Further Adventures in Dynoland

O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.

Anyway, he seemed like a smart guy, so I went with the flow and did what he told me to do. He didn't try to up-sell me to the Edelux II for many of the same reasons Andre mentioned. He thought the Cyo beam was too narrow for my purposes.

I put the light on last week and have ridden it for five nights. My initial impressions:

The good: it lights up well at low speed and has a more robust stand light than the SuperNova E3 triple. It puts more light on the road and has an really wide beam spread. It produces more light at lower speeds. The capacitor really holds a charge. If I shut the light off before it discharges, it lights right up when I return to the rack 10 hours later.

the bad: the beam cut-off is disturbing when I transition from a steep downhill on to trail. This is a shot looking in the reverse direction of my travel: http://tinyurl.com/kwnwffh It's hard to tell, but the paved downhill is really steep, and in the dark, with the cut off, I can't see the bollards when I transition from the road to the trail.

It was also hard to see a pedestrian (wearing all black) and a runner when I was going up the goat road towards the trail. Again, that is a beam cut off issue, and it may have to do with the positioning of the light, which is still a work in progress. Andre mentioned that the Fly has click stops, which would really be good for this light.

The light does not keep up when I'm going fast downhill. It's just not bright enough. The throw is pretty long, but it just lacks the power of good battery light.

My first night, I nearly got hooked about three times riding out of town. No kidding. I thought I must be invisible. It might have been bad luck, but just in case, I am now running my flea watt blinkie as well. (and I admit, I miss the ability to punish inattentive motorists with my uber-blinky on the Seca)

I don't mind the bulk of the light (which was a problem for some people) or the fact that it is plastic. It has a good warranty, and in fact, the guy at Clever said I could bring it back if I didn't like it. I like it well enough not to want to take it back.

I can live with this light, although I will have to go on a light diet. If I do any serious, high speed descending, I'm pulling out the battery light (and riding a different bike as well, so no big deal). I think my reaction is about the same as anyone who has been using a high lumen battery light. Dynos are a step backward in terms of sheer light output, and their benefit has to be found elsewhere -- no batteries to throw away, no recharging, etc.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 30/10/2014 23:08, jbeattie wrote:

The good: it lights up well at low speed and has a more robust stand light than the SuperNova E3 triple. It puts more light on the road and has an really wide beam spread. It produces more light at lower speeds. The capacitor really holds a charge. If I shut the light off before it discharges, it lights right up when I return to the rack 10 hours later.

That sounds like a result :-)

The light does not keep up when I'm going fast downhill. It's just not bright enough. The throw is pretty long, but it just lacks the power of good battery light.

One thing you could do is run with both the supernova and Luxos lamp.
Put them in series, and put a switch in to short out the supernova. When
you're going down, open the switch and you should get lots of light.

Ok, that's probably a bit clunky, and I don't know if it would actually
work, but it's not too hard to try if you're competent with electrical
string.

On 31/10/14 10:08, jbeattie wrote:
O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the
dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso plus.
http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry
about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.

Yikes at the price. Mine is 80lux. Yours only slightly less at 70lux,
AFAICT.


Anyway, he seemed like a smart guy, so I went with the flow and did
what he told me to do. He didn't try to up-sell me to the Edelux II
for many of the same reasons Andre mentioned. He thought the Cyo
beam was too narrow for my purposes.

I put the light on last week and have ridden it for five nights. My
initial impressions:

The good: it lights up well at low speed and has a more robust stand
light than the SuperNova E3 triple. It puts more light on the road
and has an really wide beam spread. It produces more light at lower
speeds. The capacitor really holds a charge. If I shut the light
off before it discharges, it lights right up when I return to the
rack 10 hours later.

the bad: the beam cut-off is disturbing when I transition from a
steep downhill on to trail. This is a shot looking in the reverse
direction of my travel: http://tinyurl.com/kwnwffh It's hard to tell,
but the paved downhill is really steep, and in the dark, with the cut
off, I can't see the bollards when I transition from the road to the
trail.


Yep, the cut off is pretty hard. Maybe I have mine aimed a little more
up. I try to aim it so that the bulk of the light doesn't hit above
trunk height on a car on a flat road. That is the bright part isn't
hitting the back window. It's still aimed slightly down from horizontal.

If you were using a motor vehicle the cut off effect going down through
dips or over crests would be very similar.

It was also hard to see a pedestrian (wearing all black) and a runner
when I was going up the goat road towards the trail. Again, that is
a beam cut off issue, and it may have to do with the positioning of
the light, which is still a work in progress. Andre mentioned that
the Fly has click stops, which would really be good for this light.

Yes, I've been surprised once by some walkers at night on a shared path,
but they saw me from a mile off and moved aside before I saw them, and
even so I had time to brake.


The light does not keep up when I'm going fast downhill. It's just
not bright enough. The throw is pretty long, but it just lacks the
power of good battery light.


Wow. I descended a mountain with my light at high speed and the road
was illuminated very well. On the steepest part I hit 70km/h.

http://email.strava.com/wf/click?upn=FLdFplb9Rd0LY-2BmLy3OryvDDptMqBn6AAC1cAG-2FGDgLqgoxh4764aj2AllgSda1DTuzbNyTFIAlXDJvEkKp-2FmH-2BuiKSizLmuyh2Su4imacZto7ysh-2Fkyrl8k89-2FtPLxrmNVU7N-2FN72qPTrNMOfAafi4UrnFN5GopvemNmbJ1-2BoY-3D_ex8vQtdTEwGKc274NFeZlAwXUVBB3swqP14Ml5l9rJ-2FUistI49GIwn-2BcxDhpK-2FHIM-2FX97oV4EGiXGu8uU9iOqvuVM4zuQWyldeJiJ0rvTLRyjngdaV 0fvnituuFKdHNJw-2FI-2BgbKWHoWmYn8uDDrTIA7h6Fghgjv-2FYgXss22KpkzUz5bo8baqMT-2B5RCgElQEn2Ya0R1WtBBTnpmxdR-2FRf-2FRS6HN5b3ssq-2BvGlQM9Gqrw-3D

My first night, I nearly got hooked about three times riding out of
town. No kidding. I thought I must be invisible. It might have been
bad luck, but just in case, I am now running my flea watt blinkie as
well. (and I admit, I miss the ability to punish inattentive
motorists with my uber-blinky on the Seca)

Hooked as in a right turner that just passed you? How is that the
headlight's fault?


I don't mind the bulk of the light (which was a problem for some
people) or the fact that it is plastic. It has a good warranty, and
in fact, the guy at Clever said I could bring it back if I didn't
like it. I like it well enough not to want to take it back.

Good.


I can live with this light, although I will have to go on a light
diet. If I do any serious, high speed descending, I'm pulling out
the battery light (and riding a different bike as well, so no big
deal). I think my reaction is about the same as anyone who has been
using a high lumen battery light. Dynos are a step backward in terms
of sheer light output, and their benefit has to be found elsewhere --
no batteries to throw away, no recharging, etc.


Don't forget that it is entirely feasible and sensible to pull more
power from the dynamo at higher speed. They are designed to be useful
at quite low speed (like 14 km/h or something), so achieve their
_minimum_ spec of 6V and 3W there. At higher speeds you could easily
switch in a high beam and make use of the higher voltage and wattage,
freely available when you are rolling downhill.

Yes a light with combined high and low beam would be very nice for a
roadie/racer cyclist such as you and me, but obviously the market in
Europe where these lights are the norm for most bikes hasn't demanded it.

If there was a dynamo light with a 3W low beam similar to what your
light has, and 6W high beam, all with a single reflector for under $100,
I'd buy one in a flash.

--
JS

On Thursday, October 30, 2014 7:08:44 PM UTC-4, jbeattie wrote:
O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.

Anyway, he seemed like a smart guy, so I went with the flow and did what he told me to do. He didn't try to up-sell me to the Edelux II for many of the same reasons Andre mentioned. He thought the Cyo beam was too narrow for my purposes.

I put the light on last week and have ridden it for five nights. My initial impressions:

The good: it lights up well at low speed and has a more robust stand light than the SuperNova E3 triple. It puts more light on the road and has an really wide beam spread. It produces more light at lower speeds. The capacitor really holds a charge. If I shut the light off before it discharges, it lights right up when I return to the rack 10 hours later.

the bad: the beam cut-off is disturbing when I transition from a steep downhill on to trail. This is a shot looking in the reverse direction of my travel: http://tinyurl.com/kwnwffh It's hard to tell, but the paved downhill is really steep, and in the dark, with the cut off, I can't see the bollards when I transition from the road to the trail.

It was also hard to see a pedestrian (wearing all black) and a runner when I was going up the goat road towards the trail. Again, that is a beam cut off issue, and it may have to do with the positioning of the light, which is still a work in progress. Andre mentioned that the Fly has click stops, which would really be good for this light.

The light does not keep up when I'm going fast downhill. It's just not bright enough. The throw is pretty long, but it just lacks the power of good battery light.

My first night, I nearly got hooked about three times riding out of town. No kidding. I thought I must be invisible. It might have been bad luck, but just in case, I am now running my flea watt blinkie as well. (and I admit, I miss the ability to punish inattentive motorists with my uber-blinky on the Seca)

I don't mind the bulk of the light (which was a problem for some people) or the fact that it is plastic. It has a good warranty, and in fact, the guy at Clever said I could bring it back if I didn't like it. I like it well enough not to want to take it back.

I can live with this light, although I will have to go on a light diet. If I do any serious, high speed descending, I'm pulling out the battery light (and riding a different bike as well, so no big deal). I think my reaction is about the same as anyone who has been using a high lumen battery light. Dynos are a step backward in terms of sheer light output, and their benefit has to be found elsewhere -- no batteries to throw away, no recharging, etc.

-- Jay Beattie.

nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

back to square one where we discussed.....

hhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

adjusted the hella replacement units last night. Significant improvement over Ford OEM. But same gripes, hi beams aren't bright enough and lowbeams are bright enough but too low...so the solution is buy a Chevy...or one of the $$$ftermarket aero units. Not likely hammer Dude.

One solution is off course, more power which we have in stock. The other is more light units, which we have in stock

Vaguely pleasing was a 50% improvement is low speed visual 90 degree turning sightedness up from ZERO but still lacking. We have small fogs for down there on da bumper but the circuitry is more than an hour which is more than I have time for now.

sound familiar ?

what is unusual ( r not ) the truck lights were perfecto for the first 100 miles then Kaput. Suspect hostile activity. The first 100 miles were better than Hella which also show a first light up prominence over the second.

we see a path to the $300 rallye unit whci isnot taken.

On 10/30/2014 4:08 PM, jbeattie wrote:

snip

I can live with this light, although I will have to go on a light diet. If I do any serious, high speed descending, I'm pulling out the battery light (and riding a different bike as well, so no big deal). I think my reaction is about the same as anyone who has been using a high lumen battery light. Dynos are a step backward in terms of sheer light output, and their benefit has to be found elsewhere -- no batteries to throw away, no recharging, etc.

Yeah, you point out all the problems that those of us that have been
using dyno lights have experienced.

1) The cutoff on StVZO compliant lights is dangerous and annoying (you
were nice enough to say "disturbing").

2. You outrun your lights on fast downhills.

jbeattie writes:

O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the
dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso
plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry
about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.
....
Nice report. I've forgotten, what brand of dynamo do you have?

--
Joe Riel

On Thursday, October 30, 2014 4:44:45 PM UTC-7, James wrote:
On 31/10/14 10:08, jbeattie wrote:
O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the
dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso plus.
http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry
about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.

Yikes at the price. Mine is 80lux. Yours only slightly less at 70lux,
AFAICT.

I had the same reaction, and that's why he gave me a deal. At the end of the day, the price difference between the sale Luxos B and your light was about USD $10. Keep in mind that the B&M Lumotec IQ Premium Cyo T goes for $120. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-lumotec-...so-plus-80-lux
Life in the U.S. is not cheap . . . but we're free!


Anyway, he seemed like a smart guy, so I went with the flow and did
what he told me to do. He didn't try to up-sell me to the Edelux II
for many of the same reasons Andre mentioned. He thought the Cyo
beam was too narrow for my purposes.

I put the light on last week and have ridden it for five nights. My
initial impressions:

The good: it lights up well at low speed and has a more robust stand
light than the SuperNova E3 triple. It puts more light on the road
and has an really wide beam spread. It produces more light at lower
speeds. The capacitor really holds a charge. If I shut the light
off before it discharges, it lights right up when I return to the
rack 10 hours later.

the bad: the beam cut-off is disturbing when I transition from a
steep downhill on to trail. This is a shot looking in the reverse
direction of my travel: http://tinyurl.com/kwnwffh It's hard to tell,
but the paved downhill is really steep, and in the dark, with the cut
off, I can't see the bollards when I transition from the road to the
trail.


Yep, the cut off is pretty hard. Maybe I have mine aimed a little more
up. I try to aim it so that the bulk of the light doesn't hit above
trunk height on a car on a flat road. That is the bright part isn't
hitting the back window. It's still aimed slightly down from horizontal.

If you were using a motor vehicle the cut off effect going down through
dips or over crests would be very similar.

It was also hard to see a pedestrian (wearing all black) and a runner
when I was going up the goat road towards the trail. Again, that is
a beam cut off issue, and it may have to do with the positioning of
the light, which is still a work in progress. Andre mentioned that
the Fly has click stops, which would really be good for this light.

Yes, I've been surprised once by some walkers at night on a shared path,
but they saw me from a mile off and moved aside before I saw them, and
even so I had time to brake.


The light does not keep up when I'm going fast downhill. It's just
not bright enough. The throw is pretty long, but it just lacks the
power of good battery light.


Wow. I descended a mountain with my light at high speed and the road
was illuminated very well. On the steepest part I hit 70km/h.

http://email.strava.com/wf/click?upn=FLdFplb9Rd0LY-2BmLy3OryvDDptMqBn6AAC1cAG-2FGDgLqgoxh4764aj2AllgSda1DTuzbNyTFIAlXDJvEkKp-2FmH-2BuiKSizLmuyh2Su4imacZto7ysh-2Fkyrl8k89-2FtPLxrmNVU7N-2FN72qPTrNMOfAafi4UrnFN5GopvemNmbJ1-2BoY-3D_ex8vQtdTEwGKc274NFeZlAwXUVBB3swqP14Ml5l9rJ-2FUistI49GIwn-2BcxDhpK-2FHIM-2FX97oV4EGiXGu8uU9iOqvuVM4zuQWyldeJiJ0rvTLRyjngdaV 0fvnituuFKdHNJw-2FI-2BgbKWHoWmYn8uDDrTIA7h6Fghgjv-2FYgXss22KpkzUz5bo8baqMT-2B5RCgElQEn2Ya0R1WtBBTnpmxdR-2FRf-2FRS6HN5b3ssq-2BvGlQM9Gqrw-3D

My first night, I nearly got hooked about three times riding out of
town. No kidding. I thought I must be invisible. It might have been
bad luck, but just in case, I am now running my flea watt blinkie as
well. (and I admit, I miss the ability to punish inattentive
motorists with my uber-blinky on the Seca)

Hooked as in a right turner that just passed you? How is that the
headlight's fault?

If there is a connection, I think it is because a low-watt light with a beam cut off is clearly a bicycle light and not a car head light. I think drivers assume that a bicycle is travelling slowly and that they can "beat" a bicyclist off a stop or through a turn. With a bright battery light, there is more question as to whether the light source is a bike, motorcycle or car. I think motorists are more cautious when confronted with a bright light, and of course, a bright light is more conspicuous.

This conclusion is no so much related to the near-hooks as it is to two other cars that just pulled out in front of me for no reason. Again, I think it is because they thought they could beat me off the stop and in to traffic. Sure, this could all be coincidence, but I still feel better having my fairly benign, low watt blinky as back-up.

-- Jay Beattie.

On Thursday, October 30, 2014 5:14:10 PM UTC-7, JoeRiel wrote:
jbeattie writes:

O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the
dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso
plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry
about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.
...
Nice report. I've forgotten, what brand of dynamo do you have?

--
Joe Riel

Shutter Precision PD-8. I built it on an old MA3 rim with spokes scavenged from the Cannondale OEM front wheel (that had an awful hub and was my snow stud wheel). The PD-8 was $110 on sale, which represents the total new-money investment in the power-generating end of my light folly (minus the cost of beer imbibed while building the wheel). I pitty the foo's who pay full price for a custom built dyno wheel.

-- Jay Beattie.

On 10/30/2014 5:52 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, October 30, 2014 5:14:10 PM UTC-7, JoeRiel wrote:
jbeattie writes:

O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to the
dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B senso
plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight Don't worry
about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.
...
Nice report. I've forgotten, what brand of dynamo do you have?

--
Joe Riel

Shutter Precision PD-8. I built it on an old MA3 rim with spokes scavenged from the Cannondale OEM front wheel (that had an awful hub and was my snow stud wheel). The PD-8 was $110 on sale, which represents the total new-money investment in the power-generating end of my light folly (minus the cost of beer imbibed while building the wheel). I pitty the foo's who pay full price for a custom built dyno wheel.

There are a lot of surplus, factory built dyno wheels, that are
available at a reasonable price. Or in the case of Dahon, the dynamo
wheel they sell, with an SP hub, is not very expensive. Usually with a
Sanyo or Shimano hub though. Not a high-end wheel or dyno but good
enough for most commute bikes.

On 31/10/14 11:52, jbeattie wrote:
On Thursday, October 30, 2014 5:14:10 PM UTC-7, JoeRiel wrote:
jbeattie writes:

O.K., I went over to Clever Cycles last weekend and talked to
the dyno-light guy who prescribed a B + M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos B
senso plus. http://clevercycles.com/b-m-luxos-b-dynamo-headlight
Don't worry about the price. He gave me a smok'n deal.
... Nice report. I've forgotten, what brand of dynamo do you
have?

-- Joe Riel

Shutter Precision PD-8. I built it on an old MA3 rim with spokes
scavenged from the Cannondale OEM front wheel (that had an awful hub
and was my snow stud wheel). The PD-8 was $110 on sale, which
represents the total new-money investment in the power-generating end
of my light folly (minus the cost of beer imbibed while building the
wheel). I pitty the foo's who pay full price for a custom built dyno
wheel.

I dunno, $250 for a prebuilt and what looks like pretty solid front
wheel doesn't seem so bad to me.

http://www.stkildacycles.com.au/inde...-700-road.html

--
JS