nearest thing to a son dynamo hub

[ourclarioncall]

had my heart set on a dynamo hub but now considering battery powered options

is there anything close or similar to the quality of light put out by battery powered lamps like the typical light thorn users use placed above the front wheel?

im a no fuss kind of guy and don't like charging up lights but maybe it would be ok

[RonS]

The only battery light I’m aware of that mounts to the fork crown like a dynamo light is the B&M  Eyro. My friend has one on his bike. It is only 30Lux, compared to 80 to 100Lux for a dynamo headlight, and when we ride together his light is quite noticeably dimmer than my IQ-X dynamo headlight.

On my non dynamo bike I have a B&M IXON IQ Premium, which is a battery light with the same optics as the famous SON Edelux. It is meant to mount to the handlebars however, and I had to do some customization to mount it to my front rack.

If you are looking at battery lights for economic reasons, keep in mind that SON isn’t the only game in town for hub dynamos. Shimano and SP have perfectly good offerings for considerably less than the price of SON. A quick look at a German online store I often use lists a Shimano hub for €34 and a SP for €95 vs €225 for the least expensive SON.  I have used them both, and, for a slow tourist like myself, the microscopic increase in drag compared to the SON is not noticeable.

[ourclarioncall]

thanks RonS

great info

[PH]

The amount of light you can get from a 3W dynamo, and how well focused it is, so none is wasted, is absolutely incredible.  But once you move away from that 3W restriction, there's better lights.  My choice would be to get something with a high and low beam, used in much the same way as you would a car.  I achieve this by using two lights, the dynamo for low beam and an anti-social blast em light for the high beam, but you can get it with a single battery light, here's a couple of examples:
https://road.cc/content/review/ravemen-pr1000-front-light-remote-296513
https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/accessories/lights/front-light/trek-commuter-pro-rt-front-light-review

If you want to mount a light in the traditional fork crown dynamo light position, there's brackets to do that.  If you choose a light with a remote you can still operate it from the bars. I don't know how the shaped beams of the lights above is affected by mounting them lower than intended. 

I wouldn't be without a dynamo light, it's fit and forget, it suits the way I use my bikes.  But depending on how you use your bike it might not be that important.

[PH]

If you are looking at battery lights for economic reasons, keep in mind that SON isn’t the only game in town for hub dynamos. Shimano and SP have perfectly good offerings for considerably less than the price of SON.

+1 Though of course you might not get one in 48H. 
I have SON, Shimano and SP hubs, the 23 year old SON is a piece of engineering jewelry, but they all work fine.  Best avoid the cheapest Shimano on anything other than a utility bike, it has a higher resistance than the others, once you get to Alfine grade they're fine.  The SP has a poor reputation for bearing failures, but a good repair service even out of warranty, though if I'd know that when I bought mine I'd have got another Shimano.

[mickeg]

The German headlights have to meet a  govt standard for getting enough light in the right place (on the road) and not in on-coming traffic drivers eyes.  Headlights made to the German standard can be judged by how many lux they put out.  Or more simply how many watts of power they draw.

Non-German lights that are not made to that govt standard may have a beam more like a flashlight, round, and half the light is wasted as it is above the horizon.  It is harder to compare these lights because they are not designed around a single standard.  Their brightness is usually compared from light to light with lumens.