Dynamos - obsolete?

(The Rev Gaston) wrote in news:1h7xqlw.1ektu4m18f3r5pN%
:

I have just bought a "commuting bike" - tradiional Dutch town bike,
complete with hub brakes, sturdy pannier rack, bell, etc etc.

Does it have a chain case as well? Fitting one was the finishing touch to
my commuter.

My dynamo light is:
heavier than an LED
Even with batteries? And spare batteries?
gives a less bright light
I've not played with recent LED lamps, but are they really bright enough
these days to see your way along an unlit road?
is more expensive
But needs no batteries.
is more difficult to pedal
I find the difference is not detectable, but I have a good quality
dynamo, correctly fitted.

So why do people swear by them? Of course they avoid using batteries,
so
are more eco-friendly, and they're more difficult to steal, but apart
from that?

They're always there, waiting to be used. No risk of flat batteries, no
remembering "did I charge the batteries last week?", no removing and
carrying around to avoid theft. Just flick the dynamo on, and you've got
light.
--
Jim Easterbrook http://www.jim-easterbrook.me.uk/

in message , The Rev Gaston
') wrote:

Jim Easterbrook wrote:

(The Rev Gaston) wrote in
news:1h7xqlw.1ektu4m18f3r5pN% :

I have just bought a "commuting bike" - traditional Dutch town bike,
complete with hub brakes, sturdy pannier rack, bell, etc etc.

Does it have a chain case as well? Fitting one was the finishing touch
to my commuter.

It certainly does!!

My dynamo light is:
heavier than an LED
Even with batteries? And spare batteries?

The batteries on an LED light can be 2xAAA, so even with spares they're
not a problem.

In which case, on a light as bright as the /average/ dynamo headlight,
they'll last half an hour or less. There isn't much energy in an AAA
cell.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Diplomacy, American: see Intelligence, Military

In article , The Rev Gaston wrote:
Jim Easterbrook wrote:
My dynamo light is:
heavier than an LED
Even with batteries? And spare batteries?

The batteries on an LED light can be 2xAAA, so even with spares they're
not a problem.

Not on something with brightness comparable to a front dynamo light and
hours of runtime, they can't.

Simon Brooke wrote:
in message , The Rev Gaston
') wrote:

The batteries on an LED light can be 2xAAA, so even with spares
they're not a problem.

In which case, on a light as bright as the /average/ dynamo headlight,
they'll last half an hour or less. There isn't much energy in an AAA
cell.

They're getting better. I was amazed to get 45 minutes of bright light
from a 5W 6V MR11 halogen lamp from 6 AAA NiMH cells (marked "1000 mAh").
But this is just an emergency backup. I agree for regular use they're not
practical for anything more powerful than a small LED blinkie.

~PB