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#1 |
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Guest
Posts: n/a
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Good evening all.
Sorry about the length of this post. If you want to save time you can skip to the last paragraph that has an actual question in it - the rest of it is a homage/stream of consciousness to this group for setting me straight on generators. Lately I have been spending like a guy with four arms. I figure that whatever I spend on safety/utility gear will more than pay me back in the cost of petrol it would cost to commute the 55km return to work every day. I tend not to ride as much in the Winter as I just could not trust my light set up, particularly in the rain (one would think that they would be at least water resistant, but nooooo, when visibility is at its worst, the damn things would cease operating). My flashies are only OK-good in being seen terms which really bites when you have to leave and come home in the dark. A few months ago Torpedo 7 had a lighting deal that looked pretty good, so I posted here for any sage like advice (such as one would normally have received in the old days by climbing some mountain and chewing the fat with an old guy/gal); some of you here recommended the Schmidt or B&M bottle generators and at the time it seemed too good to be true - a generator that was on all the time but had minimal drag and the promise of decent light without ever having to change batteries and bulbs. After much research and soul searching (that's code for begging my wife), I got a Schmidt generator hub and the L.E.D. IQ Fly senso and senso taillight. The taillight has not arrived yet which concerns me as the hub was bought one day before the tailight and the hub arrived 10 days ago. (From the UK). I am told I should not run the headlight without the taillight so I find life cruelly forcing me to wait until who knows when. The taillight should (if it ever f****** arrives) sit rather nicely on my newly installed Tubus Cargo rack. )I had the hub built into a Velocity Synergy rim. Peter White suggests they can take from 25mm to 35mm tyre. Hopefully this is still true, but if not it still looks like a wicked touring rim. So the wheel is built, but the headlight has not yet been mounted. The headlight mount is going to be tricky - it is designed for the fork crown, but when you have caliper brakes (Chorus) a longer bolt is required (about an extra 3mm). Mounting it at the fork crown also seems to have the problems of brake cables in the way and as it is in the shadow of the frame the sensor thinks it's dark and keeps the light on. So, I think I am going to go with a "from the handlebars" solution, and the longer the taillight takes to show, the more time I have to try and figure it out. All of the write ups on the L.E.D. IQ Fly have been very positive to the extent that they appear to be killing the market for halogens. The anticipation (and the worst case of the 'flu I've ever had) is killing me! The questions I have relate to getting a touring rear hub to match my front - my bike is kitted out with Campag stuff, [yeah yeah, Shimano etc is so much better etc - whatever - I can't change everything now] and the hub is a chorus and is quite worn so it does not really make sense to build a wheel around it. I heard that Chorus do not have the strength to deal with pannier loads, and the better thing is to get something like a Veloce, which is heavier but can take more punishment weight wise. Does anyone know if this is correct? It seems in recent times, Peter White notes that Campag have stopped making hubs. Has anyone tried some of the Campag compatible hubs like the Velocity or any other Campag friendly solutions?? (I have used up all my begging credits, so a Rohloff is not on the cards any time soon, no matter how sexy). Thanks, BtC |
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#2 |
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Guest
Posts: n/a
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In article <uRu0k.6782$IK1.4926@news-server.bigpond.net.au>,
oomph@bigtown.com.au says... > Good evening all. > > Sorry about the length of this post. If you want to save time you can skip > to the last paragraph that has an actual question in it - the rest of it is > a homage/stream of consciousness to this group for setting me straight on > generators. > > Lately I have been spending like a guy with four arms. I figure that > whatever I spend on safety/utility gear will more than pay me back in the > cost of petrol it would cost to commute the 55km return to work every day. > I tend not to ride as much in the Winter as I just could not trust my light > set up, particularly in the rain (one would think that they would be at > least water resistant, but nooooo, when visibility is at its worst, the damn > things would cease operating). My flashies are only OK-good in being seen > terms which really bites when you have to leave and come home in the dark. > > A few months ago Torpedo 7 had a lighting deal that looked pretty good, so I > posted here for any sage like advice (such as one would normally have > received in the old days by climbing some mountain and chewing the fat with > an old guy/gal); some of you here recommended the Schmidt or B&M bottle > generators and at the time it seemed too good to be true - a generator that > was on all the time but had minimal drag and the promise of decent light > without ever having to change batteries and bulbs. > > After much research and soul searching (that's code for begging my wife), I > got a Schmidt generator hub and the L.E.D. IQ Fly senso and senso taillight. > The taillight has not arrived yet which concerns me as the hub was bought > one day before the tailight and the hub arrived 10 days ago. (From the UK). > > I am told I should not run the headlight without the taillight so I find > life cruelly forcing me to wait until who knows when. > > The taillight should (if it ever f****** arrives) sit rather nicely on my > newly installed Tubus Cargo rack. )> > I had the hub built into a Velocity Synergy rim. Peter White suggests they > can take from 25mm to 35mm tyre. Hopefully this is still true, but if not > it still looks like a wicked touring rim. > > So the wheel is built, but the headlight has not yet been mounted. The > headlight mount is going to be tricky - it is designed for the fork crown, > but when you have caliper brakes (Chorus) a longer bolt is required (about > an extra 3mm). Mounting it at the fork crown also seems to have the > problems of brake cables in the way and as it is in the shadow of the frame > the sensor thinks it's dark and keeps the light on. > > So, I think I am going to go with a "from the handlebars" solution, and the > longer the taillight takes to show, the more time I have to try and figure > it out. > I actually just received an IQ fly in the mail today direct from Germany. Got it from a German E-bayer seller. I have just hooked it up to my bench power supply and had a play. Results shining across the back yard are very encouraging, can't wait to fit it onto the bike. I have a SON dynamo, so it should all fit together great. According to the PS meter, it only draws about 200mA @ 6V DC, but the light output - phenomenal and well controlled! I've used a pair of CREE LED's with the rotationally symetric optics but have always been conscious of dazling oncomers, this will NOT be an issue with the IQ Fly. Seriously good stuff. Cheers, Ray |
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