Further Adventures in Dynoland

On Thursday, October 30, 2014 4:08:44 PM UTC-7, 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.

You have different needs than I .. you might consider a high Lumens Flood beam

Battery light or 2 or 3 for your late night down hill thrills ..
Maybe one on your Helmet.

In addition to the Dynohub powered lights.

There is a big ****ing match on those kinds of lights hunting from the pickup? IDK

not for bike use per se , But people use them on their bikes none the less ..


Im just using my bikes as transportation I appreciate the IQ2 reflector putting the light down on the street ..

By the way You realize Wet Pavement is not going to look as brightly Lit as Dry , Right?
the water lets the light bounce off ahead but not back at your Eyes .

It is the Oregon Wet season .. till Juneuary..

Automotive headlights generally have a sharp cut-off that "kicks up"
to the right in North America, and to the left in Britain and Oz. The
cutoff should be roughly 2 inches below the hight of the headlight
centerline at 25 feet, and the centerline cannot be less than 24" from
the road surface.


On Thu, 30 Oct 2014 23:24:45 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 10/30/2014 7:08 PM, 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.

Sounds pretty good.


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.

I've toyed around with the tilt (i.e. pitch) of my headlights to get
them where I think they're best. I don't think I'd have any trouble
spotting those bollards. But more practically, if I knew they were
there, I'd certainly be looking for them, and that would make a
tremendous difference.

Where do you have the headlamp mounted? Can you do trial-and-error tilt
adjustment while riding?

BTW, today I had occasion to look at my new Mazda's headlight beams,
projected against a white garage door. Yes, it has a very sharp beam
cutoff on low beams; and the high beams keep most of that beam shaping,
adding two roughly oval blobs of light aimed a bit higher.

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.

How fast do you descend?

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)

Do you mean right hooks? Seems to me those are affected much more by
lane position than by headlight beam. Surely, a passing motorist sees
you mostly from behind before he passes...

I can live with this light...

Well, that part's certainly good. What's happening with the Supernova?
Are you selling it? (Not that I'm interested.)

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.

Again, the main thing for me is that I just don't think about lights on
the bike, except to turn them on. They just work, in much the same way
my car lights just work. That counts for a lot in my book.

But as always, YMMV.

On Friday, October 31, 2014 11:36:41 PM UTC-4, Phil W Lee wrote:
Clive George considered Thu, 30 Oct 2014
23:30:31 +0000 the perfect time to write:

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.

+1 on wiring the supernova as a high beam.
I've seen exactly that setup on audax bikes, first noticed when the
rider dipped his light for me, then examined at the finish control,
over a cuppa.
He'd used a switch designed as a motorcycle switch (so reasonably
weatherproof and with a built-in handlebar clamp) to bypass the high
beam to dip, and done something clever with a button (which was part
of the same switch unit) which allowed him to also flash the high
beam, but I didn't get too much into the exact wiring details - it was
a fairly brief conversation.

.................

ok now we're gonna rewire the factories sets ups. No ! well, why doah the factories rewire their stuff...caws what James bought is the forte here and right on Dude ! all my commuting is straight and hi speed...ceptin when it RAINS then cannuh see an expletive deleted thing caws the lights expletive deleted in the rain.

This is when I really need light.

The answer, given a serious lack of applicability from the FACTORY..IS more light or more lights.

so....I had a few moments yesterday afternoon finding that dunecough, there was a cable running thru the engine comp to the front with a 3 wire relay transmission so...drill drill drill and can you believe it ? the parts were and are lying against the back wall ready for shipping.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nervanna ! no longer to I fear running over tick or teaters on the sidewalk during a right hook.

Or worser a fire hydrant !

http://goo.gl/flC2pO

ok now we're gonna rewire the factories sets ups. No ! well, why doah the factories rewire their stuff...caws what James bought is the forte here and right on Dude ! all my commuting is straight and hi speed...ceptin when it RAINS then cannuh see an expletive deleted thing caws the lights expletive deleted in the rain.

This is when I really need light.

The answer, given a serious lack of applicability from the FACTORY..IS more light or more lights.

so....I had a few moments yesterday afternoon finding that dunecough, there was a cable running thru the engine comp to the front with a 3 wire relay transmission so...drill drill drill and can you believe it ? the parts were and are lying against the back wall ready for shipping.

ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh nervanna ! no longer to I fear running over tick or teaters on the sidewalk during a right hook.

Or worser a fire hydrant !

http://goo.gl/xS26xl

dang !

On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 11:56:26 PM UTC, somebody wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

Why don't you go find a better deal and come tell us about it instead of demanding to be handfed all the time?

Been lOn Sat, 1 Nov 2014 21:13:47 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute
wrote:

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 11:56:26 PM UTC, somebody wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

Why don't you go find a better deal and come tell us about it instead of demanding to be handfed all the time?

Been looking for a while. There are no good deals.

Think there are? Then prove it.

On Sunday, November 2, 2014 11:37:10 AM UTC, somebody wrote:
Been lOn Sat, 1 Nov 2014 21:13:47 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute wrote:

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 11:56:26 PM UTC, somebody wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms xxxx
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

Why don't you go find a better deal and come tell us about it instead of demanding to be handfed all the time?

Been looking for a while. There are no good deals.

Think there are? Then prove it.

Sigh. First page I open
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=...dynal&_sacat=0
as its first entry has this
http://www.ebay.de/itm/28-Vorderrad-...item58a6baea48
which is a complete kit of Shimano hub dynamo fitted by stainless spokes into a quality ZAC rim, and comes complete with a quality front and rear LED lamp set with standlight and built'in reflectors, wire, etc. Total cost Euro 53.90 with free delivery in Germany. That's $70 US.

It took me less than ten seconds to discover that. That's just the first entry. You can do better than that, pricewise, for the same spec. Or you can upspec for very little more money. It might take you, if you're slow and can't use Google's Translator, all of five minutes find a dealer who wants to deliver to wherever you are.

Andre Jute

On Sunday, November 2, 2014 8:09:00 AM UTC-5, Andre Jute wrote:
On Sunday, November 2, 2014 11:37:10 AM UTC, somebody wrote:
Been lOn Sat, 1 Nov 2014 21:13:47 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute wrote:

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 11:56:26 PM UTC, somebody wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms xxxx
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

Why don't you go find a better deal and come tell us about it instead of demanding to be handfed all the time?

Been looking for a while. There are no good deals.

Think there are? Then prove it.

Sigh. First page I open
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=...dynal&_sacat=0
as its first entry has this
http://www.ebay.de/itm/28-Vorderrad-...item58a6baea48
which is a complete kit of Shimano hub dynamo fitted by stainless spokes into a quality ZAC rim, and comes complete with a quality front and rear LED lamp set with standlight and built'in reflectors, wire, etc. Total cost Euro 53.90 with free delivery in Germany. That's $70 US.

It took me less than ten seconds to discover that. That's just the first entry. You can do better than that, pricewise, for the same spec. Or you can upspec for very little more money. It might take you, if you're slow and can't use Google's Translator, all of five minutes find a dealer who wants to deliver to wherever you are.

Andre Jute

.......


the adverted system was soaked in salt water for 3 days...

On Sunday, November 2, 2014 5:09:00 AM UTC-8, Andre Jute wrote:
On Sunday, November 2, 2014 11:37:10 AM UTC, somebody wrote:
Been lOn Sat, 1 Nov 2014 21:13:47 -0700 (PDT), Andre Jute wrote:

On Saturday, November 1, 2014 11:56:26 PM UTC, somebody wrote:
On Fri, 31 Oct 2014 06:10:27 -0700, sms xxxx
wrote:

On 10/31/2014 2:47 AM, somebody wrote:

Where?

I bought several from http://www.niagaracycle.com/ though I don't see
any of the factory built wheels there now.

Here are some other sources:

http://stores.ebay.com/taylorwheelscom?_dmd=2&_nkw=dynamo
http://stores.ebay.com/Intelligent-Design-Cycles


Ugh. $70 shipping. And crap rims.

Why don't you go find a better deal and come tell us about it instead of demanding to be handfed all the time?

Been looking for a while. There are no good deals.

Think there are? Then prove it.

Sigh. First page I open
http://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_from=...dynal&_sacat=0
as its first entry has this
http://www.ebay.de/itm/28-Vorderrad-...item58a6baea48
which is a complete kit of Shimano hub dynamo fitted by stainless spokes into a quality ZAC rim, and comes complete with a quality front and rear LED lamp set with standlight and built'in reflectors, wire, etc. Total cost Euro 53.90 with free delivery in Germany. That's $70 US.

It took me less than ten seconds to discover that. That's just the first entry. You can do better than that, pricewise, for the same spec. Or you can upspec for very little more money. It might take you, if you're slow and can't use Google's Translator, all of five minutes find a dealer who wants to deliver to wherever you are.


There are some cheap US options. http://www.ebay.com/itm/IDC-Stout-dy...em41831f e99b In town, there are pre-fab wheels available with either the SP hub or Alfine hubs. The Clever Cycles offering is not cheap, but it has a durable rim. http://clevercycles.com/shimano-alfi...dt-spokes-disc

Imports are problematic. Even with free shipping, there is a US custom duty on wheels of 10%. Some companies like DHL are sticklers for charging and collecting duty. Other carriers may be less diligent. From what I hear, custom duties are hit and miss. Exchanging currency also costs money, assuming the seller is not taking USD. And none of the cheap wheels would have free international shipping.

No matter how you slice it, a dyno set-up with a decent hub and light is going to cost you at least twice the price of a battery light with a similar light output. Dyno lights will never penetrate the American market in their current StVZO form. They just don't make sense for the average 10-30 mile RT commuter in my neck of the woods (spoken as someone who was grossly outshined by a woman with a small, bar mounted light on the way home from work Friday,and who felt embarrassed knowing what he spent on his dyno set-up).

-- Jay Beattie.