Talk me out of a dynamo set up... or not (?)...

[Wolfman]

I bought one of Baron's Giant's recently and am planning on an adventure/all-road build/fast rando-type build... I'm currently obsessing about a dynamo setting for full-time lights mounted to custom racks.

Besides the financials, what's the chance I'd regret building a nice, fast dynamo wheel and getting those cool Euro lights?

Any mainly daytime roadies dipped your toes into this area and regretted it? Any one currently have more perspective on this than I do?

[AJosiahK]

you wont regret it

not the lightest, nor do they (with the headlights) look the most aero .. the hub drag factor is N/A imo

but the fact that your alway putting out many lumens on your own accord, without having to charge a battery, and it being fully installed and/or integrated into your bike is a game changer.

My fendered ANT ss lives with a front and rear supernova pro setup... and my commuter / gravel endro Evergreen has a supernova pro front that lives on it. A+ imho

[Louis]

Are you going to do any brevets? Multi-day unsupported touring and camping? How many continuous run-time hours do you really need?

IMO that's the deciding factor between batteries and dynos.

[p nut]

Mainly daytime? No, I’d not bother with it.

I have a Son/Edelux which is really nice for commuter. Lights up the streets really nice. I also use it on my bikepacker.

But for a road ride? Get a decent battery light (I like Lezyne), on blink, they run for like a week. And several hours with decent lumen output for dawn/dusk rides.

[unterhausen]

I like to have dynos on my bikes because I don't want to worry about being out after dark.

[sg8357]

Originally Posted by Louis

Are you going to do any brevets? Multi-day unsupported touring and camping? How many continuous run-time hours do you really need?

IMO that's the deciding factor between batteries and dynos.

The lifetime of batteries is another point, my SON hub has now powering
it's 5th generation of lights, started with 2x E6, had Cyo's. a Supernova
and now an IQ-X.

I've 4 generations of battery lights, only the newest one,
has a reasonable runtime, the others are used as house flashlights these days.

[Wolfman]

Brevets? Wouldn't say no in a couple of years when the kids are gone, but for the close future? Not likely.

How many hours of blinking do I need? Currently, no more that 4-5, really.

I already know that it's not practical for what I'm doing, really, but I've always felt that the bike should carry all of the stuff it needs, and these days, lights (especially rear) are a necessity for me and I'm already making watts, so...

[NHAero]

I have a SON hub on the Big Dummy and love always on bike lighting. But that's a 45 pound bike already, with fenders and giant racks, etc., so what's another pound?

[David in Maine]

Originally Posted by Wolfman

Brevets? Wouldn't say no in a couple of years when the kids are gone, but for the close future? Not likely.

How many hours of blinking do I need? Currently, no more that 4-5, really.

I already know that it's not practical for what I'm doing, really, but I've always felt that the bike should carry all of the stuff it needs, and these days, lights (especially rear) are a necessity for me and I'm already making watts, so...

The “cool Euro lights” don’t blink. I love the dyno setup on my commuter that is often used at night, but not the best for daytime “be seen” lights.

David

[bicycletricycle]

Get a son hub and nice lights , it is great

[jtakeda]

no regrets. I have dynamo on almost all my bikes

[tellyho]

Depends on what you ride. For me, dynamos are for my commuter. I don't ride long enough on any other bike to make it worthwhile. Even on bikepacking trips, battery lights are enough for those ill-planned days, weighed against the weight of that hardware on the bike the rest of the time.

[camelbackkid]

I have Schmidt lights and hub on my randonneur bike and it is indeed a game-changer. I'll never go back to riding in the dark without a dynamo setup.

[commandcomm]

Do it.

I set up my Specialized Allez Sprint with a dynamo. I ride in the mornings when it is still dark. No batteries or charging. Just flip the switch.

When I commuted in years past I also had a dynamo. Again, no batterie or charging. Just flip the switch.

[Louis]

For you guys who use dynamos regularly, how much of a problem (if at any) is the "you have to keep moving to have light and be seen" issue?