Dynamo powered lights

[Blue Hills]

To my mind, the main point of dynamo lighting is that it's always there, and always works.
I don't have to remember batteries, or remember to take the lights off when I park the bike somewhere, or decide how likely it is to be dark when I get home.

It gets dark (ish); the lights turn on, without any intervention on my part.

I accept that most dynamos are very reliable though I fear you never experienced the wonder of the dynamo set-up that came with my Brompton.
I pretty much always take some form of lights with me and spare batteries - not a problem. Size/power of light I take depends on my trip.
City lights are very small.
To tell the truth your approach strikes me as a tad risky. Nothing is 100 per cent reliable. I would take some battery back-ups.

Also, I don't trust auto switch on systems. I have no trouble telling when its dark.

 

[Tenacious Sloth]

I accept that most dynamos are very reliable though I fear you never experienced the wonder of the dynamo set-up that came with my Brompton.
I pretty much always take some form of lights with me and spare batteries - not a problem. Size/power of light I take depends on my trip.
City lights are very small.
To tell the truth your approach strikes me as a tad risky. Nothing is 100 per cent reliable. I would take some battery back-ups.

Also, I don't trust auto switch on systems. I have no trouble telling when its dark.

I assume that you take a spare set of lights with you as well, just in case your battery lights fail for some reason other than a flat battery?

Graham

 

[davidphilips]

, I bet your the type of idiot that has your lights on in daylight ,,,

Whats wrong with having lights on in daylight, a light or back light on during the day is very worth wile .

 

[Drago]

Whats wrong with having lights on in daylight, a light or back light on during the day is very worth wile .

Questions have been raised over it's effectiveness in our climate. As for daytime lights, there is no evidence that it improves safety anywhere outside of a sub arctic climate.

Indeed, research by Suzuki suggests that the use of headlights (as opposed to dim dip lights, DRLs or markers) can actually increase the chances of collision in some instance by breaking up the visible outline of an advancing object, and thus depriving the observers brain of the datum required to make an accurate calculation of an oncoming objects speed.

"What harm could it do?" Is the oft touted justification for doing something in the name of safety, The answer is "well, we don't always know", so if something doesn't have a proven safety benefit would shouldn't be doing it just for the sake of it. The causes of risk are quote often counter intuitive and can defy perceived logic.

 

[Blue Hills]

I assume that you take a spare set of lights with you as well, just in case your battery lights fail for some reason other than a flat battery?

Graham

Your assumption is pretty much correct. I always use two back lights (sensible for obvious reasons) and usually have 2 front lights fitted to the front, though only one of those is usually on. Having spare lights in addition to spare batteries is also handy as it is often less fag to just clip on an already loaded light than bother with changing batteries. I have pretty much standardised on my light mounts.

 

[smutchin]

As it happens, my B&M IQ-X does have a tendency to switch itself on during daylight, so I often find myself riding with lights on during the day without realising. I think the sensor is perhaps a tad oversensitive. But I usually turn it off when I notice. I'm not convinced of the supposed merits of using bike lights during daylight.

Generally, I find dynamo lights reliable enough that I can trust them to just work when I need them, but when I'm doing a long ride where being able to ride safely in the dark is critical, I will carry back-up battery lights. (I understand that back-up lights are a mandatory requirement on PBP.)

For power provision on the move, a portable USB power pack would be more than adequate for most audaxing needs. But the Igaro is convenient and lightweight, and like the lights, always there. Again, for situations where the need to charge devices is critical, I would carry a power pack as backup.