Rear Dynamo light

[ourclarioncall]

What the biggest brightest bestest rear Dynamo light ?

I’d prefer not to faff with batteries , but I maybe would go battery for the rear light if it’s better .

Or maybe both .

But I would really like a big wide red rear Dynamo light I can always rely on if batteries fail

[steve216c]

B&M probably have the best name in dynamo lighting in Germany where law requires you to have working dynamo lights on almost all bikes.

In anticipation of your question Autobild tested them this month. And again B&M win. But 2nd place lamp is only Eur 7.90 so you can buy good without spending a fortune. I have the Picadilly light on 3 of the family bikes.
https://www.autobild.de/vergleich/fahrrad-ruecklichter-test/

Important is the stand light function so the light stays on after you stop, usually for a few minutes, more than long enough for the worst traffic light timings.

Lidl also have a range of bike helmets from their own brand Crivit. These have integrated battery blinking rear lights. A great safety bonus feature to compliment a fixed light. Again, cheap, but German consumer equivalent to Which magazine found these to be good in a crash even against models coating 5 times more.

[PH]

My favourite is the Spanninga Elips, which I think was originally the Phillips Saferide, it's a big splodge of light surrounding a decent reflector.  I get complemented on it in group rides, it's bright without dazzle.
But, talking lighting rather than lights, I like a big, bright but not intense light (As above) plus an eye catching small flasher (Which doesn't have to be as bright as some of the anti-social lights that have become fashionable) IMO, not only does that combination make you easy to spot and identify as a cyclist, it also offers some redundancy in case of a failure. It's also to be noted that being hit from behind is not a common accident, when it does happen the rider is as likely to be well lit as not.

[brummie]

B&M Secula is my preferred option. Having ridden up behind one out of Alston towards Barnard Castle in the middle of the night in an audax, I was very impressed by the large red glow given off from the light. 

[martinf]

I generally have 3 on my loaded tourer (and all my other full size bikes with racks) :

Dynamo B&M Secula on the mudguard.
Dynamo B&M Line Plus on the rear rack.
Battery (rechargeable AA cells) Cateye LD1100 on the seatpost. This one can be set to flashing or steady mode, and (if not obscured by clothing) is visible through a bit more than 180°. The rechargeable batteries last a reasonably long time, if on a long tour AA cells are easy to find in European supermarkets, and probably one of the easiest sizes in the rest of the world.

The Secula is always visible, but could be broken  more easily than the other two (not happened yet, and I have had rear lamps in this position for at least 4 decades).

The Line Plus may sometimes (very rarely) be obscured by long, floppy objects strapped to the rear rack.

The LD1100 will be obscured if I pile luggage on top of the rear rack, for example a hiking rucksack for mixed walking/cycling holidays. In that case I leave it at home.

[Andre Jute]

Dynamo B&M Line Plus on the rear rack.
Battery (rechargeable AA cells) Cateye LD1100 on the seatpost.

+1. Or +2 as the case may be. It's a combo that works very well.

The LD1100 runs about 200 hours on a set of batteries if set to blink, which is the purpose of having it on the bike. I don't know any other lamp that runs longer on a pair of torch batteries.

[ourclarioncall]

Curious to know if you can run 2 rear lights and 1 front light off the Dynamo ?

A static rear and a flashing rear would be cool, along with the single static  at the front

Unless there are Dynamo lights that can do both

[PH]

Curious to know if you can run 2 rear lights and 1 front light off the Dynamo ?

A static rear and a flashing rear would be cool, along with the single static  at the front

Unless there are Dynamo lights that can do both

Yes you can run two rear of a dynamo, but I don't think there's any flashing dynamo lights.
But why would you want to?  Wouldn't you be better off with separate power sources, so that if one failed, you'd still have the other.

[martinf]

Curious to know if you can run 2 rear lights and 1 front light off the Dynamo ?

A static rear and a flashing rear would be cool, along with the single static  at the front

No problem running 2 rear lamps and a high-output LED front lamp from a dynohub. I do this on several bikes because mudguard and rack lamps are in different positions, so I think there is more chance of being seen from a vehicle. And to provide some redundancy for lamp or wiring failure, this obviously doesn't help if the dynamo fails.

A battery-powered flashing lamp plus 1 dynamo rear lamp is better than 2 dynamo rear lamps. It will still work if the dynamo fails, the Cateye has a different kind of light source (bright points rather than the larger but less bright patches of the B&M lamps), plus the flashing option. And the sideways pointing LEDS on the Cateye LD1100 (and maybe some similar models) improve visibility at junctions and on roundabouts.
 
I think 2 dynamo rear lamps plus 1 battery powered rear lamp is an even better option, and the B&M Line Plus and Secula are quite lightweight, so having an extra doesn't add much weight.

[Danneaux]

...A static rear and a flashing rear would be cool, along with the single static  at the front...

It isn't super-difficult to power an LED blinky with a dynohub if you make and insert a rectifier inline to convert AC power to DC. I did this on my Extrawheel trailer project ( http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=4953.msg41441#msg41441 ) so the SON dynohub could power the B&M Line Plus taillight with 500mA @ 5vdc (picture of circuitry below). I did the same to power an LED blinky on another bike I have, just with lower voltage. Worked fine but I eventually reverted to battery power for reasons of redundancy, as PH  suggested. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. Batteries last a long time in LED blinkys and it is nice to a spare light powered by different means.

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Above there are explanations of why it is preferable on grounds of redundant safety to light the rear of the bike with a steady dynamo lamp and blinking battery lamp. The Cateye TL-LD1100 was mentioned as a superior battery lamp, capable of going 200 hours on a set of batteries.

I've come across a photo of how my 1100 was fitted to the rear crossrail of the rack with tie wraps (white). The steady lamp is not visible because the bag hanging over the sides of the rack covers the mounting under the top surface of the rack and about four inches forward from the LD1100. Both are visible from the rear, and the Cateye LD1100 has two LEDs to each side too, which the tie wraps don't obscure. The sideways tie wrap is to keep the battery cap on -- if you lose it on the road, the one weakness of the lamp design, your lamp is toast because you can't power it and the two sideways LEDs on one side are actually inside the cap.

andre_jute_doctor_s_bag_open_2017_800pxsq

The reason for tie wraps rather than using one of the several bike-side mounts that come with the lamp, is, first, to secure the cap mechanically, and second to secure the lamp against theft  -- a new set of tie wraps after 200 riding hours is neither a noticeable cost nor a great nuisance nor does it take much time -- I had it down to about a minute to change the batteries and refit the lamp.

[ourclarioncall]

 
I think 2 dynamo rear lamps plus 1 battery powered rear lamp is an even better option, and the B&M Line Plus and Secula are quite lightweight, so having an extra doesn't add much weight.

I like that idea. 2 rear dynamo , 1 rear battery.

So for the 2 rear dynamo , would you choose 2 of the same model or 2 different models?

It would be interesting to see what they would look like and how to arrange them

[ourclarioncall]

Anyone got or got pics of a dynamo light and cats eye next to each other on the bracket ?

[Andre Jute]

Anyone got or got pics of a dynamo light and cats eye next to each other on the bracket ?

You have the wrong idea altogether. Except for the mudguard lamps like the Seculite, all the lamps people have been recommending to you here are a fistful. If you somehow manage to fit a Cateye 1100 beside a B&M Line Plus or any of its relatives, all you'll have succeeded in doing would be to make your lamps vulnerable to being smashed. The bike in the pic below is huge; you're looking at a 60mm tyre covered by P65 mudguard, the widest normally available for touring bicycles. You can see how wide the 1100 on the rear rail of the rack is, and that the lamp on the rack bracket (the most desirable before or two before the Line Plus, which isn't all that much narrower) is mounted in from the far back of the rack, and protected from the sides as well. The two side by side is a recipe for continuing expense, and such lamps cost substantially more than the proverbial cup of coffee. Basically, if you have two rear lamps, the only sensible mounting plan is one above the other.

The second photo shows the same bike with the Cateye 1100 fitted above the B&M Line Plus on a somewhat narrower rack, but still wider than the Tubus Fly which will no doubt sooner or later be suggested to you.

The third photo shows the front of the bike with a dynamo lamp fitted to the fork crown and on the handlebar a small but powerful Chinese torch with several blinking modes and steady modes too, serving the double purpose of characteristic bicycle identifier and an emergency lamp if the hub dynamo goes down (never happened yet). This is, given accident mode likelihood which you referred to the other day, a more important lamp than the rear blinky, always given that you have a good steady rear lamp fitted.

And in the two links below you can see the visibility of the various lamps at maximum power (in order to get a good photo, I'm driving them with a multi-full-amp-hour battery capable of delivering more current than they can ever demand, same as the makers do for their photos of light throws) on multiple photographs:

http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGbuildingpedelec5.html

http://coolmainpress.com/BICYCLINGbuildingpedelec6.html

And note the reflective yellow belt I use to tie down the bottom of the pannier basket.

[Danneaux]

Andre has a nice setup. I took a little different route that also has worked well for me.

I use a Thorn rear rack with light mounting plate to mount my B&M Line Plus dyno-powered taillight and a PDW (Portland Design Works) Radbot 1000 LED blinky side by side. The Radbot is slim but tall, thanks to the built-in reflector that works even if the batteries die. I like the Rabot 1000 because of its modes -- steady, flashing, and a zzz-POP! mode that makes the light appear to swell and is very attention getting for car drivers closing from the rear.

The Radbot 1000 is mounted in from the edge of the rear rack, so the rack will contact pavement first if the bike falls over, sparing the taillight any damage. I only had to drill one additional hole in the plate for the mounting screw. It could be mounted like this on the other side if preferred.

Best,

Dan.