Selecting and installing dynamo lighting

Dynamo lights installed on our delivery bike

(or... everything we know about dynamo lights for bicycles).

Why dynamo lighting ?

Much nonsense is written about dynamo lights. The objections usually come from people who don't use dynamos, or have not used them for many years.

According to some "experts", dynamos either slow you down or wear out your tyres or don't produce much light, make noise, or perhaps they commit a combination of these sins.

Actually, modern dynamo lighting is efficient, reliable, quiet and produces so much light that the best headlights now have optics which shape the beam to prevent those coming in the opposite way from being dazzled.

For utility cyclists we recommend dynamo lighting. There are many advantages over battery powered lights:

1. It's low cost in use as no batteries need ever be bought.
2. It's reliable for day to day use as there are no batteries to go flat and have to be charged or replaced.
3. Dynamo lights are permanently mounted on the bike, meaning you don't have to detach things and take them with you when you park your bike.
4. Permanent mounting also means your lights are always there. An unexpected delay doesn't result in cycling in the dark with no lighting.
5. There is quite a lot of power available to run lights from a dynamo so dynamo lights can be very bright.
6. Because the power source is you, your lights stay bright even on long rides. They can't fade out half way home because the battery ran out.

Dynamo lighting is a "fit and forget" option. Set it up properly once and ride with the minimum of maintenance thereafter.

Selecting dynamo lights
There are a wide range of dynamo lights available, from the very cheapest all in one sets through to expensive systems which can cost more than €200. Any system of dynamo lights consists of three components, the dynamo itself, a headlight and a rear light,

AXA and Nordlicht bottle dynamos, Shimano hub dynamo

Choosing a dynamo
There are two types of dynamo - those built in a wheel ( "hub dynamos" ) and those which run on the side-wall of a wheel ( "bottle dynamos" ). Each has advantages over the other:

• While no good quality dynamo will slow you down by enough to make a difference unless you're in a race, hub dynamos offer lower drag when the lights on are than bottle dynamos do. However, because bottle dynamos completely disconnect from the wheel when the lights are out, bottles offer no resistance when you are not using the lights, while hub dynamos still have a small amount of in-built drag relative to a normal well-maintained hub.
• Hub dynamos cannot be knocked out of alignment, and will continue to work well even if your wheel is damaged and the rim bent. However, bottle dynamos do not need to be replaced if you damage your wheel and have to replace it.
• Hub dynamos are heavier than bottle dynamos.
• Bottle dynamos can slip in the wet (meaning your lights can be unreliable) though this is rare with correct setup.
• Hub dynamos cost more to retrofit because you must buy or build a wheel. However, they don't require brackets to be fitted to the bike and the wheels probably don't cost as much as you think.
• Bottle dynamos are much more straightforward to retrofit to a bike which already has hub or disk brakes or to a rear wheel with hub gears.
• While hub dynamos are produced for specific wheel sizes (most are intended for 26" or 28" wheels and will produce more drag when used in a smaller wheel size), bottle dynamos are unaffected by wheel size because they operate on the sidewall of the tyre and are not affected at all by wheel rotational velocity.

A cheap "all in one" dynamo
lighting set. We don't sell these.
If you're struggling with a set like
 this, see our guide below.

We sell both bottle and hub dynamos. We've used both types over the years. At the moment, most of our own bikes are fitted with bottle dynamos. Our favourite bottle dynamo is the Nordlicht. This is made of metal, robust, very reliable and light running. We're still using one that we bought 15 years ago. A lot of quality for something so inexpensive. We also rate the AXA HR which is a little less expensive and perhaps runs slightly lighter. We also have a range of wheels with Shimano hub dynamos. These start at under €90. Very good value for what you get.

Very nearly all currently available dynamos, whether hub or bottle, have the same output of 6 volts at 3 Watts to power both front and back lights. 2.4 W is allocated for the front light and 0.6 W for the rear. Just a few models of hub dynamo produce 6 V 2.4 W making them suitable for powering just the front light.

This means that all dynamos are compatible with any available dynamo lights and you can mix and match to achieve a combination which has the performance and price that you want.  Even the cheapest all in one set has the same output, so even if you have started with a set like this, you can swap one component at a time for those of better quality until you have a satisfactory lighting setup.

There's just one thing to bear in mind with headlights - with a hub dynamo you want either a manual or automatic light sensing switch on the headlight so that you don't run the lights even in daytime. This switch will also operate the rear light.

Oh, and something I must point out about having 2.4 W for the front lights. This is quite a lot of energy for bicycle lighting. Most battery lights of old used 0.75 W front bulbs as higher power led to very short battery life. Contrary to many people's opinions, dynamo lights were always brighter than battery lights. While some high end battery lights available these days are brighter than dynamo lights, many battery powered lights still do not attempt to produce so much light as even low cost dynamo headlights do, because trying to do so results in a short battery life.

Dynamo headlights

Three of our favourite dynamo headlights. The excellent
value Union UN4268, the Busch und Muller IQ Cyo and
the AXA Luxx 70 with USB charging. All three use
mirrors and lenses to produce an optimal light pattern
for maximum brightness on the road without blinding
oncoming road users

In days of old, dynamo lights used sometimes incandescent bulbs. These were often used with reflector designs which spread the light too broadly and could result in a not very effective light pattern. Halogen bulbs improved the situation considerably as they increased the light output for the same power, and better reflector shapes helped even more. However, they were never quite adequate for fast cyclists.

The introduction of LED headlights has changed everything. 2.4 W (the headlight share of the 3 W output of a dynamo) is enough to produce a considerable amount of light from LEDs. Also, LEDs last and last and last. There is no need to replace bulbs.

Even at a low price, modern dynamo LED headlights work extremely well. At the mid and high price ranges they become yet more effective.

An important advance is shaped lenses and use of indirect light from the LED source. This has made it possible to build extremely bright lights with a sharp cut off at the top which won't blind oncoming cyclists and drivers. It also means that more light goes where it is needed for you to see by because less is wasted in the wrong direction.

We currently particularly recommend the following headlights. All but the Cyo also includes a retro-reflector which shows up in car headlights:

• AXA Luxx 70 plus - ( €70 ) Enormous light output. When you're not using the light, this also provides a USB outlet to charge mobile devices.
• Busch und Muller Cyo Plus - ( €60 ) The same 70 lux output as the AXA, but with a better lens and without the USB outlet.
• B&M IQ Fly T - ( €60 ) Provides daylight lighting which some people like for additional visibility during day time.
• Union / Marwi UN-4268 - ( €17)  a low cost bargain of a light with excellent performance, using a similar reflector pattern to the more expensive Busch und Muller lights. A 35 lux LED output with standlight is excellent at this price. Includes a switch so can be used with bottle or hub dynamos. For hub dynamos there's also the option of an automatic function.
• B&M Lumotec Lyt - ( €17 )  a lower cost option from Busch und Muller. Not so bright as the UN-4268, not such a good beam shape and no standlight at this price, but it does have the Busch und Muller name behind it. Includes a switch so can be used with hub or bottle dynamo.
• AXA Sprint 10 lux - a much lower cost light. In fact, a bargain at just €15. It's not so bright as the Union, B&M Lyt or the more expensive lamps, but still well in advance of what was available ten years ago and still entirely adequate for riding in town where there are street lights. Optional switch and stand light functions.

Dynamo rear lights

Some of our favourite dynamo rear lights, all from Busch und
Muller: The good value Flat-Plus, the excellent Line-Plus and
the mudguard / rear stay mounting Secula Plus. All have the
"standlight" feature which means they stay lit when you stop.

Dynamo rear lights have also been revolutionized by LED technology. It made it possible to have a "stand light", where the light would charge up and store electricity so that it can continue to glow after you stop cycling.

With rear lights, there are other factors to consider, such as where you will mount the light. Some rear lights are designed to mount on the rear mudguard (fender) while others are designed to mount on the rear rack.

Our favourite rear dynamo lights are as follows. All include a stand-light function and a reflector to give extra visibility when lit by car headlights:

• Busch und Müller Secula Plus ( €20 ) - Excellent small light which spreads the light from its LEDs to increase visibility while not creating an unpleasant ultra-bridge hot-spot which blinds cyclists behind you. Options for mounting on the rear mudguard or on the seat-stay.
• Busch und Müller Toplight Line-Plus  ( €25 ) - Excellent quality bright rear light which spreads the LED output sideways to avoid blinding others.
• Busch und Müller Toplight Flat ( €13 -) a more economical but still nicely made rear rack mounting light.

Finally, note that running the rear light from the dynamo is optional. You can also use a dynamo front light together with a battery rear light. Some people prefer this due to not having to run so many cables along their bike. We have battery rear lights to use together with dynamo lights which can be mounted permanently on the bike.

Other things you'll need

We sell wire and zip ties but not tape

As well as the main parts of dynamo, front and rear light, there are other parts that you will probably need.

Some lights come with wire, but not all. You will probably need wire to attach between the dynamo and headlight or between the headlight and rear light. We sell wire fitted with the correct size of push on connector for our lights.

You can use zip-ties and/or electrical tape to run the wires along the forks and frame of your bike. We have inexpensive zip-ties but do not currently sell tape because you can almost certainly buy it as cheaply as we can in a discount store near your home, and you may be able to find colours which are a good match to your bike.

If using zip-ties, which we recommend you do, please don't do them up so tight that you cut through the insulation of the wire. Also, remember to leave a little loop of wire around the headset so that the handlebars can be turned without putting undue stress of wire which is heading to the rear lamp.

Dynamo mounting brackets. Left to right: front wheel,
rear wheel, Canti / V brake boss.

If fitting a bottle dynamo to a bike which doesn't have a bottle dynamo mount on the frame or fork, you will need to buy a bracket. Of these, we think the Cantilever / V brake mounting bracket works best, so if you have mounting points for these brakes, whether or not they are in use, this would be our first choice. Like most things we sell, we use it ourselves as you can see in the first photo on this page.

While the electricity from the dynamo is AC, it is still important to make sure that you keep the "earth" connection consistent through the wiring of your lights. The reason is that the "earth" is connected to the frame of the bike within both the dynamo and some of the lights. Confusions over "earth" can lead to faults such as the switch on a headlight not actually switching off your lights because electricity is flowing through the frame of your bike, or the lights either being very dim or not lighting at all due to a short circuit through the frame.

The "earth" side of each light and dynamo is made obvious by labels on each component. If unsure, use the wiring diagram. The black wire in the diagram denotes the earth connection. The outside of the wire does not of course have to be this colour. With the wire that we supply, both are black but the earth wire has a white stripe along it.

When there is no switch on a headlight, the input and output are the same. Just connect the wires from the dynamo and to the rear light together at this point (doing it this way makes it easier to change to a different headlight at a later date).

Switching a dynamo on and off
Not all bottle dynamos work in an identical manner, but it is usually the case that you press a button of some kind to release the spring to allow the dynamo to push against the wheel to switch the dynamo on and pull the dynamo gently away from the wheel until you feel a click to switch back off.

In this video I demonstrate with a Nordlicht dynamo, the type that we recommended most highly

Setting up a bottle dynamo

The dynamo should run on the dynamo
track on the side of the tyre.

There are a few factors which should be taken into account when using bottle dynamos. If you take care of these small issues then problems with bottle dynamos are rare:

1. Run the dynamo on a tyre with a dynamo tread and make sure that the dynamo is aligned so that it runs correctly along that tread.
   
   Skinwall racing tyres are not designed for use with a dynamo and the sidewall of such a tyre could be damaged by using a dynamo against it. All the tyres that we recommend for everyday use have a dynamo track on their sidewall. However, if you prefer skinwall tyres, note that the Nordlicht dynamo can be run on the rim, which makes it compatible with skinwall tyres.
    
2. Take care of correct pressure against the sidewall of the tyre.
   

   

   In the "off" position, the gap
   between tyre and dynamo
   roller must be right.

   
   I find that setting up the dynamo so that in the "off" position it is about one cm clear of the tyre works best. You may find that this varies a little with different combinations of tyre and dynamo.
   
   Note that when you change between different tyres of different widths this distance may need setting up again.
   
   To adjust the gap between the rubber or steel roller of the dynamo and the tyre you can bend the brazed on bracket until this spacing is correct. If the gap is too wide or too short then it may result in there being inadequate pressure. Your correct distance may not be the same as mine. Excessive pressure results in more drag and can also sometimes result in the dynamo slipping.
   
   The Nordlicht dynamo with rubber wheel can also be set up to run on the rim. The same rules apply.
    



A straight line between the axis of the dynamo and the centre
of the wheel is important.

3. The dynamo axis must be lined up so that it passes directly over the centre of the wheel. Not doing this will roll out the roller on the dynamo more quickly than normal and can even damage bearings in the dynamo.
    
4. Slipping can occur if the roller is worn out. Replacement rubber rollers can be bought in our shop for both the AXA and Nordlicht dynamos. In both cases you simply pull off the old one and push the new one on to replace it.
5. Bent wheels result in intermittent lighting behaviour because the dynamo stops operating as the low point comes around.
   
   Solving this problem requires either a new wheel or rebuilding of the existing wheel. Minor problems can sometimes be solved by tweaking with a spoke-key. Loosen spokes on the side which is convex, and tighten adjacent spokes by the same number of turns on the side which is concave.
6. A squealing noise from the dynamo quite possibly means that the internal bearings are worn out. It's usually accompanied by much more drag and can result in intermittent light. This happens quite quickly with some cheap dynamos, and is aggravated by incorrect setup with the axis of the dynamo not going past the centre of the wheel. If your dynamo has reached this point, you may well need to replace it. A better quality dynamo will last longer than a cheap one.
   
   However, before you dispose of the old dynamo, try applying some light oil, just a couple of drops, to the bearings. You may need to remove the roller to do this. If the dynamo is old, but still in good condition, it may simply have dried out.
7. Periodic noises: If a noise occurs roughly twice or three times a second with a bottle dynamo setup, this is caused by the wheel, not the dynamo. Wheels on bicycles rotate roughly two to three times a second at a normal rate of cycling. A warped wheel, a defect on the tyre or other problems with the wheel can cause slipping or jumping of a bottle dynamo at the frequency of wheel rotation and can make quite a lot of noise. If you experience this problem, turn the wheel slowly and watch for defects.

Conclusion
This article is quite long because I've tried to cover everything. However, setting up dynamo lights isn't difficult to do. Once it's been done, you have "free" lighting with lights which are permanently attached to your bike and cannot be easily stolen (you need tools). A great bonus for utility cyclists, as you don't have to carry things with you when you leave your bike.

For some kinds of sport cycling, for example road racers who want to carry absolutely the minimum of weight and be able to easily remove their bikes for daytime racing, or night-time mountain bikers who want enormously powerful lights which flood the entire area in front of them with light¹, there is no real choice but to use battery powered lights. For the rest of us, dynamos really are the best option.

FAQ
Q: Do bottle dynamos wear the sidewall of your tyre ?
A: No. The roller has very little pressure compared with that of the bike on the road so wear on the sidewall of the tyre is very much lower than that of the tyre against the road surface. Normally you will notice no sidewall wear of significance in the lifetime of a tyre. You should, however, only use a sidewall dynamo on a tyre which has a dynamo track printed on it.

Q: Can I use a dynamo with a small wheeled bicycle ?
A: Hub dynamos are designed to operate at a particular rotational velocity. Most are designed for 26" to 28" wheels (see our blog post about wheel sizes). If fitted to a smaller wheel size they will generate the same amount of electricity at a lower speed and create more drag. Bottle dynamos operate against the tyre or wheel rim. This moves past the dynamo at the same speed as the road surface moves past your bicycle. Wheel size doesn't matter at all for bottle dynamos. They are equally efficient on a small wheel bicycle as on a larger wheel bicycle.

Q: What happens if I go too fast ?
A: In the past it was not uncommon for fast riders, especially when cycling downhill, to blow light bulbs in older style dynamo lighting. This is no longer a concern with modern LED dynamo lights. Similarly, use of a hub dynamo on a small wheel, even when cycling downhill, is unlikely to cause a problem. Bottle dynamo users who are concerned about this issue can install a larger diameter roller on their dynamo which reduces output at higher speeds and also reduces drag.

Q: Do bottle dynamos slip in the wet ?
A: With a quality dynamo this is unlikely to happen unless the dynamo is not set up correctly. See the setup section

Q: How much does a dynamo slow you down ?
A: Almost not at all. I wouldn't expect to be slowed by more than 1/20th of my normal speed by a well set up quality bottle dynamo when the lights are on. A hub dynamo will slow you even less and of course when lights are off there no no drag from a bottle dynamo and very nearly none from a hub. The stronger you are, the less the effect can be felt.

Q: Which dynamos keep the lights glowing when you stop ?
A: None of them. This function is always in the headlights and tail-lights themselves, and it's present in all of the rear lights and almost all of the front lights in our shop.

Q: Don't the lights go out when you stop ?
A: No. Almost all good quality dynamo lights these days include a "standlight". This is a circuit including a capacitor which stores some of the energy generated to keep the lights on when you stop. It works for up to four minutes with some lights

Q: What happens if I use a headlight without a switch on a hub dynamo ?
A: The lights will come on whenever you ride your bike, even in the daytime. Some older hub dynamos were actually more efficient with the lights on than with them switched off. However, this isn't true for the hub dynamos that we sell now. It's better to have a switch.

Q: If I have an old dynamo lighting set and one component has failed then do I have to buy everything new again ?
A: Almost all dynamo lighting sets ever made are rated at 6 V 3 W. If yours has this rating (it's usually written on the bottom of the dynamo) then it is safe to substitute any of the front lights, rear lights or dynamos that we sell and use them in any combination with older parts for the same system.

Q: I have an old Sturmey Archer Dynohub. Can this work with modern headlights ?
A: The original Sturmey Archer Dynohub had a slightly lower rating. 6 V 2 W. Headlights expect 6 V 2.4 W. This means there isn't enough output to run a normal headlight at full brightness. However, in practice, the combination of one of these venerable dynohubs with a modern LED headlight will result in much more light than you ever could have produced with the original lights which matched the dynohub. It is best in this case to use a battery rear light so that all the energy from the dynohub goes to the headlight. Modern "dynohubs" produce 6 V 3 W and can run both front and rear lights.

Q: Where is the best place to buy good quality dynamo lighting ?
A: The Dutch Bike Bits webshop, of course. We also have a wide range of battery lights if you would prefer them.

Q: Why can't you use just a dynamo rear light without a front light ?
A: The simple answer is that a rear dynamo light will always be damaged if used without a front light. The explanation of why is quite long and technical, but you'll find it below:


It is perfectly safe to use any of our dynamo front lights with our dynamos without also connecting a rear light. This will not damage the headlight. However, you must never use a dynamo to power a rear light without a headlight also being connected as this is quite likely to cause damage due to driving the rear light with too high a voltage. The reason why is as follows:

Sources of electrical power can approximate either a constant voltage or a constant current.

Constant voltage: A battery is an example of a constant voltage source, and it will attempt to supply the same voltage whatever load is attached. If you short-circuit a battery, then the battery will attempt to discharge at an infinite current and this is why lithium batteries, which are capable of very high currents, can cause fires.

Constant current: A bicycle dynamo is an example of a constant current source. Bicycle dynamos are rated at 6 V 3 W but what this really means is that they are current sources which attempt to deliver half an amp across whatever load is connected. The expected load of a rear and front light together is the equivalent of 12 ohms. A dynamo tries to supply sufficient voltage always to deliver the same current. With a short circuit, the dynamo will still deliver about 0.5 A at zero volts, but with an open circuit the dynamo will produce so high a voltage as it can in an attempt to deliver 0.5 amps.

You don't need to know any maths to safely connect dynamo lights. Simply pick a front and (optional) rear light, and wire them in parallel to a dynamo. However, if you want to know why you should never use a rear light on its own, read on:

The 12 ohm equivalent resistance for front and rear lights together comes from the front and rear lights being connected in parallel. The front light has an equivalent resistance of 15 ohms while the rear light is the equivalent of 60 ohms. To combine the two we use 1 / (1 / 15 + 1 / 60) = 12. Now that we know the equivalent resistance of each light we can calculate the current and power for each if used on their own.

For a front light alone, V=IR, V=0.5 * 15 = 7.5 V. P = IV, P = 0.5 * 7.5 = 3.75 W. This is a little over the rated value of 2.4 W, sufficient to damage older front lights with bulbs unless the bulb is changed to 3 W. However, modern LED based front lights can cope.

For a rear light, V=IR, V=0.5 * 60 = 30 V. P = IV, P = 0.5 * 30 = 15 W. This is a long way over the rated values of 0.6 W and 6 V and this is why dynamo rear lights do not last long if connected on their own to a dynamo. The front light is required to keep the voltage down to the correct level for the rear light.


¹Please don't use mountain bike type lighting when you're not in a mountain bike race. It's anti-social and potentially dangerous to other road and cycle-path users who can be blinded by the amount of light scattered too high in front of you. It's analogous to driving a car with the headlights on full beam. The lights that we recommend here, especially the Philips lights, are very bright while being specifically designed to avoid this problem.

Special delivery by velomobile

Curiosity ?

Most of our customers at the Dutch Bike Bits webshop are outside of the Netherlands. Those who are within the country mostly are a fair distance away so while all the parcels start their journey to the customer by bike, most are then transported by vans, ships, aeroplanes etc. in order to get to the customer.

Occasionally we have a customer nearer by. The 30th of November was a very nice bright day for this time of year, ideal cycling weather, so I decided to take a customer's order of tyres and inner tubes directly to his home 20 km away. There's a video:


The parts delivered were a pair of Schwalbe Marathon Winter studded tyres, a pair of Schwable Marathon Plus tyres and Schwalbe Inner Tubes.

Top quality bicycle lights for roads and cycle-paths

Lights for bicycles come in several different types. These days, there are a lot of lights produced for mountain biking which are extremely bright, but which are antisocial or even dangerous when used on the road or cycle-path. The problem is that of round lenses and round light patterns. These spread the light equally in all directions, which is fine if you're riding in a 24 hour mountain biking race and want to see what is beside and above a trail as well as a short distance in front of yourself, but it's not good for use at higher speed or with other road users coming in the opposite direction.

Three different Philips headlights side by side.
The left-most is the 80 lux battery light, the
middle is the 60 lux dynamo light and the right
is the 40 lux dynamo light.

For some years, the most effective bicycle lights available were those from the German company Busch & Müller. B&M were one of the first companies to produce bicycle lights with optics which cut off the beam at the top so that powerful LEDs could be used without blinding oncoming cyclists. There are also other benefits of this design. The beam is graduated in strength so that there is more light further away but under the cut-off and less close by. This means that the ground appears to be relatively evenly lit.

Lights like this are very clever. Because there is less light wasted too high or too far to the side, and all of the light is going in a useful direction, battery life is better than it would be for a light with a round lens which tries to compensate for its waste by producing more light.

I have B&M headlights on two of my bikes and they were absolutely a revelation when I first saw them. With my 50 lux B&M IQ Speed I found I could ride at 40 km/h in darkness and see perfectly well where I was going. I'd never had that experience with older bicycle lights. I enthusiastically recommended the B&M lights for some years. However, B&M's technology has now been leapfrogged quite comprehensively by Philips - an old company with an excellent new product line

80 lux battery light

The Philips "Safe Ride" line-up currently includes four front lights and two rear lights. All the front lights use a curved mirror to direct the light to the front, but not to above so that they avoid dazzling other road users. The body of this lamp is of cast aluminium. It's very sturdy.

The biggest and brightest light is the 80 lux battery lamp. This uses two high power LEDs and runs from rechargeable batteries provided with the light. This light mounts on your handlebars. It's a competitor with my IQ Speed, but provides nearly twice the light at little more than half of the cost of the IQ Speed + battery package.

60 lux dynamo light

The second largest and second brightest Philips headlight is the 60 lux dynamo light. This looks almost exactly like a scaled down version of the 80 lux light, again with an aluminium housing and two LEDs pointing downwards towards a curved mirror which directs the light to the front.

The light stores enough energy to remain glowing for four minutes after you stop, or until you switch it off. The switch on the top also can be used to switch power to a rear dynamo light.

A reflector is built into the mounting bracket for this light so that no separate front reflector need be fitted to your bike. The bracket fits to the top of the fork crown.

Side by side, the 80 lux and 60 lux lamps produce a very similar beam, with the bigger lamp providing a bit more light over a slightly larger area.

40 lux dynamo light

The 40 lux headlamp is smaller again. The baby of the range, it uses a single LED, this time pointing upwards toward a curved mirror. There is space on the front of this light to also include a reflector, so no separate reflector is provided.

While this somewhat less light than its bigger brothers, it is still very impressive. It easily beats the performance of old style halogen lights as well as the 10 lux requirements of the strict German StVZO standard.

The 40 lux dynamo light again includes a four minute stand-light. It also includes a light sensor instead of a switch so that it switches on automatically when light levels are dim. There is a switched output on the light to operate a rear lamp. This is convenient for fit and forget usage with a hub dynamo, but does not preclude usage with a bottle dynamo. The much lower price of the 40 lux light is reflected in a plastic body in place of aluminium.

Side by side, I found that the most obvious difference between the 40 lux and 60 lux lamps is in the width of the beam - the lower cost lamp with one LED gives a narrower view.

Philips Lumiring rear light

The Philips LumiRing rear lights also use a novel design. Available for either battery or dynamo operation (with stand-light) they again use clever optical design to solve a problem.

Many high power LED rear bicycle lamps are very unpleasant to ride behind because the light comes from one small point. This also makes it difficult to judge how far away a bicycle is. The Philips solution is to light up a large race-track shaped area around the central reflector. There is a lot of light from the four high power LEDs, but it doesn't blind those who ride behind.

Professionally packaged

All these lights are good value at their price. We are happy to recommend them and to stock them in the webshop. These are great lights especially for those who will cycle away from areas with street lighting or who like to cycle fast and want to be able to see the road surface well when riding at night.

However, we also of course stock lower cost options. Even very low cost front and rear LED dynamo lights combined with our lowest cost dynamo provide effective and reliable lighting for usage in town with street lighting, or for riding at lower speeds in unlit areas.

For dynamo operation, any combination of the dynamo front lights and either dynamo or battery rear lights that we sell can be used together, and they can be used with any standard 6 V 3 W dynamo including hub or side-wall dynamos.

40 lux battery light

January 19 update
The Philips 40 lux light now has a battery powered counterpart. Another superb light from Philips, offering what was an undreamt of amount of light just a few years ago, but at a bargain price.

Also, don't miss our article about selecting and installing dynamo lights.

2014 update
Unfortunately, Philips stopped making their bicycle lights so we can no longer supply them (except for a very few remaining items). We now recommend the B&M Cyo and AXA Luxx 70 with USB output as excellent dynamo front lights and the B&M Secula and Toplight range as a particularly good dynamo rear lights.

See our full range of bicycle lights.

Cycling fast through the puddles

I had to ride to the ice-skating rink this morning in time for a test ride of Steve Ellis' ice-bats. We get to use the ice only for a short period before the steady customers turn up, so that means travelling quite early. When I set off from home it was tipping down and also quite cold.

I wore my rain cape as I could put it on last minute and not have to change clothes. Some people may think that capes are not fashionable, but I'd answer that by saying that when riding a bike in heavy rain you're not on a cat-walk. Besides, with a cape you can wear any clothes that you like when cycling in the rain, and are not restricted to waterproof "cycling clothing". Also, you don't sweat in a cape like you can in waterproofs.

I wasn't the only person in a cape this morning. These two ladies were in front of me just as we all arrived together at the ice-skating rink. Both of them had also taken the sensible option of a cape to keep themselves warm and dry.

The slogan on the back of the woman on the right says "Today I ride fast through the puddles". It's part of a marketing campaign for a probiotic drink. There's a nice, and somewhat unusual, video which goes with the campaign:


Of course, when you ride through puddles you suffer not only from rain falling from above but also from water being sprayed towards you by your tyres. For riding comfortably in rain, mudguards and mudflaps are essential. It's also worth thinking about puncture resistant tyres for winter. Our selection of winter tyres increase your chance of not having to stop when cycling in winter.

If it wasn't for seeing these two ladies wearing capes this morning, and it reminding me of the video, it wouldn't have appeared on the blog. I'm not convinced personally of the value of taking probiotic dietary supplements and I try to avoid dairy products. The European Food Safety Authority has so far rejected 260 claims from manufacturers of these supplements.

However, I'm rather positive about using rain-capes to keep you dry when cycling. They're not intended for sporty riding, but for everyday use they work magnificently to keep both your upper body and also your legs dry when riding in normal clothes. If you want to stay dry while riding fast through the puddles, consider buying the same good quality cape as I use, in our online shop, DutchBikeBits.com.

Marathon Winter tyres

Last winter, Judy fell on a patch of ice. It's not been cold enough for that yet this year, but none of want that experience.

To prevent this problem, we're using Marathon Winter studded tyres on the front wheels of our town bikes. Obviously both wheels provides better protection from falls, but the front wheel is most critical. If you lose traction with the front wheel of a bicycle then you lose the ability to balance and will fall very quickly.

It is best to fit the tyres before the ice sets in so that a few kilometres can be ridden on them on asphalt. This helps to seat the studs in the rubber so that they are less likely to come out later. The manufacturers recommend 60 km of riding on asphalt.

Of course, Marathon Winter tyres aren't only for town bikes. They're also available in sizes to fit mountain bikes and recumbents.

I used one last winter on the back wheel of my Mango velomobile. This made a big different to safety as losing the rear wheel is the biggest danger with a tadpole (two wheels the front, one at the back) tricycle. If traction at the rear is lost then the trike turns due to the camber of the road and will likely flip over as it slides sideways into the kerb. By using a Marathon Winter on the rear of my Mango I could cycle with confidence not only within the city, where most cycle-paths are clear anyway. Rather, this meant I could continue to enjoy touring rides right out into the countryside.

You can buy Marathon Winter tyres in the Dutch Bike Bits Webshop.

Collecting stock

The trailer's own weight plus twelve frame mounted front racks for stock together came to 42 kg

Today I went to collect some more racks for the shop. I thought a bit about this. Pulling the trailer behind the Mango obviously slows it down. While the Mango itself is aerodynamic, the trailer is not. It's a bit like pulling a parachute.

It is difficult to calculate the effect due to aerodynamics, but the effect of the extra weight of the full trailer on the return trip is very easy to notice and that's easy to calculate by looking at the online calculator. This shows that the effect of the weight alone takes about 5 km/h off my speed or, if you like, makes the journey feel like it is 15% "longer". However, the round-trip of 75 km still took well under three hours, which isn't so bad with a heavily loaded bike.

Here's a short film of the ride to the factory and back:

Our Xtracycle - How your parcels start their journey

Explanatory captions on this video are only visible if you watch on a computer and not on a mobile device.

We've owned an Xtracycle Freeradical since 2003. Attached to a fairly basic mountain bike, it's done a lot of work in the past. However, for the last two years, our Xtracycle had fallen out of use. We both had become used to the comfort of Dutch town bikes, and as a result, we were more likely to pile parcels high on our town bikes, sometimes pulling a trailer as well, than to ride the Xtracycle. When I rode it last December, I noticed that the chain was worn and several things felt a little unpleasant, so work needed to be done.

Recently the sales in our online shop have built up and the option of moving all our parcels on the normal town bike had become quite unworkable. We needed a cargo bike again. Over the last few weeks I've done quite a few small jobs on the Xtracycle to get it in usable order once more.

Fundamentally, much of what was "wrong" with our Xtracycle came down to it being a mountain bike with a thing bolted onto the back.

Now I know that many people love their mountain bikes. There is no reason why they should not do so. Mountain biking is a fine sport. The problem isn't mountain bikes, or their riders, but the use of the wrong tool for the job. Mountain bikes are not particularly practical bicycles. MTB gearing is rather on the low side, which is fine for travelling through mud or up steep slopes, but not ideal around town. The sitting position is uncomfortably stretched out due to the long stem and straight handlebars. The high bottom bracket, useful when riding off-road, is a nuisance in town as it requires that one hops down off the saddle at stops. MTBs don't come with mudguards, chainguards or racks, which can be tricky to fit. A kickstand isn't fitted, and permanent fitting of lights is not straightforward. A practical bike needs to have nothing on it which must remove when you park.

Many of the problems with using a mountain bike for everyday transport can be solved with suitable add-ons, and by doing this one can approach the concept of a practical Dutch everyday bike, which comes fitted with everything you need for practical use without requiring work to be done.

Some of the issues are tackled by the Xtracycle Freeradical add-on itself. It provides an oversized rack. If you also fit the Xtracycle specific kickstand then that solves another problem as the bike can now stand upright without assistance. These two things we'd already done. However, the problems that remained with our Xtracycle were typical "MTB as town bike" problems, which have now been put to rest as well as possible.

For a start, the tyres. Knobbly tyres are designed for mud. They're also OK in snow. However (with just a few exceptions) they are inefficient and slow on smooth surfaces. Also, cheaper tyres are puncture prone. There are various add-on products available to try to reduce this problem, but far and away the most effective way of reducing the problem of punctures is to fit better quality tyres with a good anti-puncture layer. I chose the Schwalbe Marathon tyre. It's not fast like a racing tyre, but it's faster than typical knobbly tyres, and puncture resistance is very good. This also makes the bike blissfully quieter to ride as you don't get the characteristic hum of a knobbly tyre on tarmac. While on the subject of wheels, another essential for everyday riding is to fit mudguards (fenders). Because I don't like spray on my feet and shoes, I also fitted the larger and truly effective type of mudflap.

Only half a mudguard is fitted at the back. Sadly, my original model Freeradical had no really good way of mounting a rear mudguard. I understand that eyes for mounting a mudguard are provided on newer versions of the product.

To achieve more comfort when riding the bike required changing the handlebar and stem and also the saddle. My handlebar and stem are a set which we already owned which is equivalent to the combined handlebar and stem in the webshop. This change brings the handlebars a lot closer so that we don't have to lean over so much when riding and the cargo is closer to the turning axis, so the bike is easier to control when heavy. Also, the ends of the bars turn backwards, which is much more comfortable for the wrists than a straight handlebar. The saddle is the same wide sprung and comfortable model as we'd already got on other bikes of ours, and as used by so many people who want comfort and practicality.

Our Xtracycle is fitted with a Steco front rack for extra capacity. This works very well, but it also makes the steering more likely to flop around when the bike is on its stand. For that reason I have fitted a steering damper to the bike. I'd not used one before, but I find that it works very well with the rack. The handlebars no longer turn so much when the bike is parked, and so weight in the front is less likely to flip the whole thing over. It also has a benefit when riding as it tames the front end a little, which is helpful when there is a lot of weight on the rack.

I've also fitted dynamo lights to our Xtracycle. They've a huge advantage over battery lights in that they are permanent, bolted on, part of the bike so don't have to be removed when you park and there are no batteries to be flat. This is essential for practicality.

I'm using a Nordlicht dynamo attached with a special bracket for the V-brake boss, coupled with a Basta headlight mounted on the light bracket built into the Steco rack. There are brighter headlights for use on long rides in the countryside, but that's not what we use our Xtracycle for. For use in town, this provides more than enough light for a very reasonable price. The rear light is difficult with the Xtracycle. Again, there is no good place to attach a light to the Freeradical frame. I've opted for a DIY solution using an old battery-powered rear LED light adapted for dynamo use and attached to the bottom of my saddle.

I would have liked to fit a Dutch style lock to the bike. These are by far the most convenient and quick to use style of bike lock, but they don't fit with the Freeradical in place. Instead, I found a way of mounting an old D lock permanently on the bike. A hole drilled in the advertising board allows the D lock to be swung into the wheel. It also stays in place above the top tube while riding. It's not the highest security arrangement, but it's enough around here.

The triple crankset (22/32/42 teeth) which was originally fitted to the mountain bike which we used as a donor has been replaced with a single speed crankset with 46 teeth. This gives higher gears for a bit more speed in town.

Finally, a bell. Of course, for a large bike there is just one choice - the 80 mm Ding Dong bell.

And how has it turned out ? Well, now the bike is once again enjoyable to ride, and over the last few weeks since the work was done, it's been used several times.