hub dynamo vs million lumen cree battery lights

[Dan B]

Thinking about a lighting upgrade for my commute bike, and since a new front wheel is on the cards anyway, I've been looking at dynamos and not-having-to-remember-to-carry-spare-batteries.

I get the impression that the current crop of cheap stupidly powerful LED headlights from China, Ebay, candb-seen, Torchy etc all use a lot more power than a 3W dynamo kicks out, but conversely that they then waste quite a lot of that power by lighting up the sky, the hedgerows, the eyeballs of oncoming drivers, etc, and that the more intelligently designed lights made by the likes of B&M although advertising a lower total output might actually put more of it in places I want to look.

But TBH I looked at bike-discount.de and ... where do I start? I want a light that will stop cars from pulling out in front of me when I'm moving at ~ 20 mph, and I want it not to add so much drag that moving at 20mph starts feeling like hard work. Comparisons with the Hope VIsion One would be especially useful as that's what I'm using now

 

[Davidc]

I use a hub dynamo with a CYO60 front light, and also have a Hope 1, used as backup and extra illumination when needed. The dynamo CYO 60 is about the same brightness as the Hope V1 on level 3 (of 4). Car drivers seem to see either very well - apart from the one in a hundred who just don't look at all, but they wouldn't see you if you had the Needles lighthouse mounted on the front of the bike.

The drag from the dynamo is small enough that I've never noticed it, but it is there of course. It's going to be near enough the same power drawn at 20 mph as at 6 mph, since the output is close to constant for speeds above 6 mph (Shimano standard dynamo on a 700c wheel), so as a proportion of system power it must generally be worse at lower speeds.

With that combination of lights I'm comfortable riding at up to 25 mph on totally dark roads - invariably downhill to go that fast. If I wanted to go faster I'd think about a brighter secondary light than the Hope.

I've just ordered a Herrmans H-One-S dynamo front light to upgrade my round-town mtb from an old B&M halogen headlight. It's made in Finland and reviews say well constructed etc. and with 2.6w input is rated at 75 LUX so should be brighter than the CYO and with a similar beam pattern, and meeting the full German lighting standard. It's also a lot cheaper than the B&M equivalent. I'm doing the upgrade because I'm expecting to be using the bike to do 10 miles of unlit canal path twice a week this winter, so better be good!

 

[02GF74]

go on ebay for cree t6 lamps - £ 15 ish, loads of light. the efficient of LEDs and light output is improvig all the time and they give out light all the time whcih is smething your dynamo won't do unless it hsbattery back up.

I have two of them, one lamp give over 1 hour of power ....but I am kinda looking at getting one of the triple de LEDs, like this one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3x-CREE-X...yclAcces_RL&hash=item5aef68e9a5#ht_6043wt_873

 

[mrandmrspoves]

go on ebay for cree t6 lamps - £ 15 ish, loads of light. the efficient of LEDs and light output is improvig all the time and they give out light all the time whcih is smething your dynamo won't do unless it hsbattery back up.

I have two of them, one lamp give over 1 hour of power ....but I am kinda looking at getting one of the triple de LEDs, like this one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3x-CREE-X...yclAcces_RL&hash=item5aef68e9a5#ht_6043wt_873

I have a Cree light similar to the model above and can confirm that it will give you enough light to cycle down a completely unlit country lane in complete safety (can't guarantee that some dozy pillock motorist won't hit you from behind - but certainly oncoming traffic will see you and you will see potholes etc.). Mine has 3 brightness settings and can be set to strobe in any setting. Battery life is about 3 hours on full intensity - non strobe. The battery is easily re-charged overnight. I back this up with a cheapo LED battery light which I set to strobe when in town.

 

[Dan B]

Bit of thread mining here, because I'm still undecided. @Davidc - how does the Herrmans compare to the cyo60? Intelligent Design on ebay have it at quite a keen price

 

[glasgowcyclist]

But TBH I looked at bike-discount.de and ... where do I start? I want a light that will stop cars from pulling out in front of me when I'm moving at ~ 20 mph, and I want it not to add so much drag that moving at 20mph starts feeling like hard work.

If you're worried about drag, think about like this: if you measure it in terms of riding uphill, the drag from my SON while switched on is the same as riding a hill with an incline of about 3.8 feet in 1 mile, so small as to be insignificant. The drag when off is about 10 inches in 1 mile.

I chose SON over Shimano after looking at the reliability, power output, performance and drag comparisons where it beats the Shimano hands down. It is dearer though.

Sorry, I can't compare my setup to the other lights you mention as I don't use them.

GC

 

[shouldbeinbed]

go on ebay for cree t6 lamps - £ 15 ish, loads of light. the efficient of LEDs and light output is improvig all the time and they give out light all the time whcih is smething your dynamo won't do unless it hsbattery back up.

I have two of them, one lamp give over 1 hour of power ....but I am kinda looking at getting one of the triple de LEDs, like this one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3x-CREE-X...yclAcces_RL&hash=item5aef68e9a5#ht_6043wt_873

maybe if you're buying a second hand set from years ago. You'll be hard pressed nowadays to find a dyno light without capacitor aka standlight capacity. I can leave my B&M IQ Fly 30 switched off for a week with the bike (2009 Shimano Alfine hub dynamo) unused and it'll still lights up (not 100% obviously) - but visibly lit as soon as I spin the wheel it's plenty bright again.

I use it as a to see by light in pitch dark riding and I've never crashed because of it.

It remains undimmed when stopping at red lights & junctions and stop/start riding even if I'm not moving for a good few minutes.

That said, I didn't go with the hub upgrade for my new Brompton, purely on money grounds, I've just put a LED Lenser P7 on it.

 

[Davidc]

Bit of thread mining here, because I'm still undecided. @Davidc - how does the Herrmans compare to the cyo60? Intelligent Design on ebay have it at quite a keen price

The Herrman is a little brighter than the CYO60, but:

1. The beam pattern is a bit tighter, not a problem but I prefer the CYO
2. The standlight is two small but bright LEDs clearly intended as 'be seen' lights, whereas the CYO uses the main LED at a reduced brightness. Again I prefer the CYO.
3. The standlight goes on working for ages and can't be switched off. The CYO standlight goes off when the light is set to off.
4. The standlight comes on whenever the bike moves (with or without the light switch being set to on) as daytime lighting - and stays on as a standlight afterwards.

You'd be right if you conclude that I prefer the CYO60, but there's quite a big price difference and for a bright dynamo front light the Herrman, in my opinion, is better value for money. If my CYO60 failed tonight I'd buy the Herrman to replace it, as the niggles wouldn't outweigh the price difference.

I bought mine from the same supplier you're looking at. The lights took a couple of weeks to come after ordering.

I also bought one of the oval shaped rear lights when I re-equipped the town bike. That is so good that I bought a second to replace my B&M D Toplight. My only niggle with the back one is that it needs a means of discharging the standlight capacitor - it goes on glowing for about 15 minutes and I'd rather the bike was dark quickly when parked.

If you buy either and can't work out the wiring PM me and I'll send you a drawing.

 

[fossyant]

go on ebay for cree t6 lamps - £ 15 ish, loads of light. the efficient of LEDs and light output is improvig all the time and they give out light all the time whcih is smething your dynamo won't do unless it hsbattery back up.

I have two of them, one lamp give over 1 hour of power ....but I am kinda looking at getting one of the triple de LEDs, like this one.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3x-CREE-X...yclAcces_RL&hash=item5aef68e9a5#ht_6043wt_873

I have this light. Don't even think about road use. You will find a twin U2 puts out similar light. That triple runs 1,2or3 LEDs at full. One on full on a road is too much. The twin lights tend to run at a low mid and high, so low is fine on the road.

The triple is great, but off road MTB use. It's too bright for road, unless you run it on one and point it at your front wheel.

Ps the battery packs are a lie. For a real 6800 pack will cost you £40. More like 3000 to 4000

 

[Dan B]

I use a hub dynamo with a CYO60 front light, and also have a Hope 1, used as backup and extra illumination when needed. The dynamo CYO 60 is about the same brightness as the Hope V1 on level 3 (of 4).

I realise this is now a very very old thread, but as I've recently started using the fixed-wheel bike again, and seeing that the Cyo lamps had droppped in price considerably lately and that I could buy that and the SP PV-8 and a suitable rim all in the same place (SJS Cycles) I finally took the plunge and bought a couple of weeks ago.

The quoted poster has the comparison about right according to my unscientific kitchen tests. But it's so much more convenient: on the road I find that I leave the light on pretty much all the time, where I never would want to run the Hope that way because of its habit of running out of battery very suddenly mid-ride.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[EatSleepRideRepeat]

I realise this is now a very very old thread, but as I've recently started using the fixed-wheel bike again, and seeing that the Cyo lamps had droppped in price considerably lately and that I could buy that and the SP PV-8 and a suitable rim all in the same place (SJS Cycles) I finally took the plunge and bought a couple of weeks ago.

The quoted poster has the comparison about right according to my unscientific kitchen tests. But it's so much more convenient: on the road I find that I leave the light on pretty much all the time, where I never would want to run the Hope that way because of its habit of running out of battery very suddenly mid-ride.

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Yes an old thread, but just to add....I bought a PV-8 dynamo, linked with a Cyo IQ. I use it on all the time, don't notice the drag at all. The light pattern is perfect, putting the light where you want it, and not blinding the oncoming traffic. The hub was an upgrade from a bottle dynamo, which produced the power, but the noise drove me mad Battery lights are brighter, but the beam pattern is poor on the whole, and they rarely last as long as you wish they would

 

[GrasB]

Have a pair of front lights on my LR. One is an Lumotec IQ Cyo Premium T (1752QTSNDI), this is on all the time. The other is a normal narrow round beam setup which is to be used like a car/motorbike main beam. In all honesty the only time I find the need for my main beam is on descents.

 

[mjr]

But TBH I looked at bike-discount.de and ... where do I start?

Anyone starting now might do well to start at http://mashing53.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/the-freedom-of-infinity/

 

[EatSleepRideRepeat]

Anyone starting now might do well to start at http://mashing53.wordpress.com/2014/10/14/the-freedom-of-infinity/

Good info on the link. Charging devices was a big reason for me to move over to dynamo lighting. Very risky leaving your Garmin etc plugged in overnight in the campsite toilets.