Originally Posted by
Tourist in MSN
Unterhausen raises a good point, some lights including the Luxos U have had a reputation for water ingress or other failures. I think that most of the water problems with the Luxos U were solved after they re-designed the remote switch several years ago, but you still occasionally hear of failures. Apparently the four electrical contacts in the rear are not waterproofed in any way. I do not tour with my Luxos U, I mostly use it for around home riding and I usually do not ride on rainy days by choice.
I am one of the people who's Luxos U has failed. When I got it, it seemed like a good deal because it was slightly less than the cost of a good dynamo light + a separate USB charger. But then the USB charger failed, and I had to have it replaced. Then the replacement's USB charger failed, then the handlebar button failed entirely, so the light could only be changed using the button on the light itself. Not a terrible tragedy, but that button is kind of tricky and only works with the wheel spinning. Since it was mounted where I couldn't reach it when riding, if I ever turned it off and wanted to turn it on, I had to lift up the front of my bike, get the wheel spinning, and cycle through options using the button until the light came back on. Naturally I generally left the light on. Every so often, though, someone would notice that my light was on and would turn it off for me, thinking that I was going to run out of battery power. It also developed a weird quirk where it would continue to output a small amount of light long after the stand-light had turned off. And by "long after" I mean days. I removed the light from the bike, left it on my workbench for days, and it was still emitting a faint light. Weird. Then one of the tail light contacts rusted off. I had to wire my tail light separately, which wasn't terrible, since I really wasn't able to turn the light off anyway, so running the tail light through the headlight didn't give me any more control. Still, at that point I decided to replace the light. This time I got two devices: a light and a USB charger. I figure if one of the two items fail, I will still have one, functional component. The other benefit I'm realizing is that I have more than one bike, and I'd like to get dynamo hubs/lights for more than just my main bike. I don't want to be moving one light between multiple bikes all the time, so probably every bike will have it's own dynamo light. But USB charging is something I only need occasionally, so I don't mind sharing one charging device between bikes. Much cheaper than buying 3 Luxos Us.
I do ride in all weather. The bike is my main transportation, so I don't get to set it aside on rainy days. I imagine most of my problems are a result of water damage, although my 2nd light, at least, should have been the version that was better protected against water damage.
So, for my part, I don't recommend the Luxos U if you're going to ride in the rain. Too expensive to risk, and it will be cheaper to replace the two, individual components in the future if either the light or the USB charger dies.
On solar panels: I do have a 21 watt, 4 panel, foldable solar panel that has helped me keep things charged to a certain extent. It works best if the sun, obviously. I've had good luck at music festivals where I can sit in the sun for hours at a time. I've had decent results on sunny, or even overcast, days where I can drape it over my handlebars and ride all day down open roads. I've had poor luck when riding wooded trails on days when rain is in the forecast. When my Luxos U had not been replaced, I used the solar panel and a portable battery to keep my phone charged when riding down the C&O canal trail. Intermittent rain and almost constant shade meant that the solar panel was not super efficient, but it eaked out enough juice to keep from needing to plug in for about 200 miles/4 days. When I got DC, though, I was running low on juice. It's worth it to me, but it's not as reliable as a dynamo if you know that you will be rolling for a good chunk of the day.
I have not yet tested out the Sinewave that replaced the USB part of my Luxos U, but I have a five day trip planned this spring where I will have no access to a plug, so I hope to put it through its paces then.