Lighting.

Bikes need lights.

We design bikes that are ready for touring. Lights are an absolute need. You will ride in the daylight but regularly need lights and benefit from having them.

For example, tunnels sometimes just appear. In Turkey we have struck as many as fifteen in a day. We could not tell from most maps that they were there.

Or, sometimes you are late arriving at your next camp or hotel. It could be for any one of numerous reasons. Imagine the scenario….you don’t know the road, there are no street lights, you are tired, your buddy is up ahead looking around to see where you are. Thank goodness you have lights, and ones that work.

Perhaps you are touring in Vietnam, Sri Lanka or anywhere near to the equator and are surprised to find it is dark at 6.30pm.

Or, it is unseasonably hot and you decide to set out in the dark so as to arrive by noon. You need lights.

Bikes used in everyday life in cities need lights too. A person who uses a bike daily is going to be riding sometimes while the sun is down. 

Sorry we are emphasising this. It is self-evident and we should not need to. However, most bikes outside of the few countries that mandate lights for new bikes (eg Germany) don’t have any lighting system designed into them. In Australia very few bikes are designed with lights. 

Lights being on in daytime is good for safety, especially if you commute in traffic.

With a dynamo you can leave the light on permanently. No batteries or recharging is required. The system is integrated into the bike and you don’t need to remove the lights when locking up your bike. Being so integrated, they are not vulnerable to the daily jostle your bike endures. Yet we see virtually no dynamo systems on bikes in Australia, NZ, the US and Canada. If they are so good why are they not on new bikes? The main reason is that lights are not required to be supplied with new bikes in these countries. In addition, authorities mostly ignore the fact that some cyclists are riding after sundown without lights, or without effective lights. However just because authorities don't care is not a reason for us to overlook our own safety.

On motorbikes, Daylight Running Lights (DRL) are mandated in many places. The small frontal area of a motorbike has been found to be a reason why they are less conspicuous on the road. Surely this is just as applicable to bicycles. Having your lights on all of the time is simple if you have a dynamo on the bike.

The best dynamos are in front hubs and have to be integrated into the wheel and hence can’t be treated as an after-sale extra.

So, because of the benefit of having lights on all the time, and the independence of making the electricity yourself, with the exception of specific lightweight racing machines, bikes should have dynamo front hubs.

Rechargable lights - why not?

For bicycles, there are some impressive rechargeable battery powered lights. But they are no good when you can’t recharge them which might be an issue when you are on a tour. Even in town, recharging is another chore you may not want. And then you have to make sure they are not stolen.

Whilst a dynamo has a small amount of drag, we reckon recharging batteries daily, over the years, is a bigger drag!

Busch and Muller.

It is impressive to see how the requirement in Germany that new bikes be offered with dynamo lights (with an exception for sub-11kg machines) has fostered innovation in bike lights. They are a bit expensive but they last for years and have amazing features.

This is the latest Busch and Muller headlight with a "standlight" function to keep it on for 5 minutes after you stop, and with a sensor to automatically turn on the main LED in darker places. The 6 lower LEDs turn on in bright conditions. They put out 40 LUX and weigh only 67 grams.   These are not designed as 'see me' lights. They're designed to throw the light on the road. This means focused cutoff optics like a car's headlight, which keeps the  scattered light to a minimum. From the side and from above the cutoff line of sight (say, an oncoming driver's head), the light is nothing more than a glowing spot. The beam isn't super-wide, but covers the bike's path well. You won't hit debris or holes in the dark with this light. It is bright enough to ride safely at 30kph. Full brightness is developed at very low speed.

Mounting lights.

We mount the headlight to our custom bracket which keeps it low but just above the tyre. On small bikes, handlebar bags bear down a headlight unless the light is kept low down.

With the lighting system designed into the bike the electric cables are in sheaths which are attached to mounts welded to the frame or forks. It is trouble free. 

Be aware of the connector that joins the cable to the front hub. If you don't disconnect it manually when you remove the front wheel, eventually you will need to rejoin it to the wires. Here is a tech doc  to show you how to do that.

This taillight was released by B&M in 2011. It is only 51gms. It fits inside the boundaries of the rear rack and does not get bumped in daily use, including if your bike falls over or in transportation.

Here is a note about connection of the rear light cable to the rear light.