Given some discussion in another thread about dynamo lighting use on unpaved surfaces, I figured it would be worth bringing this up as a separate thread.
Personally, I have a kasai Dynacoil hub (evolution of a SP hub, I believe) laced to an Alex Dm24 rim and wired with a K-lite bikepacker light (gravel version) https://www.kliteusa.net/product-page/klite. It so far has survived a year of pretty intense trail use (no snow, but submerged quite a few times) and shows no sign of additional drag or poor energy transfer. However, given the huge load that a 1300 lumen light can pull from a little 6v/3A generator, I do notice an increase in drag when the light is on when on pavement (chatter on the trail takes that away, though). In the context of night-time usage off-road, it is great and does a way better job than my previous Supernova E3 light. The key thing to note is that the light generation, at night and up hills, is usually quite low, but does enough to light up the trail. The slow speeds mean that I have more time to react so the lower light output isn't too much of an issue. However, If I am out in the boonies with little to no ambient light and heading down hill with enough speed for full light output, the dynamo light on it's own doesn't cut it as all of the twists and turns on a typical trail means that you will often be looking into a dark corner before the bike (and light) makes that turn. For these reasons, I'll have a supplemental headlamp to light the trail before I point my bike into the turns. I don't think any light mounted to a bike would be enough in these situations, on its own. That being said, I am much happier with the Klite when I venture off road and feel much more confident knowing that it really pumps out the lumens (if I can pedal fast enough). Its overkill for commuting, and with the amount of light pollution the bay area puts out, I rarely have to worry about a completely dark night. I haven't had the chance to mess around with the fancier sondelux hubs, so maybe some folks can provide some comparissons or their own opinions on the matter. Happy Monday, Collin A -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
