Dynamo hubs

Fuck the law*.

*German Law.

It's perfect, you can see where you're going.

Sounds similar to what I'd planned with the Plug III although I was going to use the Luxos (now I'm not sure) and a SON dyanamo.

I have an Anker 6400mah battery which is the size of an old Nokia feature phone I guess - how big is that 16000mah battery? Must weigh half a kilo! :)

Who gives you the 40% off Supernova stuff? Did you buy it direct from them?

I'm guessing it's a bit less complex than the Luxos too. Luxos do all kinds of shit like change beam as you slow down and stuff. Quite clever stuff but more to go wrong. The Supernova doesn't have USB out does it, so I'd definitely need a Plug III or other variety of USB out. Does the Supernova light have a cache battery or standlight?

EDIT: Yes "Not so the E3 Triple. The way the lighting is arranged (more on this later) means that a standing light of lower brightness is illuminated even when at a stop. The manufacturer claims that this light stays on for some 12 minutes , but in my experience it was nearer 4. That said, it did provide a decent level of illumination that would keep you safe at junctions."

It seems the Supernova E3 Triple also does the speed-varying light amount:
"The lower level of lighting kicks in straight away, even at slow speeds and while stationary, as mentioned before, but a higher level (the other 2 of the 3 LEDs) only kicks in at speeds of above 8mph."

Have you used a Maxx-D or Six Pack from Exposure? Any comparison?

"The main problem is the wiring. The lead runs directly from the light unit to the dynamo, where it ‘crimps’ into a connector in a semi-permanent fitting. There is no connector at either end, meaning that to remove the light requires removing the cable, which is ideally zip-tied to the fork to avoid snagging, and un-crimping the dynamo, or removing the wheel. Removing the wheel, for example to fix a puncture, requires the same."

I presume you can add connectors to get around this issue?

Well it's a German company and its technically illegal there so I guess they're just covering themselves in their largest market.

It's definitely heavy at least 500g and big but it fits perfectly into my top-tube bag at about 15cm long, might look at trying to find the best mah/weight battery in between now and then but thats probably super expensive.

Supernova itself gave it so I just emailed them. I think Mike negotiated the deal for all the TCR riders last year. They'd probably be help you out

Thanks all!

buries head in google sobbing

Used my Luxus U on tour in Ireland for a month. Rained a fair bit, and it was left outside overnight to get wet at least half the time. It was always fine. If you were really paranoid you could gaffer tape the button, as well as the charger wire (and it's adaptor) that comes out the button, which I did when it rained for long periods. I did have a pdw mudguard which stopped water getting up the bottom of the light unit, which might be a concern. Could always gaffer that bit too I guess.

I've not used one but I hear its not an issue if you're using LED lamps (rather than filament bulbs).

Maybe it's been mentioned already but one thing to consider is that the Plug will output 500mah while the Sinewave will do 1000mah.

I don't think I have anything that will need 1000mA and I'll likely be using a battery as a buffer between the dynamo and GPS/phone. The Plug III hits USB 5V/500mA at lower speed than the Sinewave so might be better for charging when I'm going slow (which will be almost always :)).

On the flip side: "Unlike The Plug, the Revolution doesn’t simply stop charging at high speeds. Whilst The Plug arbitrarily cuts out above 30km/hr, the Revolution continues to provide a regulated power supply." This might be talking about an older version though?

http://www.tourintune.com/dynamo-usb-chargers-revolution-vs-the-plug/

http://bilenkycycles.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/field-testing-sinewave-cycles.html

I haven't tried the plug myself but I had a usb thing that put out 250mah and this was barely sufficient to keep my phone alive while touring, forget about charging anything. So I'm gonna buy the Sinewave instead.

Anybody know of a nice backup battery that will do pass through charging?

That was a question I asked myself before I ditched the sinewave and got the Luxos.

There was a nice start up financed one on amazon when I looked last year.

I think there the problems were on an earlier version.
I have been using one for 4 months now, (around 4500 mi) - it had to undergo some very, very wet days (think riding through deep puddles or entire days riding under heavy rain), and it's still working fine.

5V/500mA is USB 'standard' I think.

Does it need to be pass-through? Only takes a second to switch cables from input to output.
I like Anker for batteries anyway but I've not tried to use them while they charge - they do have separate input/output sockets.

I have the six pack and the e3 triple pro. The six pack as you know is overkill (I have the original 2000 lumen model) I only ever use it on low beam on the road. The Supernova actually has a similar light pattern as the Six Pack, maybe a slightly wider beam. On the road I point both at the ground so the centre of the beam is about 25 feet in front of me, and this doesn't dazzle drivers and allows the road surface to be progressively better illuminated as you ride towards things, so a pothole for example is visible in the far distance quite easily, and becomes progressively better illuminated as you get closer to it. The clamp is easy enough to adjust so it is tight enough to prevent unwanted movement, but not so tight that you can't adjust the beam upwards when suddenly presented by a bit of off road, or undipped car headlights approaching. The six pack has a massive reserve power output, the supernova is actually more than adequate.

Cheers. Yeah, I've only used Medium on the Six Pack when it was exceptionally foggy or misty or something one night and for most of my 24hrs just wack it on Low and go. I got flashed by a truck (with about 30 front lights of its own) when it had rotated on the mount and was pointing up a bit.

If these MTB style dynamo lights fire out wide - is a helmet light necessary? I had issues during the last 24hr not being able to take a dog-leg fast because I kept missing the apex with a bar-mounted light that I'd have to twitch the steering to light up the turn. I was thinking about adding a helmet light to the mix. Helmet light would also help repairs, setting up sleep spots, etc in the middle of nowhere.

I'd like to not buy 20 different models of dynamo light but the more I read the more confuzzled I get about reliability, beam patterns and crap. I think since it's LFGSS I should just buy the stuff I think looks the best or is the lightest or brightest or something and sod functionality :)

The helmet mounted light is a good idea for all the reasons you stated, the dynamo light is useless when stopped. It is also pretty pants on a hairpin road I use quite a lot as it doesn't shine around the corner! However I would beware Shermer's neck, as the added weight is in exactly the wrong place, and it was the helmet mounted bluetooth intercom that did it for the rider I was supporting in the race around ireland last year. Use a tiny torch (I have a Sunwayman VR11) It has about 500 lumens and is easy to click on when needed. The output is adjustable, so when faffing about off the bike you can turn it right down low to save the battery and your night vision.
Comparing dynamo lights I also have an ordinary Supernova E3 (useless, now a town bike light) and an Edelux (also useless as the cutoff beam is just where you need the light to be). E3 Triple pro gets my vote, although my mate has the Exposure revo, and I like the beam pattern of that. Just not as bright though.

I like the Luxos but I want something shiny for this build. I have the silvery Lumotec now but might go all in and get an Edelux.

Is it really? My iphone charger got 5V 1A written on it.

On the 600 attempt, I took my Mini Mag Lite (single AAA version) which I can hold in my mouth and shine into my saddle pack while I try and dig out spare batteries for the rear light (again and again). :) Problem with using a torch is that it's not on whilst riding so you lose that 'see where you're going around bends' benefit.

Really? I thought the Exposure Revo was super duper bright but just not quite as focused as the German road-specific options?