I would refer you, and future readers, to Mercalia’s post on this thread dated 24/01/19; to my mind it’s a rather good answer to your (the original) question.
As others have pointed out the typical relative cost of hub and bottle dynamos is much less than 10:1.
Edit. Looking through the Holland Bike website (
https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/bicyc ... mo/?page=1) at bottle dynamos I think the relative costs are more like 5:1 - bottle dynamos can be very reasonably priced.
About 3 decades ago my sole transport was a bike. I commuted to and from work on one, all year around and in all weathers, and did long runs with my local CTC that sometimes returned in the dark. Some of that riding was on un-lite country lanes and cycle paths. My longest night time runs were around two hours and my longest commute was 45 minutes. Lighting was supplied by a halogen bulb headlight and a Union Dynamo, slipping was never an issue and I never had tyre wall damage. My point is that a bottle dynamo can be perfectly adequate for all year round commuting - at one point the bulk of riders were happy enough to use them.
In addition to the points made in Mercalia’s post I would add that good bottle Dynamo’s are relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to install and that should they fail then they are easy to replace - but that’s fairly obvious.
Rather than say bottles are better than hubs, or the opposite, I’d say that it all depends on individual circumstances. I have a decades old bottle Dynamo on one of my bikes and it's there as a good back-up light source that can be put into use if needed. These days I rarely choose to ride in the dark. The enthusiast will very probably go for a hub because it’s the best possible technical solution for all eventualities. I’m a pragmatist who requires functionality rather than perfection - the existing arrangement works well enough and I could cycle right through to dawn using it - and hence am happy enough to use a bottle Dynamo for my current and anticipated needs. However, I would look at hubs and wonder about investing in one if I started to commute with night time rides of over say 40 minutes.
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.
. If I sound "blunt" in my posts, please be understanding : I am not perfect. Thank you. Visit https://www.asdinfowales.co.uk/ to learn more
