Autumn Gear Guide
Find inspiration in our Gear Guide that will keep you out on your bike through wind or rain.
Download Now
October 2, 2024
What You Need to Know About Dynamo Lighting
Dynamo lighting is reliable, durable, environmentally friendly, more difficult to steal, and extremely convenient.
Dynamo lighting is reliable, durable, environmentally friendly, more difficult to steal, and extremely convenient. Having lights permanently mounted on and powered by your bicycle means you’ll always be well lit.
Photo by David Niddrie
What is a dynamo?
A dynamo is an energy-generating hub built into the front wheel of a bicycle that typically powers lights. Dynamos can also power USB ports and all manner of fun things, if you’re interested.
Early dynamos were tire-driven, resembling small bottles mounted to a bicycle’s fork and turned by the tire or rim as it moved past. Between World War I and II, English bicycle component manufacturer Sturmey Archer first popularized the Dynohub, moving the generator inside the hub of the front wheel. This alleviated inefficiencies of the tire-driven bottle dynamo, like premature tire wear, drag, and erratic engagement in wet conditions. Tire-driven bottle dynamos are still manufactured today, though most modern models are hub-based.
Photo by David Niddrie
What makes a good dynamo light?
A good light is bright enough to be visible, illuminates the road without blinding others, and stays bright while you’re stopped at a traffic light.
Most dynamo lighting equipment is designed to comply with German road-use regulations (StVZO/TA). These stringent and specific regulations are in place to ensure that cyclists are well lit from all directions and that the lights don’t interfere with other traffic.
A headlight should have a horizon, meaning that the light’s beam is limited by a hood at the top and aimed so that the center of the beam hits the ground 33 feet (10 meters) from the front of the bicycle. A concentrated beam illuminates hazards on darkened streets without blinding oncoming motorists and cyclists.
Lights are also required to have a standlight feature, a built-in capacitor that continues to power the lights for four minutes once you stop moving. This feature ensures that you remain visible while stopped at intersections.
In most countries, cyclists are required to have a white light up front and a red light in rear. A single dynamo can power both front and rear lights. Similarly bright battery-powered lights have run-times of only 1-3 hours before they require recharging.
Is dynamo lighting bright enough?
Dynamo systems offer plenty of light and can be tailored to suit different riding styles. When choosing a dynamo lighting system, you’ll need to consider both brightness and beam pattern.
Brightness is commonly described in two different units of measure: lumens and lux. While battery-powered lights are commonly rated in lumens, dynamo lights are more often rated in lux. Whereas lumens are a measure of the total amount of visible light emitted from a source, lux is a measure of the intensity of light in the usable portion of its beam pattern. This means that two lights with identical lumen ratings can have very different lux measurements, depending on how the light is focused.
Beam pattern selection will depend on how you ride. A fast rider covering a lot of ground will benefit from a bright light that projects further in front of the bike, giving ample time to react to hazards in the roadway. A rider travelling at a more leisurely pace will see the benefit of a light with nearfield reflectors, which better illuminate the area immediately in front of the bike. The night ride enthusiast will thrill at the brilliance of an unfocussed beam, evenly illuminating everything in front of the rider.
So why is dynamo lighting so rare in North America?
In many European countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, most bicycles designed for everyday use come equipped with dynamo lights. Bicycles have tabs for attaching tire-driven dynamos or come with hub dynamos right from the factory.
In North America, where recreation drives the majority of bicycle manufacturing and sales, lights are considered more of an accessory than a requirement. Your average bicycle shop will offer plenty of choices for battery-operated lights, often small and detachable, while dynamo systems may need to be special ordered. They can also be costly and require complex installation.
Dynamo lighting is gaining in popularity in North America as more people are using bicycles for transportation. Manufacturers are starting to offer standard models equipped with on-board lights. For those looking to add them to their existing bike, dynamo hub and headlight combinations can start around $120 USD before installation. However, dynamo hubs require the assembly of a full wheel (spokes and rim) and will add labor and product costs. You can expect a typical dynamo build, including hub, lights, rim, and spokes, to cost from $220 for a basic set-up to $800 or more for high-end systems.
On-board lighting also adds some weight to the bike, typically 1.5-2 pounds (680-907 grams). While you wouldn’t want one on a race bike, you may want it on your winter trainer and you should certainly consider it for a daily commuter.
Why we love dynamo lighting.
The biggest advantage, from my wife’s perspective as she now refuses to ride a bike at night without dynamo lighting, is that one will feel safe. It’s bright, it’s always there, and it requires not much thought at all. No forgetting lights because you didn’t intend to be out after dark, no replacing or recharging batteries, plus an automatic on-switch.
Sealed from the elements, dynamos produce consistent and reliable lighting in all weather. A dynamo hub’s typical service life is similar to that of other bicycle hubs, meaning it will last you for many years. They are recyclable as scrap metal and do not contain hazardous chemicals.
Bolted to your frame, and useless without the generator, dynamo lights are far less desirable to thieves. After your initial costs you may even save money by no longer having to purchase new lights, batteries, or pay fines for forgetting your bicycle lights.
Traditional lights are a clip-on accessory for your bike. Dynamo systems make lighting an integral part of your bicycle. Can you imagine driving a car with strapped-on or half-charged lights?
Dynamo Lights are:
- Safe. Dynamo lights are powerful and highly visible.
- Convenient. Always with you. Always on.
- Durable. Long-lasting LEDs.
- Consistent. No half-charged or lost lights.
- Sustainable. Reduce your environmental impact by freeing yourself from batteries.
- Secure. Much more difficult for someone to steal.
42 Comments
Signup to Weekly Newsletter
Editor’s Choice
In praise of the community bike shop
November 12, 2024
How to embrace slow biking and love…
October 15, 2024
Pedaling Art: Taliah Lempert’s Passion for Bicycles…
October 3, 2024
Cargo bike delivery is much faster than…
September 23, 2024
Toronto Study Highlights Underreporting of Cyclist and…
January 15, 2024
Good information. Lucky me I recently found your blog by accident (stumbleupon).
I’ve saved as a favorite for later!
I have hub dynamos on all my bikes, and it was the main reason fro me building my first wheel. They are not only good in the winter but in the summer too. Upon entering a tunnel of trees, with a sudden change in daylight, the extra viability is most welcome.
I would also comment on the efficency of dynamo lighting. It is AMAZING what 3W of Busch and Muller lighting will do. It is as bright (on the road) as 30W of Chinese LED flood light. That is with my 80lux offering, and I think they make 100 lux lights now!
True, hub units create less drag than bottle types => when operating! But many recreational, commuter, and bike-campers mostly ride during daytime, so TOTAL drag is less with bottle types as they can be ‘turned-off’! And adding a bottle dynamo is a (cheap) DIY job, not so with hub units. Course the “wow factor” isn’t there with bottle types.
This is a good tip especially to those fresh to the blogosphere.
Simple but very accurate info… Appreciate your sharing this one.
A must read post!
If you could via a dynamo charge a redundant power pack or more than one (batteries) that would not be used for forward movement(electrical assisted)
(Drive batteries)a pack could assist in the drive and once the charge has depleted to say 20% value the redundant pack takes over and the charge created then directed to this the initial drive pack or packs so the cycle would continue and give a much larger amount of EA cycle travel
This is a well written article about the attributes of dynamo lighting. I would like to know more about different lighting and charging systems ,etc. I think that would make a good follow up piece.Thank you.?♂️?♂️?♂️
Some of these comments are puzzling. As a cyclist, I have found that while more light is better, it does not take much light to go fast on a paved road, and only a bit more for rough stuff. As a motorist, I have never been “blinded” by a bicycle light, motorcycle light or, for that matter, automobile lights, to the extent that it presented any danger. I find it funny that it is a concern at all, and I consider it an imaginary issue. I have several dynamo-equipped bicycles in my fleet, but a cheap flashlight rubber-banded to the handlebar stem does not cramp my style at all.
I have a very high end generator system, Deore XT hub, Herrmans Black Pro front light and an Axa taillight. I’m very happy with it but wonder why battery operates systems are often brighter. And I think that lights should use the same rating system. Why not list output in Luxury and Lumens.
I also wanted to say that I ride with my lights on during the day for added visibility. When riding with others at night, dynamo lights are easier on the eyes because they aren’t too bright and don’t flash.
the information on the dynamo lighting is terrific as is the feed back. Now I have a question for you all…what about power storage solutions for the dynamo power produced via dynamo hubs? USB chargers to convert that power to charge storage lithium cells? Just curious as to what might be out there or how do I modify a home made system to capture that energy 🙂 any ideas?
That would be frame not wheel.
Why can’t it be like a flywheel on a lawn mower. Put a magnet on the tire and one on the frame. As the tire turns it makes power?
John’s idea of magnets on the rims has been done: the tldr it’s not worth it as magnets are heavy & brittle, you’d need them all around the rims, also tires go through gunk.
Same with Rick’s: it’s not worth it. The hubs’ output are barely enough for a ‘marker light’ led, the weight of what you’d be charging and the miles it would take to charge it to a aaa-battery’s energy is easily replaced by a aaa battery. However, yes, regenerative braking’s worth it, as is any stationary bike… but barely.
Why can’t it be like a flywheel on a lawn mower. Put a magnet on the tire and one on the wheel. As the tire turns it makes power?
Just desire to say your article is as astounding. The
clarity on your submit is just cool and that i could suppose you’re a professional in this subject.
Well together with your permission allow me to clutch your feed to stay up
to date with impending post. Thank you one million and please keep
up the enjoyable work.
How about some info on the dynohub systems? Where can you get them? Which headlights are best, which tail lights?
While researching lights to outfit my newly built bicycle for touring the U.S., expeditionary style, I’ve yet to encounter any writer that addresses an important need of all riders, both road, and trail. While many manufacturers build to meet German standards to prevent “dazzling” oncoming traffic, none of these lights are worth a rat’s behind, if you can’t see low hanging branches that harm a rider and cause an accident faster than dazzling a few eyes. There needs to be enough light “allowed” by design, to enable a rider, and qualify a light to be excellently engineered, regardless of German laws. To keep from dazzling others is good, but not at the expense of physical harm to a rider. It would be great to read an article by someone considered to be a professional, that addresses this issue, along with some light recommendations that do well in this respect. I’ll choose a light that dazzles, over one that doesn’t sufficiently illuminate branches.
Peter White Cycles has some Informative articles on Off Road lights as well as Road lights . If you haven’t found him yet , his website is PeterWhiteCycles.com . Peter has plenty of articles and photos of beams shining down the road . He also sells lights and is a Cyclist himself .
Very well said. Fawning over something, w/o understanding the background, is bad. It’s important to understand what factors the German standards took into account, so one can decide if the German lights are really suitable for a certain kind of riding.
Umm, perhaps you are trolling, but … what branches? If you’re talking about off-trail bushwhacking, well then you’re talking speeds too slow to run a dynamo, and too slow to hurt yourself on a branch. Anyway, off-road night riding is generally done with multiple lights — with one on the helmet — so I am left wondering what you are talking about.
John, for dynamo hub to USB power take a look at the Igaro D1, https://www.igaro.com
Thank you for this article, do you have any information/recommendations on hubs and power output. I am planning on taking a trip through Europe and want to be able to power phone/iPad as well as my lights. But do not know where to start with hub type or which brands are best. Thanks again for the article.
Power requirements for phones, ipads, etc are high. You’ll need to charge them a really long time to get much of a charge to them. Of course, there are variables such as how fast you’re riding, what other things are being powered – front and rear lights, etc. Peter White Cycles is the place to look for info.
I was just in Frankfurt, where there were a lot of bike commuters, and at least 95% had these dynamos. Surely they’re not all paying this much. Isn’t there a better price?
Try in China. They cost less than 10 dollar. aliexpress.com 🙂
The STVZO lights have sophisticated optics, similar in-effect to dipped car headlights, except the beam is intended to be directed downwards and straight ahead, not directed downwards and slightly to the right. The beam should be adjusted so that assuming level ground it strikes the ground about 10 metres / 33 feet ahead.
http://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tests/verlichting/index_en.html#licht-bundel-vorm
I used to train with an old school double bulb bike fitted with halogen bulbs on a dynamo and a fitted voltage regulator. at night, the beam was as bright as a motorcycle headlight on dark country roads – the best and cheapest source – when it was raining, I used to tie a thick rubber band around the rotor…
My understanding of “horizon” differs from the author of this article, in that the farthest edge of the light cone should be 10m, putting the center of the cone (or bean, as he states it) a meter or two closer.
Your interpretation is correct.
I love the idea of the free power from a dynamo and the more powerful lighting I could run – but unfortunately I would fear for the life of my bike after investing in the front hub. As it sits currently, my 20+ yr old commuter flies under the RADAR, having a shiny dynamo hub and hard-wired lights would turn the wrong heads. If it was from home to office, fine – but doing errands and locking my bike up in front of the library etc… Can’t do it.
Most dynohubs and lighting are not eye catchers. Most people don’t know what they are. In addition they are harder to steal. I wouldn’t park overnight in a sketchy place but have no problems running errands, etc. I’ve never had a problem in the last 2 years I’ve had them with theft issues.
I started with battery powered lights and found two problems – making sure they are charged up when you unexpectedly get a chance to ride and they are often blindingly bright, making them less than safe when the driver headed towards you can’t see much at all, except the bright light. I now have dyno lighting on my commuter and road bike with the same headlight, the Busch and Mueller IQ CYO. The light is great for really dark country roads and I can see well enough at 20 MPH in those conditions. I also use daytime running lights during the day, commuting or on road rides. Unlike another commenter, I find them less useful in urban environments, where lights shining in my eyes makes my light slightly less useful. I now use a low power (Light and Motion Urban 350) set on low (75 lumens) aimed at the ground in front of me and hopefully not blinding oncoming traffic.
As far as the brightness of being seen with dyno powered light, I find that they are fabulously bright in making others seen, even the less bright “be seen” on our local Hubway rentals. I recently saw a frequent commuter with his Busch and Mueller EYC 50 lux light and found it quite visible in low light conditions.
I think people should consider dyno lighting. It is expensive as the article suggests. I spent about $500 on my commuter and $650 on my road bike (mostly a more expensive hub).
Lux is not ‘a measure of intensity in the usable part of the beam’. It is a measure of intensity at one specific point, not at all the same thing, for example two lights with equal lux can have very different beam widths. Personally i find dynamo lights, and more generally lights built in compliance with the German regulations, adequate on well lit roads, and for being seen in most circumstances. But I so often ended up needing to supplement them on the wet, windy, hilly trips that are usual here (Highland Scotland ) that I’ve given up in favour of good battery lighting.
+1 for consistency. This is by enlarge the biggest bonus. Remembering to charge battery power lights can be a bother day in and day out, especially if you commute longer distances. Battery lights also seem to fail more frequently. I have multiple battery lights fail, I have never had a modern dynamo light fail, even after 10 years of daily use. (I sometimes use both battery and dynamo lights coming down mountain passes at speed – under the same conditions battery lights have consistently proven less reliable).
@Walter and @Mathew – On the subject of drag, it is mostly negligible, but differs by manufacturer, whether the light is on or off and your current speed. While the output is about 3W the drag is higher due to inefficiencies. The best dynohubs are about 60% efficient putting the total drag closer to 5W at about 28 kph (150 watts rider output). A baggy jacket or position on the bike will be a much bigger source of drag. The dynohub drag will be a little higher at faster speeds, but rider power will be multiplicatively higher (e.g. 375 watts @ 40 kph) so the drag relative to rider output power is actually lower.
@Josh Williams (Author) – A minor technical error. The horizontal cut-off is done with mirror design not the hood on the top of the light. While a horizontal cutoff prevents *most* light from shining above the horizon, there is still some spill light. The hood on the top of the light is simply for the rider’s comfort.
@Walter: you can feel the drag spinning the wheel by hand (especially with a new hub, as it will have a bit of a “notchy” feel to it). But once you’re riding, there’s no sensation that you’re on a generator. For those who prefer numbers, a fully modern generator hub takes about 3W or so… your average cyclist can put out 150 watts no problem pedaling on flat land. So it’s about 2% harder to pedal than your current set up. That’s negligible to me, and the upside of having dyno lighting front and rear (plus having a USB charger for my bike gizmos while touring) more than makes up for it. The article is spot on… once you go dyno you’ll never want battery powered lights again.
Do the dynamos add noticeable drag? My only experience with modern lighting dynamos is with Capital Bikeshare, where the cycles are so tanklike that I can’t tell whether the power-generation is a factor.
a dynamo should give 3 watts and a good dynamo IE schmidt or the better shimano are more than 50% efficient, that means about 6 watts drag when engaged. The Schmidt drags about 1 watt when lights are off, shimano a bit more. Compare that with a normal commuters input of about 150watts. you can feel it but not much. i have about 15 yrs of using hubdynamoes on different bikes and really revomend it on any bike but your light racer.
Another +1 for dynamo lighting. When I give talks on All-Season Cycling I always talk about this option (while recognizing that for not-yet-everyday cyclists, the expense can be off-putting). Clever Cycles, mentioned by GeraldF below, has a pre-built dyno-hub wheel for US$120. With a basic front/rear light set, a full system can be had for about US$220 (+ any installation charge). While $220 is a lot right up front, it definitely pays for itself in my mind – I will lose, have stolen, or wear out that many dollars worth of removable light (& batteries) before I wear out the dyno set.
Major bonus – always-on running lights for grey fall and winter morning/dusk hour rides.
For anyone looking for a new bike that comes with front and rear dynamo lights pre-installed I highly recommend the Breezer Uptown 8. Clever Cycles in Portland sells it. It’s a utility bike with 8-speeds. It also comes with fenders, a rack, kickstand, full chain case and the rear wheel lock that’s common on European utility bikes. Once you try a dynamo light you’ll never want to go back to detachable lights.
So I have a breezer uptown, but my front light stopped working after 8 months and I have no idea how to replace it
I have the same bike. When the lights stopped working, my local bike shop was able to fix it during my annual tune-up.
I love my dynamo set up. I feel a LOT safer with dynamo lights (as opposed to the “be seen” lights I had in the past) and it’s comforting to know that I will always be with light as soon as I start pedaling. Being that I’m a utility rider and always on my bike when I go out I am really appreciating the convenience that car owners have enjoyed for many decades – permanently installed lights day and night. A set up cost me approx. $500incl. hub, front and rear lights. and labour and wheel build. I would spend it again in a heartbeat.
Comments are closed.