[Closed] Dynamo front light recommendations

Budget?

Hi @Bez.

Under £150. Sounds a lot (to me anyway) but I want a light that'll serve me well for a good few years and not f*** up on me when I'm committed to a multi day adventure. 🤔

B&M will do you well, no need to spend £150, any MTB light will dazzle and **** off any oncoming traffic

I have a Supernova E3 Triple on my commuter which is nice and bright, but not strictly a road beam.  Lots of different mounting options as seen at the bottom of this page.

Spa cycles has some good prices on lights and package deals.

B&M IQ Cyo Premium is decent, available for about £50. Just make sure it is the premium version, it is a much brighter, wider beam.

Or B&M IQ-X if you want something a bit fancier, about £70.

Usually best value buying from Germany, eg Rose or Bike24.

I've used quite a few of the B&Ms and tend to recommend either the Cyo Premium or the Luxos, but if you don't have a front mounting hole on the fork crown there's a good chance you may not be using mudguards either, and one thing you may want to consider is that some B&Ms are anecdotally susceptible to water ingress from below. Probably not an issue if you're bar-mounting it, but anyway…

(For what it's worth, I've never had a problem with any B&M light getting wet, including in heavy rain and on gravel/dirt tracks; mine are all crown-mounted but with full guards directly below.)

I think—and I've personally used none of the following lights—the SON Edelux II (which internally shares a lot with the Cyo Premium, including the reflector) and Supernova E3 Triple 2 have a better reputation for thorough waterproofing. And the IQ-X is worth a look, too: the beam seems a bit bright in the nearfield for my tastes, but for bar mounting and off-roading that's probably not a bad thing.

So if you want maximum peace of mind on durability, maybe the Edelux II. But you can get more bang for your buck from B&M and from the sounds of your usage I'd probably give the IQ-X a go.

One thing that might be worth adding is that if you anticipate doing a lot of off-road climbs, ie very low speed, the Luxos U is worth a particular look because (as far as I can tell) the cache battery allows it to illuminate more smoothly at lower speeds than other dynamo lights I've used.

[url= https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting/36-cm-schmidt-edelux-high-power-led-headlight-black/ ]SON Edelux lamp[/url] and a 'bar bracket - [url= https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/schmidt-handlebar-fitting-dynamo-headlamp-bracket/ ]if less than 31.8[/url] or [url= https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/black-schmidt-headlight-bracket-for-delux-long-milled-318-mm-clamp/ ]if 31.8[/url].

Lovely people, SJS cycles.

For Road use the Supernova to look at is the Pro2 not the Triple 2 which has a properly shaped beam for road use.

if that doesn't give enough upward spread for off road use (if it's just forest tracks rather than singletrack should be fine) then add a battery powered 'flood' light for those sections.

https://supernova-lights.com/en/products/dynamo-lights/e3-pro-2/

I've got a B&M on my brompton, a Supernova built into my Canyon.  The supernova have the lovely build quality of Hope or Exposure but theres not a lot of difference in beam quality.

The Edelux (equivalent to the original Cyo) is a significant step down in illumination from the Edelux II, though. Having used both the “sister” B&M lights I wouldn’t hesitate to pay more for the newer version: you get a much more expansive light field and a little more brightness.

(Though don’t get too bothered about brightness levels: I’ve used various from 25 to 90 lux and beam shape/size/quality is far more important; unfortunately it’s pretty hard to evaluate even from photos, let alone spec sheets.)

For Road use the Supernova to look at is the Pro2 not the Triple 2

Ah yes, sorry.

Thanks for all the replies. Some good points raised that I need to consider e.g. a light that is going to be effective at slow speeds up hills.

I'm not a bike commuter these days so the light is for regular winter road night rides, audaxes and other adventures -  which means I'm trying to get a light that'll do me well in multiple situations.

Road climbing the B&M will be fine.  Its bright above about 5 mph

As for the water ingress issue - I had this but the light carried on working - just with a wee puddle in it.  I had to drill a hole to get the water back out!

Something I didn't mention/ask.

USB charging (my Garmin) using the dynamo?Not all the lights can do that can they? Or do people rig something from hub?

Thanks

Cheapest and easiest way is to get one of the lights with a USB charging socket - B&M do one - [url= https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/b-m-lumotec-iq2-luxos-u-senso-plus-headlight-with-usb-connection-620047 ]IQ2[/url], and also Axa - [url= https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/axa-luxx-70-steady-auto-front-light-642353 ]good price but not hugely powerful[/url].

As Bez points out, the Edelux I posted before has been superseded but is an excellent quality lamp.

I have a B+M Lumotec Senso+ on a Brompton and a SON Edelux 2, the Edelux 2 has more output and a far wider beam, excellent beam spread/light throw. The bike with the Edelux 2 has a B+M USB-Werk lined into the wiring so it can charge phone or GPS. Been faultless in a few years of regular use.

I've seen more output from the top end B+M IQ lights but I'm in no rush to replace the Edelux, it's only real negative is low branches off-road or very tight corners (a wider flood beam can be better there, as most off-road lights are). It's fine for basic tracks though and far better on road than an MTB/torch beam pattern.