- Location
- The TerrorVortex
I think Kell is concerned about being seen, rather than seeing.
In London, which is the OP's use case, street lighting does that for you. In practice it's not a problem anyway given light leakage.I think Kell is concerned about being seen, rather than seeing.
And while you say you didn't notice the drag, I definitely did. It was noticeable from when they were switched off to when they were switched on on the hire bike I had for a month.
Would it make a difference on a 16" wheel?
I could definitely feel the difference when riding a hire Brompton. I normally ride at +/- 18 mph (which converts to 28km/h)
I have dynamo lighting on my tourer and how you describe the light is nothing like my experience. On group rides in the dark, others with USB/rechargeable lights have commented on how well my front lamp lights up the road compared to theirs. My front lamp is a B+M Lumotec IQ Cyo Premium T Senso Plus and is measured at 80 lux (not lumens). I have used a 1000 lumen torch mounted on the handlebars and whilst it does flood the hedgerows with light, it isn't as useful as the extremely well-shaped beam of the B+M for road use - whether that be winding single track country lanes downhill at 25mph+ or urban/suburban roads. Because of the well-shaped beam, there is no need to adjust the angle or power (I have only ever needed to do this with torch-style lights whether they be actual torches or sold as bike lights). After faffing about with battery/rechargeable lights, trying to get good illumination and going down the four-figure lumens route (whilst trying not to dazzle anyone else), my dynamo light really was a revelation - you have to experience it to realise how much superior it is to the usual offerings. I also cannot tell the difference between on, off or no dynamo when cycling.have several bikes and bromptons, and fitting them with dynamo wheels is just not an option. not their added weight either. nor their fiddly connectors and cables. drag? not so bad, but hardly an advantage.
and their light. its really on the spotty and weak side. there is only so much you can do with 3-6 watts. full light and effectively charging your gps or phone, forget about it.
also having the light down by the wheel is an effective means not to be noticed. and hard to reach when you wish to adjust angle or power when on the go.
so usb battery lights and quick mounts up at the handlebars has some advantages. only mounted when needed, and easy to manage.
use for street two cateye lamps, the well focussed but wide gvolt80 set for distance without blinding, and the floody volt800 angled down for nearfield. gives a total max of about 1600 lumen, about the same as a single car headlight. very rarely do i use the combination on full.
when mountanbiking on trails i use two bt40s on the bars and two at the helmet. totals about 5600 lumen.