Shimano Dynamo Hub

said:
I am thinking of improving my lighting now that the nights are getting
darker.

Has anyone experience of this dynamo? I was thinking of this plus a couple
of lamps that would stay on when stationery.

I have one of these with Hella Safety lights equipped with standlights. The
system works very well for both lighting your way when the road is properly
dark and visiblity on lighted streets. Where it falls down a bit is in
situations where there is significant ambient light (from car headlights
etc) but not enough to see by. One's eyes tend to adjust to the brightest
thing around which isn't necessarily the beam of your light, meaning it can
be difficult to see where you're going!

Or does anyone use the lights that have a re-chargeable battery pack that
hangs from the cross bar. They appear to be cheaper but are they effective?

From what I've seen they're very powerful, but you must remember to charge
the battery of course. Dynamos are pretty much fit-and-forget.

Regards,

-david

wrote in message
s.com...

I am thinking of improving my lighting now that the nights are getting
darker.
Has anyone experience of this dynamo? I was thinking of this plus a
couple
of lamps that would stay on when stationery.

The SON is better but it's also much more expensive; the Nexus is a very
good product. I have one of each.

Or does anyone use the lights that have a re-chargeable battery pack that
hangs from the cross bar. They appear to be cheaper but are they
effective?

Yes, and they are fine until you forget to recharge them or your ride lasts
longer than you expected or you are late leaving on a day you thought you
wouldn't be needing them...

For a commuting or utility bike, dynamos are the way to go, and given that
dynamos are the way to go, hub dynamos are best by a country mile IMO. Your
lights are always there, always "charged" and if the battery runs flat the
bike stops ;-)

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.com

Thanks for the advice. I have just bought a lead acid re-chargeable system
consisting of twin halogen headlights. 10 and 2.5 watts.

I have just got hooked on biking after a short break......40years. Stopped
smoking this year and wanted to get the lungs exercised and cleaned up. I
seem to have swopped one addiction for another. I am on my 3rd bike in 12
months.

Now for the rear lights, helmet lights and lights for the computer. ; )

--
replace deadspam with btinternet to reply
Tom Anderson
Leighton Buzzard
England

wrote:
Thanks for the advice. I have just bought a lead acid re-chargeable system
consisting of twin halogen headlights. 10 and 2.5 watts.

The Smart 201s, by any chance? (wot I got, good value kit).
Whatever, as long as you take note of the charging instructions they
should give you plenty of good service.

seem to have swopped one addiction for another. I am on my 3rd bike in 12
months.

Time you moved onto a recumbent, then ;-)

Now for the rear lights, helmet lights and lights for the computer. ; )

For rears, LED units are often very good. Look out for a BS kitemark.
Note that although technically it is illegal to use a flashing light, in
practice you're very unlikely to have anyone complain. Some people find
it easier to spot flashing lights but harder to judge distances to them,
so you may wish to run a constant and a flashing light just to be sure.

I had a helmet light for a while but the bracket broke. Not actually
been that worried about not having it any more, just something else to
get in the way.

What is worth looking at is a selection of reflective stickers. Since
my bike has a large seat back facing to the rear I've plenty of room to
play with, and have been compared to the Blackpool Illuminations when in
someone's headlamps from behind, but any bike's visibility can be
enhanced by using reflectives in strategic spots.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Yes they are the Smart ones.

They are charging up now for my ride at 0445 tomorrow morning.

Tom


Tom Anderson
Leighton Buzzard
BEDS, England.

On Thu, 21 Aug 2003 15:05:48 GMT, wrote:

Stopped
smoking this year and wanted to get the lungs exercised and cleaned up.

Way to go, I packed up over three years ago and took up cycling again
after 25 years.

I seem to have swopped one addiction for another.

Believe me, you're not alone. With cycling the denial manifests itself
as 'riding away from it all' !!

I am on my 3rd bike in 12
months.

I have a Shimano Nexus hub, and I think it's brilliant. I have it on a
'town run-a-round'. Works well.

gb