Jskirbyman

Hey all,
Curious to know if anyone has any recommendations on dynamo front and rear light combos. I know Sinewave Beacon's are popular, as well as Busch and Mueller, but does anyone have any personal experience with any?

Rick

I have the Shmidt Edelux II Headlight and the Bush&Muller Toplight Line Brake Plus taillight. I have the Sinewave Reactor usb charger also. I primarily ride on the road so the Edelux works for me. I use a passthrough battery between the Reactor and the phone.

Moe Zhoost

I have a B&M IQ-X on my fork crown paired with a B&M μ (micro) mounted high on the down tube. The μ is tiny, yet puts out a very bright point source light. I like this combo quite a bit.

Germany_chris

I have an B&M IQ-XS on both bikes and a B&M top light on one, soon to be on both.

Rick

I believe the Sinewave Beacon is a good light for the dirt. It appears to be one of those that is a flood light. The Edelux works more like the low beam of a car. I have had my light setup for over seven years and wish I had a high beam for reading street signs.

Jskirbyman

Thanks everyone for your thoughts.
I’ve heard that it’s not always the lumens that are most important but the “beam pattern”, how the beam is not as bright at the bottom (where it’s closest) and it gets brighter as it gets to the top of the beam (and further away)… How have you found that works in practice? I don’t think the sine wave is built with that in mind, but I could be wrong!

adamrice 

I've got the kLite headlight. Although the one I've got is marketed as a road headlight, it doesn't have a shaped beam, it just doesn't have a wide spread. It's probably equivalent to an 800-lumen battery light—in any case, it's quite sufficient for road riding. kLite does make an add-on flashing taillight that plugs into their own USB adapter. I don't have it.

To get a proper shaped beam, you'd probably need to look at a German company, like Busch+Muller or SON, as they need to comply with the German StVZO regulations that forbid dazzling oncoming traffic.

Harhir

I have B&M IQ-X front lights and B&M taillights on two bikes. And another B&M set on a third bike. I bought them in Germany a few years ago when visiting family. One bike has a SON hub dynamo and the other two have a cheaper Shimano hub dynamos. These I also bought in Germany. The prices over there are normally cheaper and the selection is larger. I actually bought a whole brand new 20" wheel with a Shimano hub for less than $50. This was. And I also found a brand new 700c wheel with a Shimano hub here on ebay not too long ago.
And yes the Lumen number itself does not count for much if the beam pattern is bad. Too much light is "lost" if not focused properly on the road.
But I still use a battery light as well which I can easily point upwards. Our traffic lights here in town now have camera detection. The only way to "trigger" the traffic light is by pointing the bike light to the camera.

Rick

B&M has the proper type of formed beam for the road. The Schmidt Edelux uses the B&M light reflectors for there beam pattern. I use the Schmidt Son 28 SL on my touring bike. I believe the Schmidt Son 28 has better low speed performance than other alternator hubs.

But its me 

I have had the B&M IQ-X, Toplight Line Brake Plus, and SON Edelux II on various bikes over the years. While the Edelux reflector is designed by B&M the light beam itself is much better focused on the road than the IQ-X. I find the IQ-X beam to have uneven dead zones to it. Not a bad light, but compared to the Edelux the overall build (auto function quickly failed on it, although manual on/off still functional) and beam quality leave something to be desired. The B&M taillight works nicely with either head unit. My two cents worth, anyway.

I ordered my lights from Europe (Bike24, Bike-discount, and XXcycle if memory serves), which was less expensive than US sources, even when factoring in the higher shipping cost.

In my experience, aiming such bright (focused or otherwise) lights is key. I try to keep the light beam level when setting up. Seems best way to keep focused beam from blinding oncoming traffic while also lighting the way. My simple method is to use the level function on my phone pressed against the light face to tweak it every so often. I managed to blind oncoming traffic when a spill caused the light to go out of level, so I try to check it once a week or so.

Rick

I tried the B&M IQ-X because It was listed as a more powerful light. I put my Edelux II right back on. The lit road looked allot clearer to my old eyes with the Edelux II. I bought the Schmidt Son 28 SL and the Edelux II with my Co-Motion bicycle order. When I setup my sons Fuji that he ordered from Englind at a heavy discount. We ordered his Son 28 and Edelux II from bike 24. I have are headlights mounted on the fork crown. I keep them level by referencing the straight edge of my old Kennedy Versa Cab.

sweeks

I have the B&M IQ-X and Toplight Line Brake Plus on my road bike. I find the headlight more than adequate for brightness and beam pattern. I have it mounted on a left-side V-brake post because my fork does not have a hole through the crown .
The tail light is nicely visible, according to riding companions, and it has a "brake light" function which I find interesting. A microprocessor monitors the frequency of the dynohub's output, which is proportional to speed, and when the frequency drops suddenly, as when braking occurs, the light brightens up.
In addition, I ride with a battery-powered headlight and tail light, just in case, and also to supplement the B&M equipment on very dark roads.

sweeks

Interesting! I hope to see some of this technology in *my* neck of the woods.

Rick

[QUOTEI have the B&M IQ-X and Toplight Line Brake Plus on my road bike. I find the headlight more than adequate for brightness and beam pattern. I have it mounted on a left-side V-brake post because my fork does not have a hole through the crown .
The tail light is nicely visible, according to riding companions, and it has a "brake light" function which I find interesting. A microprocessor monitors the frequency of the dynohub's output, which is proportional to speed, and when the frequency drops suddenly, as when braking occurs, the light brightens up.
In addition, I ride with a battery-powered headlight and tail light, just in case, and also to supplement the B&M equipment on very dark roads.][/QUOTE]

I have the same brake light. That brake light meets the German standard for maximum brightness. It is highly visible and non glary. I refuse to use a flashing light at night. That said I have the most powerful daylight visibility light made.

sweeks

I've gradually gone over to the "non-flashing at night" point of view. I have a Dinotte 300r tail light which is incredibly bright. Now when I use it as a back-up, I keep it in non-flashing mode and on one of the lower brightness settings... still pretty bright. My "back-up" headlight is a Light & Motion "Seca 800", which is quite bright as well. It has a beam pattern more suited to trail riding, so I keep it pointed down so as not to blind oncoming traffic.

Rick

I have Dinotte's DAYTIME RED Taillight. It is the brightest taillight available for being seen in the bright sun.

irwin7638

I have a BM Eyc on one bike and a Luxos on another. I use a BM Top Line and Secura tail lights. I have nothing but happiness to report.

Marc

rhm

It makes a big difference, both because there's light where you want it, and because there isn't light where you don't want it. The more light you make, the more your eyes adjust to it, so less light can mean you see more.

I use a B&M lumotech iq cyo premium senso-plus or something like that. 80 lux.

pdlamb

I've got a bike with a SON hub and one with the much less expensive Shimano. I can't honestly tell a difference in hubs -- they both put out about the same power at a decent speed -- but because of the pressure equalizer tube I have the SON on my "rain" bike.

I've got one IQ-X and one Edelux headlight. There's not much difference I can tell between the two on the road. I would like the IQ-X more if both halves of the standlight still worked. I may replace that with an EDelux II at some point. For commuting, I don't need to look at road signs, but I've added a helmet light for high traffic areas to try to catch idiot drivers' attention which also illuminates road signs when necessary on brevets, etc.

I've got the B&M taillights on both bikes -- easier to mount to my rear racks.

sweeks

For what it's worth, I have a Shutter Precision hub on my folding commuter bike. It has about 9,000 miles on it, ridden in all sorts of weather including rain. I've seen no evidence of water incursion.
The bike is stored in an unheated garage at home, though it comes inside at work.

pdlamb

As far as longevity, I've got about 15,000 on the SON wheel and 40,000 on the Shimano. Like you, I ride in all kinds of weather (except snow and ice), park in an outbuilding at home and covered bike rack at work. Though I repack the rear hubs annually, I haven't touched either dyno hub in the years since I got them.

sweeks

It's good to hear that you've gotten such high mileage on your dynohubs. Son hubs have a good reputation, but I'm especially impressed by what you've squeezed out of your Shimano hub. I have three of the first-generation "Joule" dynohubs (made by Sanyo, and similar in some respects to the Shimano hub). One of them experienced bearing failure after only about 2,000 miles. I was told these hubs are not serviceable. Since I had two spares, I undertook to "explore" the possibility of replacing the cartridge bearings. I was able to do this, with a few minor missteps, and posted a report on HubStripping. Hard to believe that was ten years ago.
Now my main dynohubs are SP. The one with about 9,000 miles on it needed a new rim at about 8,000 miles... I was debating whether to have the bearings replaced, but decided to rebuild the wheel and see how long the hub continues to work. I'm not sure I would attempt to replace the bearings myself, as the SP hubs appear to be more complex. I would probably feel the same about a Son hub.