagtail91]

can any fly iq owner please tell me the length of the attached wire ?
i getting one early next year and am wondering if it's long enough to mount the light on the bars without having to extend it.

[james01]

My dynamo is at the rear wheel, & the headlamp is on the fork crown, so almost as long a run as yours. I actually had to cut the cable as it was too long, so I don't think you should have any problem.

[piedwagtail91]

thanks

[RJC]

I currently have a D'Lumotec Oval Senso Plus as a primary light and an E6-Z with a 3W bulb as a secondary. Does anyone know if the Fly IQ Senso can be wired up with a secondary lamp? Would those of you who have the Fly IQ think that there's no need to run an E6-Z with it?

Yes it can be done. Measurements of light output for various combinations here:
http://www.fahrradzukunft.de/fz-0704/0704-05/pic8g.gif

Unlike filament bulbs you can run these led lights in parallel as well as in series and share the power. Two bulbs would just glow dimly if you tried the same trick with them.

[T800]

Thanks for that link, RJC, it's really good.

I was surprised by the results, particularly that just a straight swap, Fly IQ for the D'Lumotec on my bike, will give one of the best solutions possible (though I don't understand what the "+330µF" means when using two Fly IQs in series).

I currently have a D'Lumotec Oval Senso Plus as a primary light and an E6-Z with a 3W bulb as a secondary. Does anyone know if the Fly IQ Senso can be wired up with a secondary lamp? Would those of you who have the Fly IQ think that there's no need to run an E6-Z with it?

Yes it can be done. Measurements of light output for various combinations here:
http://www.fahrradzukunft.de/fz-0704/0704-05/pic8g.gif

Unlike filament bulbs you can run these led lights in parallel as well as in series and share the power. Two bulbs would just glow dimly if you tried the same trick with them.

[PH]

There's some beam shots here which might be of interest;
http://www.velociped.ch/docs/Dynamo-Sch ... h_2008.pdf

These along with the graph linked by RJC only tell part of the story. If you get the chance seeing before buying is best.

[james01]

I currently have a D'Lumotec Oval Senso Plus as a primary light and an E6-Z with a 3W bulb as a secondary. Does anyone know if the Fly IQ Senso can be wired up with a secondary lamp? Would those of you who have the Fly IQ think that there's no need to run an E6-Z with it?

Yes it can be done. Measurements of light output for various combinations here:
http://www.fahrradzukunft.de/fz-0704/0704-05/pic8g.gif

Unlike filament bulbs you can run these led lights in parallel as well as in series and share the power. Two bulbs would just glow dimly if you tried the same trick with them.

Very interesting results. I'd never realised that IQ LEDs could be connected successfully in series or parallel.
The graph shows that a halogen secondary is best left switched off until you reach about 18kph, whereas a pair of IQs might as well be left connected permanently. Halogen dynamo lights have had their day, it seems, with limited bulb life, and performance reduction with age (though there could still be an application where a narrow, long range beam is needed). The low speed output of the LEDs is remarkable.
One thing to bear in mind, there will be additional dynamo drag when operating additional lights.
I cycle on rural lanes with some poorly maintained surfaces, and I'm pleased to report that my single IQ LED gives all the light I need. I'd probably add a secondary if I were contemplating some fast downhilling in a mountainous area.

[PW]

That's my problem. I can easily exceed 45mph coming down off the Peak District and there's no problem with a couple of high powered halogens, I'm waiting for the LED to match that, probably from a rechargeable Li-Ion powerpack.

[natmat]

There are push-fit connectors on the lamp unit itelf. Mine came with two lengths of wire, one suitable for the fork mount the other much longer, no doubt for connection of a rear lamp. The frount wire was already wired up to the spade connectors and I would think it might just reach your bars, but probably not. On my fork mount I have it would around the fork leg about 6 times to take up the slack. I'll measure exact lenght and report back. However, the back wire would be plenty long-enough for bar attachment.

can any fly iq owner please tell me the length of the attached wire ?
i getting one early next year and am wondering if it's long enough to mount the light on the bars without having to extend it.

[piedwagtail91]

thanks.i'll buy a few connectors in when i get the lamp, just in case.

[CJ]

Measurements of light output for various combinations here:
http://www.fahrradzukunft.de/fz-0704/0704-05/pic8g.gif

Unlike filament bulbs you can run these led lights in parallel as well as in series and share the power. Two bulbs would just glow dimly if you tried the same trick with them.

Thanks for the link, which shows that although you can connect two LED lights in parallel, you hardly get any more light out of them that way. Sharing the power is right. Each lamp gets half as much power and produces only slightly more than half as much light.

Check out the graphs and you'll see that in order to get a worthwhile amount of extra light you still have to connect the lamps in series. Only that way, by increasing the resistance of the load, can you get appreciably more power out of an alternator that's designed to produce a constant current.

Connection in parallel works, but connection in series works a whole lot better.

[fatboy]

Connection in parallel works, but connection in series works a whole lot better.

Worth noting that you have to have a dynamo that does not have a voltage limiter integral to get the serial version to work. It works because the voltage exceeds 6V. However I've got an Axa-HR dynamo which has voltage limiting diodes internal so the series configuration wouldn't work. Probably also only worth cosidering for hub dynamos - any additional load on the sidewall type would make them more likely to slip.

[james01]

Check out the graphs and you'll see that in order to get a worthwhile amount of extra light you still have to connect the lamps in series. Only that way, by increasing the resistance of the load, can you get appreciably more power out of an alternator that's designed to produce a constant current.

Connection in parallel works, but connection in series works a whole lot better.

...running two lamps, does anyone know whether the extra dynamo drag would be noticeable or insignificant?

[natmat]

Just curious, but are you asking because you're just curious to know the boundaries or that having tried the IQ you really want more light? I've 1x IQ and am very pleased with it. Faultless performance so far (3 months, 2k miles of rain, commuting and now frost), I can see the road clearly from 5mph, cars dip their lights, other cyclist are impressed and less drag than my old B&M halogen setup.

...running two lamps, does anyone know whether the extra dynamo drag would be noticeable or insignificant?

[james01]

Just curious, but are you asking because you're just curious to know the boundaries or that having tried the IQ you really want more light? I've 1x IQ and am very pleased with it. Faultless performance so far (3 months, 2k miles of rain, commuting and now frost), I can see the road clearly from 5mph, cars dip their lights, other cyclist are impressed and less drag than my old B&M halogen setup.

[

I agree, the IQ really is the best dynamo light I've ever used, in fact I don't know why battery enthusiasts still put up with all their recharging rituals when you can have fit & forget lighting performance as good as this. My query was for my other bike, which has an original B&M Lumotec LED which now looks a bit insipid compared to the IQ.