On 2/7/2018 7:22 AM, jbeattie wrote:

snip

My generator and light cost almost five times the price of my little L&M Urban 800 all-in-one, which produces more light. Hub was $110 on sale at Western Bikeworks (SP PD8), and the Luxos B was around $120 OTC from Clever Cycles in Portland. Throw in time for building front wheel. I got the all in one on sale for around $45.

Now, the battery life on the Urban sucks, and forgetting to charge is a reality -- so it's not as convenient as a dyno light, but I can switch it around between bikes. I've been switching between two bikes for commuting lately due to mechanical issues. One bike has a through-axle and the other doesn't, so switching dyno lights would be impossible. I'd need a dyno hub with 15mm through axle which, on its own, can cost as much as $200. I would also have to get a handlebar mount since there is no through hole on the crown of either of my disc bikes. I miss that and once I get a bar mount, I'll go back to using my Luxos B on the commuter, but I'll also use my little flea-watt back up blinky on the bar. I think low watt flashers or pulsing (rather than bursting flash-bulb) flashers are good in urban bicycle and car traffic.

When the Lezyne battery pack failed (and it failed completely, not just
lower capacity), we were about to go out on a ride. I gave my identical
light to the spousal unit, and I relied on my dynamo light with hub
dynamo. It was a day ride so it was no big deal, but there was no way
anyone would want to be out on that unlit MUP at night with only a
dynamo light. It's very dark with a lot of twists and turns, and ups and
downs. I'd estimate that about 70% of the riders on the MUP had DRLs
going. The dynamo light on my road bike is not a high-end dynamo light
(that's on my Dahon folder), but it is the only commercially available
dynamo light with a flashing DRL. It's enough to stay legal and be seen
https://www.planetbike.com/store/blaze-dynamo-sl-bike-headlight.html.

And yes, adequate dynamo lights are very expensive, not just because of
the light itself, but because of the high cost of a wheel with a dynamo hub.

One advantage of the Oculus light from Barry is that it uses standard
size button-top Li-Ion batteries
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91CXQCE95lL._SL1500_.jpg
that are easily user replaceable . With the Lezyne, you could carry some
extra battery packs but you really would not want to be taking the light
apart to change the battery while on a ride. It's very water-proof with
O-rings in three places that you'd have to get back in place, and one of
the screws holding it together is a very small Torx screw.