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.
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 ↗
abyssin · · focus · HN ↗
pfj1 · · focus · HN ↗
abyssin · · focus · HN ↗
pfj1 · · focus · HN ↗
andrewshadura · · focus · HN ↗