On Feb 14, 11:35 am,
[email protected] wrote:
> But it seems he is a non-cyclist
> who was astonished by the cycling in Amsterdam.
Which doesn't have anything to do with what I said previous. Well...
> Being astonished is fine. But any implication that he knows better
> than the Dutch is pretty silly.
Knows better? I said "ask a cyclist" from the USA. You're cavitating
pretty bad there. Try again, Frank.
> Regarding "feebleness": It's the experience of many that dynamo
> lighting is certainly practical and adequate for all normal riding.
> In fact, it's quite popular in the Paris-Brest-Paris ride, which is
> far more demanding than "normal" riding. And as I've posted before,
> those Americans using generators in that endurance ride were more
> satisfied than those using battery lights.
Feeble compared to battery-pack lights. If that wasn't obvious. I keep
forgetting...
I read, perhaps too accurately for your liking, where the problem with
at least some of the battery lights people used in PBP was the
inconvenience of changing batteries in the rain. Something pretty
likely to need doing, due to duration of event, and probably not too
much fun when you're cold and very tired, and short on sleep, to boot.
> Regarding cops: Sorry it displeases you, but I think cops _should_
> ticket unlit cyclists. Same roads, same rights, same
> responsibilities.
You just can't let an opportunity pass you by, can you, Frank? I
didn't say anything about how I felt one way or another. I more or
less repeated an assertion made in the comments section that police
pressure IRT ticketing unlit cyclists, implied to be somewhat intense,
was what drove the "generator on every bike" norm. The implication is
pretty clear: if it wasn't for the cops, a lot of people wouldn't
bother with those "barely there" generator lights, which would seem to
say a lot for Dutch bikepaths: Well-lit? Not full of potholes?
Regularly swept, not likely to contain dangerous debris? Regular,
predictable traffic patterns? and so forth.
> Personally, I think most generator complaints are due to the fact that
> it takes a little more mechanical and electrical aptitude to set up a
> generator in the first place. Many people seem to be not quite up to
> the task. Other complaints seem to stem from systems people had on
> their first three speed bikes back in the 1960s.
We'll see a little more of what ol' Frank is fishing for in a moment.
> Examples: "Little hole in the seatstay?" Good quality generators are
> double-wired and don't use the frame as a conductor. And competent
> mechanics know how easy it is to double-wire any generator.
Aha! The Attack on Competency!!! And we're off to the races, ladies
and gentlemen!
"Good quality" generators of old did have that pointed ground screw
that, as a teenager, I discovered were not too swift in that they did
make that little hole, and then quit working when the little hole
corroded. IMS, a little piece of lamp wire fixed the problem. Not a
pile of "competency" required <g>.
> "Friction? Lots of it? Draggy?" Seehttp://www.myra-simon.com/bike/dynotest.html.
Old Soubitez or Union units on that list?
> Yes, the drag could be worse if the generator's not aligned properly,
> and perhaps yours were badly aligned.
Or perhaps they were gnat's-ass perfect, and fiddled with besides just
to make sure.
> But that goes back to
> mechanical competence.
Or maybe the old Union and Soubitez units were draggy. They were, and
they sure were noisy, to boot. Well, the Union rear-mount helped
there. And the taillight was wired, too. That was a good idea, there.
> "If you're going to go fast, carry spare bulbs?" Well, a spare bulb
> isn't a bad idea, but the implication that generators burn out bulbs
> at high speed is, once again, left over from the 1960s.
70's. Maybe 80's, but I think I'd graduated to batteries by then.
> Good quality,
> modern headlamps or generators are usually protected by Zener diode
> pairs, to prevent this problem. And if you've got an older set, it
> takes about $1 and about ten minutes work to wire in your own. Which
> again, goes back to competence.
That's a funny way to ask if I know how to make a solder connection,
Frank.
> And, BTW, I understand all the above competence requirements go away
> if you invest in a decent hub generator. A Shimano unit costs under
> $100, plus a wheel build (if you can't build your own). You get
> lights that add only imperceptible drag, don't burn out at speed,
> don't go out of alignment, never run out of batteries, and absolutely
> light the road well enough to see, and to be seen, during any normal
> on-road riding.
That's a funny way to ask if I know how to build up a bicycle wheel,
Frank. And your paragraph admits all the problems with generators
(drag, burning out bulbs at speed, alignment problems-- thanks for
that addition, it certainly was a problem in my use-- and feeble
lighting).
And for something you admit to not owning-- or ever even using?--
yourself. Wow. See "confidence", etc. below.
I just guessing here along with you, but I wonder: are they _quieter_
too?
Wow, what a relief it was, even with the old battery-eaters, to just
switch on a light, one little click maybe, and go on enjoying the
usual bicycle noises, and be able to listen behind for cars, too.
> But I confess, I don't own a modern hub generator yet.
Thank you. Is the wheel-building thing holding you back? Just
wondering. IME, people who feel the need to snipe at others'
competence... well, let's just say the problem usually starts at
home, and let it go at that. OK?
> I'm doing
> perfectly fine with my Soubitez roller units and a couple others. I
> think the difference is competence.
I think going deaf in your old age could help quite a bit, as to the
physical reality. But, whatever floats your imaginary boat, Frank.
> Spoken with wonderful confidence!
Some people have called it "having a chip on my shoulder".
"Of _course_ I know more than the
> Dutch!
> They cycle everywhere, and I'm sitting on the other side of
> the world, but they can't tell as well as I can that their own
> headlights are inadequate! "
Well, one thing for sure, it's easy to put words into someone's mouth
from the other side of the world. Or the USA, for that matter.
Going back to the non-imaginary: I noted the difference in safety
between the ubiquitous cycle paths of Holland (esp. Amsterdam, but
they're all over the country from what I saw) and the "margins"
cyclists in the USA are almost always forced to ride on. You might
have drawn the conclusion, had you read with less anger, and desire to
"put me in my place" (assigned by you, of course) that I might think
that those Soubitez clunkers are adequate (barely, like the Dutchman--
a real one, who would probably be wondering at your use of him in
epithet-- said) for use on dedicated bicycle highways, but are not
necessarily adequate elsewhere.
That's an opinion coming from my using the items in question on the
streets in the USA, not reading about them on the wwweb.
I think you have a problem or two with batteries, Frank, is what's
going on here. Just a feeling <g>.
From my rides with the Wednesday nighters at Planetary Cycles in
Houston (1998-2001), I'd be looking for the current (new, improved,
with lightning bolts and all) versions of some of the lights I saw
people use there-- cost, giving up a water bottle cage, no problem
when it comes to survival. I mean, riding on Memorial drive after dark
with a Union generator, hearing obscured to the rear, and relying on
that faint rear light that was pretty finicky about staying lit? Those
rears were the ones that burned out more often, as I'm remembering,
too. Maybe it was the vibration-- zzzzzzzz!_ from the friction wheel?
No thanks! But like I said, whatever works for you is fine with me as
long as I'm using what I want. --D-y
Nice try, but you lose. I've built that Dynohub wheel, along