Dynamo Lights

Cheers.
Trying to minimise kit (remove need for external power supply), so carrying battery packs is a bit counter-productive!
I'll look at the exposure revo in more detail. Possibly a bit pricey, but definitely the kind of thing I'm after.

Exposure Revo

If this is designed to be dynamo powered it'll take AC current, which @T4NY4 won't get from the B&M USB charger.

I dunno if lights that can be charged and illuminated simultaneously exist, but even if they do, I'd bin the idea and get cheap proper dynamo lights. Just having dynamo lights doesn't mean you have to get rid of the ones you can move between bikes.

Lael was testing a new version of a light (from Sinewave) during her Baja record that had a battery in it so that when the speed was too low (happens a lot MTBing) to light up the dynamo the battery would power it.

EDIT: battery is NOT in the light, it uses an external battery...
"Lael was riding a prototype Sinewave Cycles dynamo light on this ride which I mentioned in a previous post. I realized while editing these photos that the beam pattern and brightness are displayed nicely here, although minor changes in optics and output may occur before the production models are finalized. This light features a very bright beam, USB charging, and a unique battery power mode where the light can be provided additional power from a standard cache battery which allows for substantial light output at low speeds and while stopped. Dynamo lighting typically flickers and dims at low speeds, but with a battery backup the light remains bright even when walking the bike up a steep grade or churning through the sand at 3mph. Lael began her ride in Tecate with a 10,000 mAh Anker battery which was fully charged. She used it every night in addition to the power coming from the dynamo hub, and charged the battery from the light during the day. In ten nights of riding, she never plugged into a wall."
https://gypsybytrade.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/lael-wilcox-establishes-the-baja-divide-fkt-in-111302/

I thought the Revo was just a normal dynamo light, ie. no internal battery?

Yes, it has some capacitors for stand light but that's it. My guess was that it could be plugged alternatively to the dyno on the dyno-equipped bike and on a battery pack on the other ones.

@aliasalias makes a good point about just getting a cheap dyno light though. B+M cyo things are excellent and not very expensive.

My Revo dynamo only.

Are there lights that do?

Doubt it.

Currently waiting for mine to arrive! Few more weeks!

The Sinewave thing? They're in production now then I take it?

It's a good idea but isn't it made a bit redundant given MTBers (and a certain hippy) use a helmet light as well anyway?

First production run is underway, shipping end of the month hopefully.
I prefer my main light on the bike, (especially as I rarely wear a helmet) and given the beacon light has a sinewave usb charger built in, I could just charge anything else, helmet light included from it during the day. It apparently also reaches worthwhile brightness at much lower speeds than any other, and the smart charger means that if you keep a cache battery connected, it automatically switches between that and dynamo power when needed so that the beam is always as bright as possible.
Plus obviously there's less wires, boxes and connections to have hanging around without needing a separate USB charger.
Looks like a winner to me, but I guess we'll see. :)

I rarely wear a helmet

Ah, yes well that does kind of limit your options. Although Lael was using mountaineering style head torches during the Baja thing.

The other bits do make it sound cool.

It's also still on pre-order sale price.
I'm hoping that given how good their chargers are supposed to be that the light will be just as good.

MyLuxos u gave up the ghost halfway through my cross America tour and had been unreliable beforehand. ( the issue was not my sp hub as I mentioned in the hub thread). Strongly suggest people not bother with them. Met three other people who all have had trouble with theirs, plus loads on here. They Just don't seem to be able to handle poor weather. Just got a sinewave revolution and will get a separate headlight at somepoint.

The first batch of Sinewave Beacon lights have just been finished and shipped, so hopefully I should get mine in about a week.
I'll update once I've had a chance to test it out.
I've got high hopes for it.

have to disagree with you on the luxos as mine has worked perfectly for over a year, also used during a typhoon heavy in japan. although is does not sit in front of the tyre but on the side of it attached to a front rack. haven't submerged it into water but pretty close.

i'm sure you know that charging gadgets should not be used when it rains so the problems you have faced can't be the result of improper usage, right?

Mine worked well too, even in wet conditions, but did threaten to pack in when some water inadvertently splashed under the light during cleaning.

I think the point remains that even under conditions most would consider 'normal usage' - riding in the rain, camping, leaving bike outside etc - quite a few people have had issues of this sort. Which would suggest there is a problem with the light system as a whole rather than how people are using it.

sure, but as you probably are aware there are tons of happy but silent users.

it's always the negative comments that can be found all over the web.

Mine packed up after getting wet..

Got a replacement on warranty and bunged up all the holes with sugru, hasn't been a problem yet

Does anyone make nice machined mount to attach an edelux under a rack?
I could knock something up quick enough but don't have a mill and taps/dies to hand.

Would anyone be interested in a new IQX? Never installed it. Bought as replacement for fubar'd supernova, but they just sent me a new light within days.

I would be, liked the look of them but had already brought a front light.
Will pm you for price.

Damn, wish you'd said a few weeks ago! Just bought a new IQ-X for the tandem... Oh well, it was the brightest thing on the Dun Run.

Looking at getting a new dynamo setup for my disc steed seeing as mrs gruber inherited my SP/PD8 Mullex Luxos U rim brake one.

Was just going to re-buy the former but for disc from Spa for £280 all in, unless there's any radically better deals/options out there that does USB charging?

Mine also got wet (also in Japan during a tour, there's a lot of rain there) and packed.

At one point I had to ride through a 2km unlit tunnel with a bend in the middle. Tried with the light off and it was impossible, literally couldn't see a thing and would have had to walk through feeling the wall. Luckily flood light mode still worked so I could get through. Later in the ride the light would only go on for a few seconds before fading to black whatever mode it was on but by that point I was on well lit roads all the time so it didn't matter.

Earlier on I was riding late into the night on unlit roads in the middle of nowhere and if it had died then I would have been totally screwed.

It's a shame because it is the best light I've ever used - definitely better than the Edelux or IX-Q - but I'd be nervous relying on it for a tour.

I was getting flashed loads by lorry drivers throughout the TCR cos my edelux ii was too bright. Moved it around but didn't seem to make a difference, so in the end stuck with the best mounting for me, and continued to annoy other drivers.

somesort of dimmer switch sitting between the dynamo and the light wouldn't be too hard to knock up would it?

Yes, it probably will as it won't just be a case of reducing the voltage. Might need some kind of pulse width modulation. I thought they made a "German Spec" lens for the Edelux to make it anti-dazzle?