In the Netherlands many people use these kinds of detachable bike lights. I've never came across soldered batteries in the dozen or so I've replaced batteries for. Not always cheaper, but just tossing the whole thing seems like such a waste.
There are also dynamo powered LED lights which only provide light while riding the bike, and about a minute afterwards (I assume from an internal capacitor). They are not detachable but why would that be necessary? From what I can tell they also don't require regular replacement.
These are fine for bike commuters, and I’ve had them before. But they are in general not fine for recreational bicyclists; these people would gladly pay a hundred dollars for a new tire to shave off three watts and are not about to add any unnecessary human-powered accessories.
An exception is bikepackers, who may prize reliability and runtime over brightness and weight. But then the dynamo we're talking about is $200-$400 and that's not including the light.
> An exception is bikepackers, who may prize reliability and runtime over brightness and weight. But then the dynamo we're talking about is $200-$400 and that's not including the light.
No, it's about a tenth of that, light included.
Amazon has the Shimano dynohub for $125. Then you have to build a wheel. You might be able to re-use your rim if it's got 36 holes.
I explored dynohubs in the past, but LEDs and LiPo batteries have really narrowed the gap. In my garage, I've got a super long USB cable that we all use for charging our lights. I've used cheap lights from AliExpress, and they are actually quite durable.
Nonsense. At $20 you'll be very hard-pressed to get even a cheap dynohub alone, and that's before the wheelbuild and the light. And bikepackers aren't going to be satisfied with ultra-low-end wheels, anyway.
> And bikepackers aren't going to be satisfied with ultra-low-end wheels, anyway.
bikepackers aren't an homogeneous population. Some are more instagrammers than bikepackers and are using expensive bikes and equipment, others bikepack on a shoestring budget with stuff from the thrift stores and you could mistake them for homeless. And finally some are actually homeless. And you get any kind of budget and requirement/vanity level inbetween these 2 extremes.
This summer while I was cycling I came accross an ukranian guy who was bikepacking accross europe with an old mtb from the 90's, using an old kids trailer to carry his gear and water supply. He was stranded in a climb in the middle of nowhere with a broken wheel, 3 or 4 spokes had given up the ghost, and the tire was flat you could see the casing instead of the tread on both wheels. We could only communicate using google translate on my phone but he told me straight nomoney. His tent, which he had setup on the side of the road to have a bit of shade could have come from a dumpster judging by its state and discoloration, that tent was 20 to 30y old. Since my daughter has a folding bike with 20" wheels and I was 20 minutes from home I convinced him to give me his wheel, filled his empty water bottle with my own, gave him some snacks and went back home to check if spokes length matched any of my daughter's bike wheel and relaced quickly his wheel using 4 spokes from my daughter's. Then I climbed back that climb with the repaired wheel, 2 tires from my daughter's bike, a veggie sandwich and 4L of water (having myself a bike that is bikepack ready made it easier) so he could eat something and set off. He paid me with what he had available: a big hug and proposed to help me with my back (I understood he was some kind of chiropractor) which I declined.
Wow, that was very charitable of you. I don’t have the wheelsmithing skills to even attempt that repair.
I also met a number of homeless people while on a long bike pack (C&O + GAP). They were usually pretty hard up: they lived in junky tents off the side of the trail and used their bikes to commute to work. It’s hard for me not to think that we have failed in an important way if somebody is dragging themselves to work while living out of a tent.
I remember my mum telling me about going climbing in the 1960s with people who would saw the handle off their toothbrush to save 10g or so in their backpack.
Seems a little performative to me, that's about the weight of all the raindrops on your jacket.
A reliable dynamo hub setup can be very cool for the right situation, but the up front investment to rebuild your wheel around a dynamo hub is expensive. The power output is also on the low side compared to the light output you can get from the battery units.
Not having to charge anything or worry about batteries running out in the dark is a real benefit.
It's all on the very opposite end of the cost spectrum than the cheap bike light in this post though
The old-school dynamos cost 10-20 bucks: <a href="https://axabikesecurity.com/product/axa-8201-right/" rel="nofollow">https://axabikesecurity.com/product/axa-8201-right/
They're just generic AC motors held against the rim, as simple and cheap as it gets. Nowadays I'd add a basic voltage regulation circuitry to get a stable 5V DC out of it.
That's why I said "reliable" in my post.
You'll spend more time futzing with one of or dealing with weather-related failures that you would have saved more time charging a pile of batteries before every ride.
That overstates their unreliability. Such dynamos used to be universal before modern rechargeable batteries and worked well enough, I don't recall ever having to replace or maintain one. For dirt roads where mud gets everywhere, non-mechanical options are of course better, but simple dynamos perfectly are fine on regular city streets, country roads and dry paths. They're especially good for kids who can't be bothered to keep batteries charged.
I don't remember a period of my life where bottle dynamos have not been unreliable when it rains, and it rains a lot here (or it used to, anyway).
I have rigged all kinds of rubber contraptions to make them work better, I have made my own dynamos from old electric motors as a kid, and yet I have never in all those decades found a way to be sure they would work when I need them, never.
I recently bought a dynamo from what should be a good brand (dunno the name off the top of my head). Cost about 45 Euro's, not cheap. Just after a couple weeks, whenever I cycle through the rain my dynamo wheel would slip and I'd be fully without light. I thought it was not properly pressing the rubber of the tire. But I found that the wheel was just cheap plastic garbage, totally worn flat already. I guess capitalism flew by, enshittifying once more what was once good.
The old-school dynamo's were undestroyable iron casings, with an iron wheel with deep grooves. Now I am looking if I can find one of those again, to last me a lifetime.
After 15 years of dynamo hub, I’m about to switch to a power bank connected to usb light. Dynamo hubs are quite fragile and not easily maintained. Cheap front hubs are found everywhere and they less drag. I have a few Deore hubs that I found on the street on abandoned bicycles.
I broke two Deore and one SP PL-1. My cheap Nexus one seems to hold better but drags a lot. There’s a market for a hub that has serviceable bearings, especially with brake disks where it’s the only part of the wheel that’s supposed to experience wear. I’d love to be able to pop two new bearings in place and ride 10k more.
Unfortunately most dynohubs are essentially un-servicable. The ones that do claim some level of servicability (eg, SP) mention a very tricky re-alignment process when replacing the bearings that can only be done successfully at the factory. I've gone for an Alfine on my new commuter - it's been fine for the past year, will see how it goes.
esquire_900 · · focus · HN ↗
Well done!
cubefox · · focus · HN ↗
kccqzy · · focus · HN ↗
bootlooped · · focus · HN ↗
implements · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hubs-front/shimano-nexus-dhc3000-dynamo-hub-9-x-100mm-silver-36-hole/" rel="nofollow">https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/hubs-front/shimano-nexus-dhc3000...
Dynohub history rabbit hole for those interested:
<a href="https://www.sheldonbrown.com/dynohubs.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.sheldonbrown.com/dynohubs.html
cubefox · · focus · HN ↗
No, it's about a tenth of that, light included.
analog31 · · focus · HN ↗
I explored dynohubs in the past, but LEDs and LiPo batteries have really narrowed the gap. In my garage, I've got a super long USB cable that we all use for charging our lights. I've used cheap lights from AliExpress, and they are actually quite durable.
AAAAaccountAAAA · · focus · HN ↗
prmoustache · · focus · HN ↗
bikepackers aren't an homogeneous population. Some are more instagrammers than bikepackers and are using expensive bikes and equipment, others bikepack on a shoestring budget with stuff from the thrift stores and you could mistake them for homeless. And finally some are actually homeless. And you get any kind of budget and requirement/vanity level inbetween these 2 extremes.
This summer while I was cycling I came accross an ukranian guy who was bikepacking accross europe with an old mtb from the 90's, using an old kids trailer to carry his gear and water supply. He was stranded in a climb in the middle of nowhere with a broken wheel, 3 or 4 spokes had given up the ghost, and the tire was flat you could see the casing instead of the tread on both wheels. We could only communicate using google translate on my phone but he told me straight nomoney. His tent, which he had setup on the side of the road to have a bit of shade could have come from a dumpster judging by its state and discoloration, that tent was 20 to 30y old. Since my daughter has a folding bike with 20" wheels and I was 20 minutes from home I convinced him to give me his wheel, filled his empty water bottle with my own, gave him some snacks and went back home to check if spokes length matched any of my daughter's bike wheel and relaced quickly his wheel using 4 spokes from my daughter's. Then I climbed back that climb with the repaired wheel, 2 tires from my daughter's bike, a veggie sandwich and 4L of water (having myself a bike that is bikepack ready made it easier) so he could eat something and set off. He paid me with what he had available: a big hug and proposed to help me with my back (I understood he was some kind of chiropractor) which I declined.
raddan · · focus · HN ↗
I also met a number of homeless people while on a long bike pack (C&O + GAP). They were usually pretty hard up: they lived in junky tents off the side of the trail and used their bikes to commute to work. It’s hard for me not to think that we have failed in an important way if somebody is dragging themselves to work while living out of a tent.
ErroneousBosh · · focus · HN ↗
Seems a little performative to me, that's about the weight of all the raindrops on your jacket.
Aurornis · · focus · HN ↗
Not having to charge anything or worry about batteries running out in the dark is a real benefit.
It's all on the very opposite end of the cost spectrum than the cheap bike light in this post though
mopsi · · focus · HN ↗
They're just generic AC motors held against the rim, as simple and cheap as it gets. Nowadays I'd add a basic voltage regulation circuitry to get a stable 5V DC out of it.
Aurornis · · focus · HN ↗
You'll spend more time futzing with one of or dealing with weather-related failures that you would have saved more time charging a pile of batteries before every ride.
mopsi · · focus · HN ↗
seszett · · focus · HN ↗
I have rigged all kinds of rubber contraptions to make them work better, I have made my own dynamos from old electric motors as a kid, and yet I have never in all those decades found a way to be sure they would work when I need them, never.
mrheosuper · · focus · HN ↗
actionfromafar · · focus · HN ↗
mrheosuper · · focus · HN ↗
rapnie · · focus · HN ↗
I recently bought a dynamo from what should be a good brand (dunno the name off the top of my head). Cost about 45 Euro's, not cheap. Just after a couple weeks, whenever I cycle through the rain my dynamo wheel would slip and I'd be fully without light. I thought it was not properly pressing the rubber of the tire. But I found that the wheel was just cheap plastic garbage, totally worn flat already. I guess capitalism flew by, enshittifying once more what was once good.
The old-school dynamo's were undestroyable iron casings, with an iron wheel with deep grooves. Now I am looking if I can find one of those again, to last me a lifetime.
abyssin · · focus · HN ↗
pfj1 · · focus · HN ↗
abyssin · · focus · HN ↗
pfj1 · · focus · HN ↗
andrewshadura · · focus · HN ↗