Dynamo Lights

That's the glow worms trying to hammer their way to freedom. Be careful, those little bastards bite.

Silly hippy. It's the noise of the earth thanking you for not using batteries!

@Silly_Savage yes, both mine have done this. Annoying. Had the light on a quiet tuned bike and it bugged me. Now have on clunky tourer that has other noises, but I still heard it. Recently I applied a tiny bit of torque to the star-headed bolts on the top, and I think it has disappeared or at least reduced.

@TheShipwright Great! You're gonna love having dynamo lights, totally rewarding thing to improve a bike. (I was re-recommending the same rear light as @jb btw, not suggesting an alternative. It's ubersome!).

Rode behind my GF's and was waiting for it to light up as she coasted into the lights, and then it DID and it was really fucking bright. Glad I brought it for her now..

Me too. I'm glad to hear that it's impressive, I can't really see it in full effect.

When the best light available costs less than many average battery lights, makes good sense to get it. Esp for your beloved's bike.

Yeah it stops when I press on the top of the casing, so I'll give that a go. Problem is I only remember about it when I notice it, and then is bugs the shit out of me.

On another note, anyone using a curly wire for their rear might hook-up? I tried coiling the regular wire, which looked ok at first, but it unravelled over time.

Ordered the "Luxos IQ2 U" and the Toplight with brakelight, some heatshrink and extra cable just in case.

Installed my dynamo front wheel last night and had the "these wheel bearings feel terrible but feel smooth on the bike" moment!

You need a really mini Torx. I know what you mean about only bugging you when riding, that happens to me a lot about all sorts of fettling. Took me ages to remember to do it.

Re curly wire, let me know if you if you find some? Bikefix might be worth a try, if you can stand their snottiness.

Just found this. Some thicker gauge wire and a heat gun might do it.

@skully and @Silly_Savage
I spotted this, any good?
https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/twin-core-light-cable-set/aid:876375

Perfect, now I've just got to find a way to justify the £8 shipping

I just built my two wheels on xc717 rims (my first wheel build) and because ive done everything so far I intend to wire the thing up.

I have the SP with Cyo+Secula Seatpost.

I searched the thread and google and couldn't find an idiot's guide to wiring the thing, or a list of tools needed. I want it to be bomb proof. I heard double layers of heatshrink work well? Aesthetic s don't concern me.

Coupla question s:

Will a helpful shop like Maplin have everything?

And can I get a handlebar switch for the cyo?

Thanks all.

@Silly_Savage, Rose's delivery charge is crazy high for small stuff, I guess it's to discourage small orders.

@lasyrabbit I'll be Interested to hear the advice you get as I'll be in the same boat shortly. In the past I've used self amagating tape, which is clever stuff not sure it's any better than shrink wrap but I had some. I bought some of those self adhesive + cable tie cable clamps to attach my dynamo cable(s) to the frame forks if required.

Did your lights not come with cable?

Came with cable but no heatshrink, it expects me to leave it exposed.

Heatshrink is available lots of places - try amazon for good deals. You will need a proper heat gun, not a hairdryer. It's easy but takes some patience at first and some practice.

Wire cutters, needlenose pliers too.

Self almalgamating tape could do the job, and is also useful to secure cables in various places.

For heatshrink I just wave a candle under it for a mo.

Cigarette lighter here.

cooker hob
soldering iron

How do you know what size of heatshrink?

You just know.

Well, for one it has to fit over whatever you are heatshrinking around. It will then halve in size I guess. Buy a few diameters and play around. It's easy enough to remove.

The size which is a loose fit for the cable going through, there are several types of heatshrink with different shrink ratios.
Normal is 2:1 but you can also get 3:1

I bought this selection of heat shrink, you'll need the 2.0 mm, 2.5 mm and 3.5 mm. A hair dryer and a plate work well together to get enough heat, a heat gun is better.

If you aren't familiar with a soldering iron I would suggest you just use the spade connectors they provide, with appropriate heat shrink. I cut all those off and replaced them with these. They are much more secure and look less jank. The secula lights have two little spades on the bottom so you would need to make yourself a little adapter between the spade and bullet connectors.

Plan the run of the cable, and then cut it to the right length (with a bit of spare). It will be a lot neater than having to hide excess around the place. I've heard a few people on here have great success using Di2 cable sheaths to run cabling behind fork blades/under top tubes etc.

I could get some of those Di2 things but using good electrical tape is also quite neat.

Use 3M tape.

.

You'll probably want some wire strippers too. You can use a knife, but the proper tool will help a lot.