Author Topic: Dynamo Powered rechargers Various (Read 53075 times)

Kim · « **Reply #175 on:** 25 May, 2012, 02:32:54 pm »

Not a problem I've encountered. Unless that's the reason why the retractable USB cable^[1] I have won't charge Motorola phones, I suppose. I assumed it was because it wasn't connecting the data pins, but it might be that the conductors are unreasonably thin... :/

Bloody people playing fast and loose with standards.

_{[1] Swapped for my normal USB cable so andygates could charge his Motorola phone on his LEJOG.}

JonBuoy · « **Reply #176 on:** 25 May, 2012, 06:17:52 pm »

Quote from: PpPete on 25 May, 2012, 09:10:10 am

Quote from: Andrew on 25 May, 2012, 06:37:38 am
Strikes me as a curious device. Not sure about those lights either.

The whole thing looks to me like one of those 'flatters to deceive, sod all use in practice' gadgets you might see in a Sunday supplement mags. Like a motorised tie rail or somesuch.

Quoted as 80 Lux for the front so likely to be "bright enough", but overall I'd want to see lots of +ve recommendations on these pages before I bought one.

You could ask this guy why he is selling his.

Not sure you would get an honest answer though.

andrew_s · « **Reply #177 on:** 25 May, 2012, 07:57:12 pm »

Quote from: Kim on 25 May, 2012, 01:39:12 am

a hub dynamo with disengagable magnets was discussed in some thread I can't find a while ago

Shutter Precision 7-series dynohub (review), marketed as own brand by Supernova & Velo Orange (and probably others).
If you search "shutter precision", there are a couple of threads that don't say much.

andrewc · « **Reply #178 on:** 27 May, 2012, 02:13:03 pm »

A couple of beamshots from a similar Axa headlamp.

http://www.fietsersbond.nl/de-fiets/onderdelen/verlichting/krachtige-koplampen-test-2011/axa-nano-steady-auto

Text translates as
"Axa since 2011 also comes with a headlight on the market that is comparable to the IQ Fly Busch + Müller. The light spot is about as good as the IQ Fly.
Striking thing is that there is much light shines upwards that is also bright in your eyes shining"

L CC · « **Reply #179 on:** 27 May, 2012, 02:31:56 pm »

We tested ours on Friday evening. Not having any steep, gravelly, potholed lanes round here we made do with a round the block trip. Seems fine, certainly not measurably worse than the cyo that preceded it. We failed to ride slowly to change the beam pattern, that I noticed, despite making Chris duck down so I could have a looksee over his shoulder.
Saturday's 100k was a test for the charging aspect, and 2 hours/50km was sufficient to fully charge Mr Smith's 5000mAh battery.

so far.

It's hasn't even remotely looked like rain this weekend though, so that's all ~~fair~~ hot weather testing.

andrewc · « **Reply #180 on:** 27 May, 2012, 10:25:12 pm »

From rualexander on the Thorn forum:

"I've now done a couple of rides testing out my Nano Plus charging system.
Two and a half hours test last week at an average speed of 13.5 km/h (hilly route) put 40% charge into my Motorola Defy phone which was switched on but not using any apps.
One and three quarters hours test today at an average speed of 19km/h (less hilly route) put 30% charge into the phone.
Off to Ireland for three weeks tomorrow, so will give it a good test and report back when I return."

I can see one of these appearing on my next Visa bill. Got to rebuild a front wheel first though.

Kim · « **Reply #181 on:** 28 May, 2012, 12:58:52 am »

That sounds about right. I'll reitrate the advice to use a cache battery, especially in hilly terrain, as it's easy to provide enough power to wake up the phone but not give it enough to charge with when moving slowly.

andrewc · « **Reply #182 on:** 28 June, 2012, 01:58:21 pm »

From rualexander on the Thorn forum: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4121.msg20464#msg20464

"I've now had the Nano Plus light for a while now and have been able to test its charging abilities fairly well.
It kept my phone charged no problem during my 3 weeks in Ireland, cycling about 4 hours per day on average, I would say an hour of cycling put about 20% charge into the phone with the phone switched on but nothing running.
I was able to continue charging in wet weather (the instructions advise against it) by placing a ziplock bag over the light and usb cable connection and securing it with an elastic band.

Last sunday, over a 3 hour ride at an average speed of 17.3km/h, with phone gps on, screen on permanently, and running a mapping app, the Nano was able to maintain my phone's charge at the same level throughout the ride, and in fact, due to a fast last few miles, the ride ended with the phone battery 10% higher charge than at the start.

As for the light output, I still haven't really been able to assess it, although I did run it with the light on one day when it was wet and dull and on busy roads. I could feel the difference in drag with the light on and freewheeling but couldn't really feel any difference when actually pedalling, when in usb mode I was never able to feel any difference in drag between charging and off. "

marcusjb · « **Reply #183 on:** 01 July, 2012, 09:25:02 am »

Just coming back to this after riding the Mille Alba 1000. I use an E-Werk and a cache battery (i can't remember the exact model, but a portapow of some kind) and didn't have a single issue with keeping my GPS going for 60 hours or whatever of actual time on the road.

I had issues with the setup on PBP, but this is mainly because I started with a not full cache battery and a flat iPhone.

Even plugged into a wall socket with a proper power supply, the battery pack takes over 12 hours to charge. So, connected to an e-werk, it must take even longer to fully charge with stopping and starting etc.

But, it was perfect for the GPS.

Whe I think things start to fall over very quickly is phones, particularly smart phones. Those things take a lot of charging and this is what messed me up on PBP.

This time, I modified my behaviour slightly. I always ran the phone in airplane mode, made sure I shut down apps I wasn't using (particularly twitter which seems to each the battery) and the battery pack was hardly needed for phone charging at all.

E-werk definitely works very well, but the time it takes to charge the battery packs is a challenge and certainly more suited to audax style riding (stints of 3 hours non-stop) rather than touring stop/start riding.

I know I could connect the gps straight to the e-werk, and one of the e-werk's advantage is a solid output, but I am still not sure I trust a £300 gps to it!

With a little bit of behaviour modification, and occasional use of cafe power points etc., I could easily keep gps and phone going on long audaxes. I would like to try it touring, but that would involve a tandem specific dynohub wheel, which is a bit out of budget for the moment. We'll have to hope Spanish cafes will loan us some electricity on our next tour.

L CC · « **Reply #184 on:** 01 July, 2012, 12:33:42 pm »

Quote from: andrewc on 28 June, 2012, 01:58:21 pm

As for the light output, I still haven't really been able to assess it, although I did run it with the light on one day when it was wet and dull and on busy roads. I could feel the difference in drag with the light on and freewheeling but couldn't really feel any difference when actually pedalling, when in usb mode I was never able to feel any difference in drag between charging and off.

Ours is on the tandem, so will "feel" a bit different, but as a light it is at least as good as the cyo it replaces, possibly better as the beam pattern gives a more useful spread.
It's charging prowess is excellent, at least as good as the e-work, better than my dahon, not least because of it's straightforwardness.

Andrew · « **Reply #185 on:** 01 July, 2012, 01:38:42 pm »

Quote from: fboab on 01 July, 2012, 12:33:42 pm

It's charging prowess is excellent, at least as good as the e-work, better than my dahon, not least because of it's straightforwardness.

Must admit, it's that factor that appeals to me. If I hadn't just bought a Dahon charger and have a perfectly functioning cyo (touch wood) then I reckon it'd be my next purchase.

andrewc · « **Reply #186 on:** 30 August, 2012, 02:32:20 pm »

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=4557.msg22387;topicseen#msg22387

It looks like B&M will shortly be offering a new light with built in USB charger.

PeeJay · « **Reply #187 on:** 30 August, 2012, 03:15:30 pm »

Wow, that looks really good. Seems it has a small internal battery to smooth the usb output & provide a floodlight for dark downhills. I'm in the market for a new lamp, I think I'm gonna hang on till this one is launched.

Kim · « **Reply #188 on:** 30 August, 2012, 03:41:26 pm »

Yeah, USB output aside, it looks like it could be a really good lamp. Best of both 'R' and 'non-R' beam shapes, and then some.

As a darksider I welcome the handlebar-mounted control. The cable won't be long enough, of course, but that's less hacking than adding a remote control from scratch.

Aushiker · « **Reply #189 on:** 26 September, 2012, 04:29:32 am »

Update on my experience with a PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable (my owner review can be found here).

I have recently completed a 40 day bicycle tour into the outback regions of Western Australia, my "Chasing the dirt" tour into the Gascoyne. It had been my intention to use the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable to power or recharge my electronic devices (Garmin Edge 800, Apple iPad 2, Apple iPod Shuffle, Samsun Galaxy S2 phone, Olympus XZ-1 camera). Unfortunately during the tour, in fact early in the tour, I started having problems with the output cable on the Super-i-Cable which was having internmittmant connection problems with what ever was plugged in for charging. After a bit of testing I came to the conclusion that the problem was at the connection end of the cable. It seems that the wiring connection was not robust. Unfortunately my continued having to wriggle the connection no doubt made it worse. In the end I tried a couple of means of getting at least a reasonably reliable connection to the Garmin Edge 800. You can see my attempts from the photo. The first was to use a tent repair pole tube. That last a couple of days. I then used some tie wire wrapped around the cable and taped over to try and create a connection that was reonsably rigided. This worked reasonably well, but did require a wiggle ever now and then.

However all this meant that I could only use the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable to charge the Garmin Edge 800 as this was the only electronic device that used a normal USB connection. I didn't want to have to try and get a connection each time I wanted to charge a device.

So for me I am regretfully now of the view that the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable is simply not robust enough to handle life on a touring bicycle and will be looking to replace it in due course with probably an Busch & Mueller E-werk.

I have contacted Nick at PedalPower+ for his thoughts. WIll update when I get a reply.

Regards
Andrew

Somnolent · « **Reply #190 on:** 27 September, 2012, 10:36:54 am »

Thanks for posting that Aushiker. Worth knowing of the risk, and be interesting to see what Pedalpower say about it.
Especially as I've almost finished practising my (lack of) sewing skills to produce a dedicated bag for mine that will sit on top of the recently fitted aero bars aft of where I grip them, and mostly below handlebar level. Pics to follow in the Reader's Bodges section...

Aushiker · « **Reply #191 on:** 28 September, 2012, 02:38:21 am »

Another option has popped up on my radar, the LightCharge Hub Dynamo Bicycle USB Charger. There is also a bit of a review at the Bicycles Network Australia

I am thinking this might be a good option for the likes of Audax rides and at a reasonable price. For me the lack of battery kills it as a touring option.

Andrew

Aushiker · « **Reply #192 on:** 01 October, 2012, 03:47:36 am »

Quote from: PpPete on 27 September, 2012, 10:36:54 am

Thanks for posting that Aushiker. Worth knowing of the risk, and be interesting to see what Pedalpower say about it.

Received an email this morning. Replacement forth coming. No further comment as to the issue but

Andrew

Aushiker · « **Reply #193 on:** 06 October, 2012, 11:05:12 am »

For those interested in the PedalPower+ Super-i-Cable it seems that Chain Reaction Cycles are now selling a rebadged version called the NC-17 iPhone Hub charger 2012 for $127.00.

Andrew

bobb · « **Reply #194 on:** 22 October, 2012, 06:59:50 pm »

So..... What with all these new lights with USB outputs, does that mean that the E-Werk, PedalPower etc are now redundant? ie all you need is hub dynamo + light with USB + cache battery and you're good to go? Or is there more to it than that?

L CC · « **Reply #195 on:** 22 October, 2012, 07:02:14 pm »

Got it in one, bobb.
Or rather, got it in one device.

bobb · « **Reply #196 on:** 22 October, 2012, 07:31:09 pm »

Excellent. That should save a few pennies. Ta.

interested · « **Reply #197 on:** 23 October, 2012, 04:20:00 am »

Quote from: bobb on 22 October, 2012, 06:59:50 pm

So..... What with all these new lights with USB outputs, does that mean that the E-Werk, PedalPower etc are now redundant? ie all you need is hub dynamo + light with USB + cache battery and you're good to go? Or is there more to it than that?

Some of the cheaper Light+USB charge combos doesn't allow charging and running the light at the same time. Having a USB plug directly in the main lamp like some do, may lead to problems if used in rain. So it is useful to check the light/USB charger combos feature list before buying. The E-Werk can adjust the voltage and power output, and I don't think any light & USB charger combos have anything near the flexibility of the E-Werk, so it isn't superseded by the newer combo-designs . Of course, not everybody needs that flexibility.

According to the measurements I have seen in the German magazine "Fahrradzukunft", nothing comes close to the efficiency and versatility of the B&M E-Werk, the electronics are simply very well designed. The not-so-good dynamo chargers are rather inefficient when in use or has a high drag even when not in use, some chargers have "cooked off" when descending at high speed, while e.g. the E-Werk has been tested by the magazine at 85 km/h without problems. Some USB chargers are limited to around 500 mA (USB standard) while others can deliver more current if needed.

All in all, dynamo USB chargers are not alike, their design (waterproof, features) and electronics (efficiency, ruggedness, power output) can make a big difference. I guess that the B&M Luxos "U" model tick most boxes for most people since B&M also designed the excellent E-Werk, but its actual design has yet to be tested.

bobb · « **Reply #198 on:** 23 October, 2012, 10:30:21 am »

Thanks! Certainly some points in there worth considering...

bobb · « **Reply #199 on:** 27 March, 2013, 04:44:48 pm »

Right.... So with the E-Work, I notice there is a "Charger USB-Werk".

In fact, looky:

So the B + M Busch + Müller charger USB-Werk has a built in cache battery and costs £68 quid.

The B + M power supply and charger E-Werk doesn't have a cache battery - so you'd have to get one/use an existing one and costs £102

What's going on? What does the 102 quid E-Werk do that the 68 quid one doesn't?

I just want to be able to charge my phone on tour, so the USB-Werk would do the trick, no? I just don't get the massive price difference?