Winter Lights Advice

[ushills]

Got some old 10Wx2 halogen bike lights that I use on my MTB and they are fully suitable for off roading, however, on my road bike I don't think these will be suitable as they do not light far enough ahead for road speeds and light up the canopy, annoy drivers etc.

Having had a trawl around the web I've come across some options and wanted to see what the general advise was on here.

Option 1

Philips LED safelight, 2 hours run time and apparently really good for road use.

Option 2

B&M Cyo Plus + B&M dynamo, no need for batteries and almost as good as the Philips.

What does anyone else use and are there any issue with fitting a bottle dynamo on a road bike, I can't afford a hub dynamo/wheel and will remove it when the nights get lighter.

Does anyone else train on a road bike in the dark, I currently only off-road in the dark away from the traffic, what can I expect from drivers out of town.

 

[HLaB]

I've no experience of Dynamos but I'd prefer to be on road in the dark, the lights generally don't have to be quite as bright to go a decent speed. I also like the way we train with the club its short 3mile'ish loops so you quickly become use to where the obstacles are. The rides usually start around 7pm and traffic up hear, outside the cities drops significantly. I have a cheap tesco cree torch mounted on my bars for riding further out of town, its a good vfm system but I have too slow down a tad (as there is no street light and roads can be more twisty and less well defined) and the occasional cars dazzle you more.

 

[ushills]

The one problem I have is that there is no street lighting around me at all and although my training routes (10mile and 17mile) I know well, one is a busy country lane the rest are deserted country lanes with potholes, grass in the middle, wild-life etc.

Usually I'm out for 1:30 at most, however, I may want to take longer rides in future, hence the consideration for a dynamo as all the rechargeable lights I've looked at need recharging and cannot have the batteries charged. I have a fenix LD10 that I use in conjunction with my halogens but while it is good for being noticed it's not too good for spotting potholes etc.

 

[Soltydog]

Option 2

B&M Cyo Plus + B&M dynamo, no need for batteries and almost as good as the Philips.

What does anyone else use and are there any issue with fitting a bottle dynamo on a road bike, I can't afford a hub dynamo/wheel and will remove it when the nights get lighter.

I run this option on my commuter for unlit roads. It's a bright enough light for 20mph+ I use a hub dynamo (about £75 for complete wheel from Spa Cycles) not sure how a bottle dynamo compares, but I think to get a decent bottle dynamo you'll be spending a similar amount to a new wheel

 

[tyred]

The Basta HR Traction is an excellent bottle dynamo available for 15 Euro + p&p from Rosebike. I would consider it superior to both the B&M dynamo and the Nordlicht which both cost more. It has a large rubber roller which hasn't damaged my Continental road tyres.

 

[albion]

Dynamos only supply 3 watts whilst your average 4 AA rechargeable batteries would 10 watt/hrs which is the same 3 watts for 3 hrs 20 mins.Obviously you can get 6 watts supply for your run time with these, and far more with a lithium system.

 

[ushills]

The Basta HR Traction is an excellent bottle dynamo available for 15 Euro + p&p from Rosebike. I would consider it superior to both the B&M dynamo and the Nordlicht which both cost more. It has a large rubber roller which hasn't damaged my Continental road tyres.

How did you fit your dynamo to the frame, I have an aluminium road frame and don't want to knacker it!

Thanks, real toss up between a dynamo system and batteries (currently my 12V halogens run of 2x 2.2Ah lipos and give around 1:30 before they dim below 12V).

My understand for the money is that a dynamo and decent front light will give better illumination on the road compared to all the MTB/commuter lights I've been shown.

 

[tyred]

My frames are all steel so I had no worries about using traditional clamp on brackets. I'm sure they would be fine on alloy as well. Use a little piece of inner tube around the tube under the bracket to protect the paint.

 

[PpPete]

How did you fit your dynamo to the frame, I have an aluminium road frame and don't want to knacker it!

Thanks, real toss up between a dynamo system and batteries (currently my 12V halogens run of 2x 2.2Ah lipos and give around 1:30 before they dim below 12V).

My understand for the money is that a dynamo and decent front light will give better illumination on the road compared to all the MTB/commuter lights I've been shown.

I use the dynamo version of the Philips - excellent light, arguably better than the Cyo, but let down by a terminally crap bracket. I have bodged my own bracket now, as retailer was getting nowhere with Philips.

On the road it has a huge broad beam - enough to see the edges of the road, and at least a bright as my Hope Vision 1 on max (although the Hopet is limited to a very narrow spot).

There are better battery lights than the Hope (Magicshine is often quoted) but on the basis of my own limited experience I'd say yes, dynamo better illumination than battery.

That said I do use a Shimano hub dyno rather than a bottle.

 

[ushills]

The Basta HR Traction is an excellent bottle dynamo available for 15 Euro + p&p from Rosebike. I would consider it superior to both the B&M dynamo and the Nordlicht which both cost more. It has a large rubber roller which hasn't damaged my Continental road tyres.

Thanks for the tip, I believe you mean the AXA HR traction and from looking around it seems to be better/highly recommended by many sites.

Got my basket full with the AXA HR traction, B&M Cyo T senso 60 lux and mounting bracket suitable for my road calipers just need to find a suitable place to source the clamp.