problem with dynamos for singletrack/MTB is that if you ever need to get off and hike-a-bike, the light dies. good luck not getting your feet drenched crossing that creek or whatever. beam cutoff to not blind oncoming traffic means you’re never gonna see that branch hanging down from above until it smacks your face.
beam cutoff when leaning over in the corners is bad too. beams are generally too narrow for the tight turns on MTB trails.
dynamo light on the bike + headlamp is ok
Exposure Revo?
WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT
WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT
WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT
WE ARE READY TO TRANSMIT
Sinewave beacon is lensed for trail use and I think you can run it off of a power bank at low speeds so you don’t lose light.
kLite is also made for trail but don’t think you can use a battery to power it
These are the good suggestions- kLite is kind of the gold standard for lower-speed/singletrack use, it’s tuned specifically for light output at those speeds, but something like the Beacon that can also use battery power will of course never dim out on ya.
Once you’re putting a power bank in the mix, does it make sense to still have a dyno unless you’re doing deep backcountry exploration?
depends on the bike. there’s something nice about knowing that when you get on the bike, the lights come on. i want to figure something out so i can have a fast carbon 700c wheelset with no dynamo for my coffee grinder, but the 650b plodding around wheelset would be dynamo
Oh I totally agree. 4 of the 5 bikes i ride regularly have dyno setups exactly so that I don’t have to think about it.
I’m picturing shorter after work mtb rides, where you probably aren’t going to run down a 10000mAh battery.
think i’m gonna get a helmet mount for my other battery light and see how that works with the dynamo. Mostly feeling like my dynamo is getting blown out by folks with more powerful battery lights behind me, so all I see is my shadow.
This is definitely happening, at least until their batteries die with miles left to go
Yep. The klite has no cut-off and it comes in two beam patterns, one is 180 degrees wide and the other is more focussed. I tried both of them and found the wide one appeared a lot weaker. I went with the gravel/road beam but would always supplement it with a head torch if I was going real slow, or real fast. One thing about the klites is that they do not flicker. I think Kerry has supercaps built into them.
I wondered when tarck would move on to nondynamo life
The last 2 wheels I’m building right now are the last 2 I think until Schmidt does a magic or something
I will never not use a dynamo. I did one Minnesota winter with a battery light, never again. I hate charging bike lights
I’m gonna interview some of my poopbarn buddies soon to see what non-dynamo set-ups they are using for 4 plus day events. I have stuck with dynamo just because of the considerable investment.
Commute and city bikes get dynos. Fun and fast bikes get batteries.
There are a few exceptions, like a fun bike that I commute on or a gravel bike I’ll ride at night a bunch
In my case it’s “bikes I ride get dynos” – it simplifies life considerably, and those 4 watts aren’t going to break the bank.
Can tarck help me figure out how to get a dyno wheel for my Clydesdale? I’d love to just buy a cheap pre-built wheel but everything I find online is in Europe and won’t ship to the states. Anyone have a better option than buying this hub and building the wheel myself?
Yeah I could sell you mine
Tell me more…
