[Closed] Dynamo setups

I'm using a Shutter Precision (SP) dynamo, though it's rebadged by Exposure as part of their Revo light set. All you need is a dynamo and the light (and the connecting wires). If you want to get more complicated you can think about powering/recharging other devices when you're not needing the light. For this, you will need some sort of regulator (I use a Kemo M172).

I'm running an SP PV8 laced to an open pro with Sapim Race spokes. I've connected it to a USE Revo front light and a Redeye rear.

I got the hub / spokes / rim from the shop I work in, front light from Winstanleys, rear light from CRC.

Very happy indeed with the setup, must get around to shortening the lead from hub to light though to make it neater.

Sp pd8 (disc) on cxp22 and a b&m iq cyo. Tis great.

Dynamos are great. I use them for lighting on road and off road. However.....

....be careful to destinguish between a dynamo light designed for on road (shaped peam, low cut off for traffic and German StVO laws, and a "be seen" standlight) with a dynamo light designed for off road, which will have a symmetrical beam and a massive standlight that stays bright enough to see with for several minutes when you slow down, important when braking for tricky sections, a moment when you don't want your light to dim significantly!

The B&M light above is an on-road light with a shaped beam and it is a very good on-road light, but will not, for example, highlight head height branches off road.

The Revo is what I use, together with the SP PD-8X QR15 compatible hub. The main thing for me is the powerful standlight, which makes it really off-road compatible (although I do have to angle it down for on-road riding too and from the trails in the dark). Having tried a few lights over many years, and with dynamo lights on more than one bike, I would also not recomment the Supernova E3 triple for off road. Their single is a truly fab on-road light, but the triple has no meaningful standlight other than something for cars to see you at traffic lights with, although this can be fine when coupled with a head lamp I guess.

I have been disappointed with my revo setup, I need to be doing 16-17 kmh to get full beam, and it drops to half power as soon as your speed drops, IMO that is not a realistic speed to keep up winter mountain biking.

It is a real shame I splashed out quite a bit of money on the setup, looking for the luxury of always just being able to jump on the bike and never need to worry about charging, but the technology isn't quite there yet IMO, I prefer my mk1 toro as a riding light.

I also have a son edelux II on my commuter, and I would say it is much more than a "to be seen" light, but the cut off of the beam is very weird when off road and as Rob says not suitable for mountain biking

Running Shimano's cheapest dynamo hub with a B+M Lumotec Cyo something-or-other. Has worked fantastically on my commuter for ages now (hub weighs as much as a small car though).

Dynamo lights have moved on to such a degree that to me they are the best option on balance nowadays. The weight penalty is less than many batteries, and the promise of endless light means no more worrying about being let down in the dark.

For me -

On the road:
SON Delux hub, Schmidt Edelux 2 front light, DiNotte 300 rechargeable rear light.

Off road:
SON Delux 15mm hub, Supernova E3 Triple 2 front light, Supernova E3 dynamo rear light.

People speak highly of SP and Shimano hubs for value and I don't disagree, but for out and out performance, quality and longevity the SON takes some beating. Power output at low speeds is great (even off road I don't lose light, and believe me I ride [b]very[/b] slowly at times!). As with any dynamo, they all flicker for the first few feet until you get unto speed, but otherwise I don't notice any flickering.

For the road, the Edelux is great. Plenty bright enough, but doesn't dazzle. The DiNotte is incredibly light and fantastic at the back. Almost too bright for riding with mates behind you, but you can turn it down, and it gives you a great excuse to draft!

Off road, you can't beat the Supernova, but as a couple of people have mentioned, it is a really broad floodlight, so not suitable for the road strictly speaking. The rear Supernova is OK, but not a patch on the DiNotte. I would personally go for a rechargeable on the rear or at least a combination.

Not the cheapest options, but depending on your budget, I wouldn't look much further.

Thanks guys. Some of the more expensive lights say they can charge other devices which seems useful. How does that work in real life? Can a garmin still record whilst being charged?

Oh and what do you do with the wiring? just zipp tie to the fork?

Can a garmin still record whilst being charged?

Yes. I haven't personally charged mine from a dynamo, but I've run my 800 whilst refuelling it from a USB battery thing. You just plug it in and carry on, it was perfectly happy and kept recording for 15 hours or so.

The neatest USB add-on charger I've seen so far is the [url= http://www.sinewavecycles.com/products/sinewave-cycles-reactor ]Sinewave Reactor[/url] - not actually used it myself though, and it's a bit pricey.

Off road:
SON Delux 15mm hub, Supernova E3 Triple 2 front light, Supernova E3 dynamo rear light.

Not to be a pedant, but are you sure you have a Son delux 15mm hub? I'm not aware they do the delux as a 15mm and I'm not sure it would produce enough power for off road (the delux used to be called the son 20 and used for smaller wheels sizes but got a reprieve when LED technology came along and changed its name) even if they did. I suspect you have a Son 28 15 for off road duties.

If you want to charge stuff as well as light stuff up and you are looking for on road the other nice front light is the Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ2 Luxos U. The remote switch for the light also acts as a usb port and the built in battery is used both for the standlight and for continuous charge. If you charge something like a Garmin directly from the dynamo (via a regulator) it'll constantly stop and start charging as you slow down and speed up bringing up the charging screen and rendering it useless for a short while just as you get to a junction etc.

To recharge [b]and[/b] record at the same time, Garmins require a USB cable with one of the internal wires shorted out. If you use a standard USB cable the units drop in to PC or Charge mode and won't carry on recording.

The SON Deluxe dynamo hub is a thing of engineering beauty, it's really quite small and without looking fairly closely at a bike with one fitted you'd be hard pressed to tell it was there. From memory it adds about 300g to the weight of a wheel compared to a typical hub but of course it's at the centre so not as big a problem as you might think.

Not used one off-road but for commuting they are basically fit and forget (unless someone mistakes the standlight for you leaving your light on and "helpfully" turns it off!). As someone mentions above, the German lights are designed for on-road use, the reflectors give a fairly even spread with more light being cast down the road than in front of your wheel. They have reasonably specific mounting locations, usually on a bracket attached to the fork crown, handlebars are a little too high.

I use a SON hub which has been working without being touched for over 8 years now and I commute off road all year round. I have the Supernova E3 triple which gives plenty of light for riding over areas I know very well. I think I might like something brighter if I were riding unfamiliar trails. The stand light isn't all that bright but I'd never want to ride with only a bar mounted light anyway so I also have a small helmet light as well.

Yep, a SON 28 15 off road, not a Delux. Both great hubs.

hi, I'm also in the market for a dynamo hub and lights. My plan is to get the same dynamo Rob suggest, the shutter precision pd 8x thru axle
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plus the Sinewave cycle revolution USB battery charger
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and the exposure revo light
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The usage is highlands in May and and Alps in summer.
And yes, I'd need t build a front wheel and this set up is getting beyond my budget.

I might have to ditch the revo light.

You [i]might[/i] get a better deal on the light and dynamo if you buy them as a kit from Exposure.

You can save a bit of money on the regulator by going to Argos and buying a Kemo M172

Seen the Exposure kit but not sure if it's thru axle compatible?

Seen the Exposure kit but not sure if it's thru axle compatible?

[quote=sarpullido ]Seen the Exposure kit but not sure if it's thru axle compatible?Mine was. It came with the 15mm/QR adapter.

Some of the info above is incorrect ref Garmin charging, it's model dependant.

I've got an Exposure front hub (rebranded Shutter Precision), chose the exposure as it seems the Shutter Precision's aren't imported into the UK in 28h disc where as you can get an Exposure. Front light is a B & M IQ Cyo Premium T, the 80 Lux model. (Be bloody careful if you order a B&M light, their names are a complete cluster and it'd be really easy to order the wrong one!)

I'd say my front light is adequate, it's not mega bright but just enough to see, once you start getting to 25mph+ it gets a bit sketchy especially on damp roads as they seem to absorb more of the light if you get me? The beam pattern is absolutely superb, perfect intact, just like a car headlight it only lights up what you need and doesn't blind other road users. It also has a stand light that stays on for 10 mins +.

Rear light is a SON, not sure on name but this is my favourite as it's so clean looking, expensive though. Weirdly since I've started riding with only a solid rear light I've noted cars giving me more room which isn't what I expected??

[url= https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7476/15892191630_1b8abf774e.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7476/15892191630_1b8abf774e.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/36927256@N00/15892191630/ ]Untitled[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/36927256@N00/ ]monkey****er[/url], on Flickr

Bloody brilliant, I'm going to get another set of the above for my fixie commuter when I get some cash together!

Also ordering one of these in the new year 😀 - http://www.sinewavecycles.com/collections/all/products/sinewave-cycles-reactor

Done a 10 hour ride though the night on Wednesday, no way could you do that with batteries......you could obviously but why go through the hassle!

SP and B&M F&R here, good enough for night riding (for me).

Shimanos as good but heavier and expensive for disc options.

Oh, and Germany for the lights. Most are at least 40-50% cheaper.

Oh and what do you do with the wiring? just zipp tie to the fork?

I use these up the fork legs. Much neater looking and they don't destroy the paintwork like zip ties can if they rub. Also, they can remain place if you remove the lights often. You can get them anywhere, but this is just a link as an example.

http://www.tweekscycles.com/components/disc-brake-spares/m-part-self-adhesive-cable-guides

Monkeyfudger can that rear light be used with a shimano hub and B&M IQ?

I thought it could only be used with an equivalent front?

Yep, it's connected to a B & M IQ Cyo, are you maybe confusing it for a Supernova? Supernova's rear lights can only be used with their own fronts.

@monkey after a quick Google, I can't find that SON rear light. It is quite neat...

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-dynamo-rear-dept118_pg1/

SJS is your friend, click in for seatpost mount option, these aren't that much cheaper from Germany actually.

cheers, you are right, got confused with the supernova.

Seems a lot especially the premium for non rack mount sigh

Yeah it's quite sad that I payed as much for the rear as I did for my front light, all the others looked a bit shit though and I'm a tart...

monkeyfudger : Same as my rear light, i love the style and design of it so i can easily justify the extra expense for nice kit that i can't fault.

I'm running Schmidt Son 28 disc hub built onto 700c rim wired to to Schmidt Son Edelux II front light and Tout Terrain USB charger plug wired direct from piggy back spade connecters on hub, rear light is Schmidt Son as monkeyfudger above.

I used heat shrink tubing on the light cables and usb charger cables that run down the fork leg to the front dynamo spade connectors and that fits nicely into [url= http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/m:part-self-adhesive-cable-guides-3m-pack-of-3-prod13059/ ]m-part self adhesive cable guides[/url], the cabling to the rear light runs from a connection under the front headlight so i used a long length of heat shrink tubing that i fed over the rear brake housing (runs along the top tube) and at the head tube i fed the cable through more heat shrink and used another m-part self adhesive cable guide stuck to the head tube so the rear light cable runs through a guide on the head tube down to the bottom of the front light where it connects with a tiny spade connecter.

Once you get the heat shrink tubing shrunk down (i used a mini gas soldering iron with a heat shrink shield attached) it's really secure and there's no excess cabling flapping or lying loose anywhere to catch on undergrowth or suchlike - it offers that bit extra protection.

The biggest hassle i had was feeding the usb charger plug cables down my carbon steerer tube.

[url= http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/tripster-atr-finally-built-up-lush/page/38 ]See half way down my tripster thread page for info[/url]

I would show you it all together but i've just today stripped my Tripster down to a bare frame as i need to send it down to Matt at Middleburn as there is an issue getting the new Middleburn RO2 X-Type crankset to work nicely with the Tripster and XTR front mech regarding chainline so rather than try and sort it out with exchange axles/spiders/spacer kits/BB spacing etc i thought it's easier to send down the frame and mech so he can get the chainline dialled at his leisure when they reopen in January.

OK, ta. Dint realise you had to click in to get to the good stuff. 🙂

Oops, I guess i should've typed [i]click here for info[/i] 😉