B
BtC
Guest
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
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
