questions about generator lights

Jasper Janssen said:

Quoted message said:

When I'm stopped in the right hand lane [at an intersection], a car coming head-on at me
would have to be driving on the wrong side of the road. There's not
much chance of that.

Your faith in your fellow man is touching, but I'm wondering how you
survive riding on the road if you're that trusting.

??? Well, I've survived riding on the road since 1972 or so. That's
as an adult.

I can say "there's not much chance" of a head-on conflict because
drivers don't drive down the left side of the road at intersections. I
can also say that in over 30 years of adult cycling, I've never seen
such a conflict happen.

You really _can_ count on the elementary rules of traffic. Sure, pay
attention - but don't go overboard with your imagination.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The only time I think there's a non-trivial probability of a head-on
crash while I'm stationary, is when I'm in the center turning lane of a
five lane arterial. That lane serves left turners from both
directions.

Whenever I hear about left side exits and all this kind of wacky [censored] I
get the urge to call a friend of mine who works for We Build US Highways
and shout at him.

Quoted message said:

I do this every time I ride home from work, and many times
besides. I generally time it so I'm still moving forward as I wait for
oncoming traffic to clear.

But you'll still be going too slow to get decent light output with a
generator, usually.

It depends how well I can time it. Nonetheless, if I'm moving forward
in that two-way LTOL and a car is moving toward me, hoping to turn into
a bank parking lot, he'll be looking at my white front blinky, and
he'll be looking at my front pedal reflectors. The pedal reflectors
will be moving, and VERY bright in the beam of his headlights. And,
BTW, that blinky has a reflector built in as well.

Again, in practice this has been not a problem.

- Frank Krygowski

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

Mon, 10 Oct 2005 13:01:33 GMT, SriBikeJi:

Quoted message said:

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

Unplug the cable from the hub dynamo connecters, loosen the quick release,
remove the wheel.

Andreas

Quoted message said:

Rick said:

We have 3 generator hub system:

1) Schmidt Hub, Lumotec Oval Plus (with standlight)+Schmidt E6
2) Schmidt Hub, Lumotec+Schmidt E6
3) Shimano DH-3N71 Hub, Lumotec Senso Oval Plus (w/
standlight)+Lumotec

They are all great, plenty of light for my suburban/rural commuting and
touring (dark un-lit tunnels in Europe, e.g.).

Do you notice any difference between the Schmidt and Shimano generators
while riding? Which of the various lights you own produce the
most/best light and/or pattern?

Schmidt is better, but for a commute bike the difference is too small
to mention. For long distances, e.g., randonneuring or touring,
Schmidt is the hands-down winner.

To expand on A. M-S's answer on lights, the Shmidt E-6 (same as the
BiSy he mentions) puts by far the most concentrated light on the road.
Excellent for seeing what is on the road in front of you. But it is
too concentrated as a single light, IMO, unless there is good ambient
lighting such as street lights. The various Lumotecs are basically
the same except for features like standlights, switches, etc. They put
out a decent amount of light, but more dispersed than the E-6. If you
ran with a single light, a Lumotec is a better choice. That is why we
run an E-6/Lumotec combo - get the best of both worlds. The E-6 lets
me see the potholes, sinkholes, fallen branches, the boards from the
fence some car went through, etc. The Lumotec gives me a good idea of
everything else around. The Lumotec/Lumotec combo is a new one for
this year; I want to see how it works but it is not into the heart of
dark commuting months yet. My guess is that for most of the time it
will be sufficient; just a few rural-ish areas where I will slow down a
bit more and wish for the E-6 :-) Part of that decision was $$$ ; just
coming off an extensive home remodel and the Lumotec is less than half
the cost of an E-6, so I will give it a try.

- rick

SriBikeJi said:

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

Unplug, then quick-release. May take a few extra seconds.

Jasper

Quoting SriBikeJi <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

The two wires are cabletied to the bottom of the front fork, so it's no
more than an extra 10 seconds to pull 'em loose and stick 'em back on
again. It's no trouble, really.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?
Today is First Teleute, October.

Quoting <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Rick said:

We have 3 generator hub system:
1) Schmidt Hub, Lumotec Oval Plus (with standlight)+Schmidt E6
2) Schmidt Hub, Lumotec+Schmidt E6
3) Shimano DH-3N71 Hub, Lumotec Senso Oval Plus (w/ standlight)+Lumotec
They are all great, plenty of light for my suburban/rural commuting and
touring (dark un-lit tunnels in Europe, e.g.).

Do you notice any difference between the Schmidt and Shimano generators
while riding?

I've ridden bikes with both and I don't see any difference. The Schmidt is
more efficient when turned off, but since one you easily ride along in the
daylight with the lights on and not notice [1], you won't perceive a small
difference in turned-off drag.

Quoted message said:

Which of the various lights you own produce the
most/best light and/or pattern?

The E6 is more narrowly focussed than the Lumotec. I like the resulting
extremely long reach of the beam, but it's not everyone's cup of tea. If
you can afford to run two headlights (I do on my tandem) E6+Lumotec (with
a standlight on the Lumotec) gives you everything you could want.

[1] Top tip; always turn them off when stopping. Always. You won't notice
a light on during the day but you'll certainly notice it being off at
night.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?
Today is First Teleute, October.

dvt said:

Andreas Oehler said:

Quoted message said:

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

Quoted message said:

Unplug the cable from the hub dynamo connecters, loosen the quick release,
remove the wheel.

What if your replacement wheel doesn't have a dynohub? What do you do
with the cable?

Use a zip tie, rubber band, etc. to firmly attach the wires to the
fork. No big deal.

- rick

dvt said:

I use studded snow tyres occasionally in the winter. I have a spare
front wheel with the studded tyre mounted, and I just swap wheels when I
want. I don't want to invest in two dynohub wheels. Tyre and rim-driven
generators are reputed to have slippage problems in rain and snow.

The only solution I have come up with is to use a dynohub most of the
year, then use an adapted battery to power the same lamps when I put on
the studded tyres. Therefore the question I posed in my first paragraph.

I know some of you are riding in these conditions with generator lights,
which is why I posted here in the first place. Any further suggestions?

Maybe so. In a threat titled "Lights" on r.b.misc, I was just directed
to
http://www.roseversand.com/rose_main.cfm?KAT_ID=0&PRD_ID=15926&spr_id=2&MID=0&CID=175

or http://tinyurl.com/c2mj7

The FER generator is a bit clunky looking and heavy, but it works well
in my experience. For winter use of my mountain bike (on roads) I've
used this.

It's driven by the spokes. That black plastic arrow-shaped thing is a
lever that flips into the space between spokes. The unit mounts by
removing the wheel and skewer, sliding the axle into the round hole at
left-center (vertically below the drive lever), then clamping into your
front fork.

There's no possibility of slip. Efficiency is decent - better than a
bottle, worse than a hub. When these first came out, I heard of
problems with the internal toothed belt breaking after a while, but I
later heard they were improved in that regard. Mine came with a spare
belt which is still in the box.

Just before I got mine, Nashbar was selling (or attempting to sell)
these for about $100. When Nashbar was being sold and their outlet
store was closing, I got this for about $40. But the poster on the
other thread says it now sells for just $30 US.

Mine's worked well, although it has far fewer miles than my other
generator sets. It's usually on my wife's touring bike.

I'd consider it. Of course, it's an overseas purchase for us
Americans, so I don't know about shipping.

- Frank Krygowski

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 13:06:35 -0400, dvt:

Quoted message said:

What if your replacement wheel doesn't have a dynohub? What do you do
with the cable?

The cable should be fixed to the fork anyway. The few Centimeters of loose
end should be stiff enough to stay in place without additional measures.

I'm using a second bike with studded tires in winter, which also is less
damaged by salt - because it is rusty anyhow...

Andreas

Quoted message said:

Just before I got mine, Nashbar was selling (or attempting to sell)
these for about $100. When Nashbar was being sold and their outlet
store was closing, I got this for about $40. But the poster on the
other thread says it now sells for just $30 US.

Well.. it sells for 25 euros in europe, which is about the equivalent of
$30 US. Whether you can get it at all and/or for that price in the US,
that I dunno.

Jasper

In article <[email hidden]>, dvt <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Andreas Oehler said:

Quoted message said:

This is likely a dumb question, but how difficult is it to change a
dynamo-hubbed wheel? Doesn't one end up with dangling wires, etc.?

Quoted message said:

Unplug the cable from the hub dynamo connecters, loosen the quick release,
remove the wheel.

What if your replacement wheel doesn't have a dynohub? What do you do
with the cable?

I use studded snow tyres occasionally in the winter. I have a spare
front wheel with the studded tyre mounted, and I just swap wheels when I
want. I don't want to invest in two dynohub wheels. Tyre and rim-driven
generators are reputed to have slippage problems in rain and snow.

Why do that? If the weather gets colder, I swap my pair of Schwalbe
Marathons 700c to a pair of Schwalbe Snow Stud tires and this will
solve all of your problems. I do run a Schmidt&Lumotec B&B generator
combination btw..

By inflating these snow stud tires according to the normal road riding
conditions rating (higher pressure), they ride like normal tires
(acceptable low rolling resistance). But as soon as the snow falls or
the road turns icy, lower the pressure down to 30-45psi and they will
then behave like regular snow tires and the studs will then grip the
road. This way, you get to keep the hub on the bike and avoid having
the mess of swapping wheels.

And yes, these snow stud tires work great under fair snowy and icy
conditions and are available in both 26" and 700c.

David.

dvt said:

David said:

...the light bulb burns out (and they do more
quickly than normal battery operated bulbs do -- at least with both my
Lumotec and Sanden)

So that's still a problem, eh? I figured maybe the circuits in more
recent headlamps would have that problem all but eliminated.

Having read the entire thread I'm astonished nobody mentioned the
use of light emitting diodes. Luxeon seems to have one that comes
close to matching a 6V 3W generator if used in an array of four,
arranged in a classic full-wave rectifier setup. Please look at
http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/DS25.pdf and let me know if anybody's
tried something like this.

I have an old Soubitez genset and want to replace the incandescents
with something more efficient. I have a small stash of Osram headlamps
but tail lights are getting hard to find and expensive. Better to replace
the whole works with solid state.

Thanks for reading and any counsel.

bob prohaska

Quoted message said:

Somebody using bob prohaska's usenet account said:

Having read the entire thread I'm astonished nobody mentioned the
use of light emitting diodes. Luxeon seems to have one that comes
close to matching a 6V 3W generator if used in an array of four,
arranged in a classic full-wave rectifier setup. Please look at
http://www.luxeon.com/pdfs/DS25.pdf and let me know if anybody's
tried something like this.

I have an old Soubitez genset and want to replace the incandescents
with something more efficient. I have a small stash of Osram headlamps
but tail lights are getting hard to find and expensive. Better to replace
the whole works with solid state.

Thanks for reading and any counsel.

You're just reading the wrong thread. There's another thread going on
titles "LED Headlight and generator?" That's the one you want.

- Frank Krygowski