Fitting an IQ Cyo

[Androcles]

I've got a Cyo on order and I was wondering what experiences people had of fitting them.  Is it straightforward to fit it to the fork crown (with dual pivots) or would I be better fitting it to the bars?

Also, on a related subject - is it necessary, or desirable, to use a dynamo powered rear light with the Cyo? 
Thanks.

[Kim]

Pretty straightforward to fit to the fork crown, given an appropriate bolt and maybe a washer or two.  The main issue is brake clearance - B&M do a longer version of the mount that may help if you have difficulties.  You'd need some sort of bracket to fit it to the bars, and all things being equal, fork crown wins for leaving the bars free for other Stuff.

A dynamo-powered rear light isn't necessary.  It may be desirable, depending on your views on the evils of batteries vs the evils of running a cable the length of the bike.  The switched and senso versions of the Cyo provide a connection for a rear light that is operated by the switch/sensor, which is nice and convenient.  It doesn't provide standlight power to the rear light though - you'll want a rear light with its own standlight capacitor for that.

[Hot Flatus]

As kim says you might find yourself removing the bracket of the cho and replacing it with another one. Sjs stock them. Mine is mounted onthe brake and seems ideal for getting the beam right and is also out of the way and hard to damage in this position.

Rear dynamo lights seem a bit pointless to me given what is available now for a tenner (the Raleigh rear led light being the best I am aware of) and also results in untidy wiring stretched all over your top tube.

[gordon taylor]

Rear dynamo lights seem a bit pointless to me given what is available now for a tenner (the Raleigh rear led light being the best I am aware of) and also results in untidy wiring stretched all over your top tube.

I've run battery rear lights for years, for the reasons you say - but with four or five family bikes on the go, the ongoing cost of AA batteries becomes astronomic. I suppose I have to decide whether to go for dynamo rears or kit myself out with some decent rechargables.

[gordon taylor]

You might need a longer recessed nut after you fit the bracket.

Shimano allen key brake fixing nut extra extended

The standard nut is 10mm, the longest available is 29mm (I think) see SJS again.

On my bikes with skinny steel forks, I can't fit the bracket behind the brake due to lack of clearance between the brake body and the lower headset bearings. On other bikes, it fits no problem.

[Polar Bear]

Rear dynamo lights seem a bit pointless to me given what is available now for a tenner (the Raleigh rear led light being the best I am aware of) and also results in untidy wiring stretched all over your top tube.

Once upon a time when dymano lighting output was of a feeble quality I might have agreed.   These days with led lamps and schmidt or shimano hub dynamos they are the fit and forget solution to bicycle lighting.   I tend to carry a backup rear light such as a Superflash, but, am happy to reach down and turn on my lighting on my tourer, my audax, and soon, when I've got round to it, my bent and my tandem.   

It's a (almost) never get caught out scenario.  A dynamo lighting rig I would suggest fails far less than a battery-powered one.   I have only ever had one dynamo back light fail in use, yet countless number of batteries go flat, bulbs expire, lamps jump from flimsy bracket issues, especially in the old never ready days       There's no hassle about charging batteries, carrying spares, etc. etc.       

I often wonder why all bikes don't have integrated dynamo-powered lighting these days.   

[MSeries]

My Cyos on the fork crown using an older style B&M bracket, not the wire on supplied. This is because it was already on my bike after I removed the Lumotec. I had a minor issue, the bracket fouled the lower part of the headset, a longer nut and half curved spacer solved it. I use a B&M rear lamp connected to my dynamo. Seems silly to me to be generating power and using batteries then worrying about how long they'll last and disposal of them, negates most of the advantages of a dymano. The rear lamp itself is good, it's had positive comments from other riders who are surprised it's dynamo powered given it's brightness. 'Piercing' is the way one rider described it. Fit and forget, just switch them on and ride. Got to agree about the cable being unsightly but it's not too bad, mine is under the top tube loosely curled round the brake cable. Not as unsightly as Ergo/STi cables all over the headtube.

Fork crown fitting means tidier cables especially if you don't have a rear lamp wired in.

[corshamjim]

I'm lucky my bike has drum brakes so no worries about fouling calipers.

My Cyo was the first dynamo lamp I've fitted.  I found getting the wiring connections tidy a bit fiddly and had to learn how to crimp the spade connectors on - wrecking a couple in the process.  Thankfully I predicted I'd find that a bit of a pain so I had bought some extras.

The standard mount that comes with the Cyo needs a big beefy washer really to keep it in place which detracts from the shiny metal look.  It seems likely you'll need an alternative bracket anyway.

I also covered the spade connector joints in heat-shrink tubing in an attempt to keep them clean, dry and tidy - didn't do the greatest job of it but can't be bothered to redo until the next time it needs fettling.

I didn't want to run a cable fore-aft so haven't bothered with a dynamo rear light - I'm using a Cateye with rechargeable AAA batteries.  I can safely go a month doing 40 minutes per weekday commute with those before recharging - haven't let it run long enough to see the batteries run flat yet.

[rogerzilla]

The beauty of a Shimano dynohub is that you don't need any terminals    You do have to get the wires the right way round, though.

[Androcles]

The beauty of a Shimano dynohub is that you don't need any terminals    You do have to get the wires the right way round, though.

That gives me enough opportunity do get it wrong then.

[The Mechanic]

Are you sure you have to get the wires the correct way round.  I don't recall that with my shimano hub and the light works fine

[LittleWheelsandBig]

AC surely.

[Kim]

The issue isn't electrical polarity - it is as you say, AC - but that unlike the Schmidt which is electrically isolated, the Shimano dynamos connect one terminal to the bike's frame.  This isn't actually a problem until you introduce a light that does the same thing (on the slightly dubious logic that you then only need a single wire to connect it).  If you're then inconsistent about 'polarity', you end up shorting out the dynamo output, and not a lot happens.

I haven't actually tested it, but given the plastic casing, I'm fairly sure the Cyo doesn't earth to the frame, but the B&M rear lights I have certainly do.

[rogerzilla]

The Supernova E3, having a metal body, certainly needs to be the correct way round.

[The Mechanic]

The Shimano dynamos do not connect one terminal to the frame.  Both are connected to the wires to the light, which works perfectly well when no attached to the bike.

[thing1]

The Shimano dynamos do not connect one terminal to the frame.  Both are connected to the wires to the light, which works perfectly well when no attached to the bike.

Read it the other way: they connect one terminal to the frame and they connect both terminals via wires to the light. It's intended as a best-of-both-worlds thing, but does mean you need to be consistent in the wiring. (The old B&M lights also ground one terminal, I know this from experience).

[kcass]

Re: rear light - my LBS recommended using a resistor if you weren't going to have one coming off the dynamo. The dynamo puts out 3 'somethings'(amps?) and the IQ Cyo uses 2.4 so you need 0.6 'things' of resistance.

 Sorry, that's as technical as I can get.

[The Mechanic]

The Shimano dynamos do not connect one terminal to the frame.  Both are connected to the wires to the light, which works perfectly well when no attached to the bike.

Read it the other way: they connect one terminal to the frame and they connect both terminals via wires to the light. It's intended as a best-of-both-worlds thing, but does mean you need to be consistent in the wiring. (The old B&M lights also ground one terminal, I know this from experience).

So how does the light ground to the frame if the light is not fitted to the frame.  As I said above, mine works perfectly well when the light not fitted to the bike.  Similarly, how does this work on a carbon framed bike.

[thing1]

So how does the light ground to the frame if the light is not fitted to the frame.  As I said above, mine works perfectly well when the light not fitted to the bike.  Similarly, how does this work on a carbon framed bike.

But you have 2 wires from the dynamo to the light, right?

EDIT: the point being, with a shimano hub you have the option of using either one or 2 wires. For 1 wire to work, you'd need a decent frame connection. For 2 wires to work, you must be consistent about which core is grounded to the frame, or hope you don't have a decent frame connection.
With SON, there's no option, you must use 2 wires. (although, one could just ground one of them to the frame I guess).

[border-rider]

Re: rear light - my LBS recommended using a resistor if you weren't going to have one coming off the dynamo. The dynamo puts out 3 'somethings'(amps?) and the IQ Cyo uses 2.4 so you need 0.6 'things' of resistance.

 Sorry, that's as technical as I can get.

True enough if you use a 2.4 W halogen light, but for an LED lamp it's not an issue.

[CommuteTooFar]

If you use a rear light it is important to get the wiring correct.  If you get it backward the incorrect return through the frame will result in the circuits of the CYO being unable to turn off.  I ran mine with the lights permanently on for six months until the mudguard snapped so I needed to reconnect the wiring.

[cyclone]

If it ain't broke don't fix it...

[The Mechanic]

So how does the light ground to the frame if the light is not fitted to the frame.  As I said above, mine works perfectly well when the light not fitted to the bike.  Similarly, how does this work on a carbon framed bike.

But you have 2 wires from the dynamo to the light, right?

EDIT: the point being, with a shimano hub you have the option of using either one or 2 wires. For 1 wire to work, you'd need a decent frame connection. For 2 wires to work, you must be consistent about which core is grounded to the frame, or hope you don't have a decent frame connection.
With SON, there's no option, you must use 2 wires. (although, one could just ground one of them to the frame I guess).

I have checked the Shimano installation instructions and it does mention getting the connection right.  However, I have a Cyo and it runs fine on or off the bike so I guess it doesn't matter for a LED lamp.  There were certainly no instuctions with my lamp as to the correct connections.  It was the same with my previous IQ Fly.

[Kim]

There were certainly no instuctions with my lamp as to the correct connections.  It was the same with my previous IQ Fly.

The IQ Cyo instructions (and the IQ Fly instructions) specify that the black wire is 'current' (a literal translation from the German, I'd prefer 'live' or 'phase' or something) and the black wire with the white stripe is 'earth'.  This is perhaps a bit subtle, if you're not used to vehicle electrics and earthing to the chassis/frame.

[rogerzilla]

So how does the light ground to the frame if the light is not fitted to the frame.  As I said above, mine works perfectly well when the light not fitted to the bike.  Similarly, how does this work on a carbon framed bike.

But you have 2 wires from the dynamo to the light, right?

EDIT: the point being, with a shimano hub you have the option of using either one or 2 wires. For 1 wire to work, you'd need a decent frame connection. For 2 wires to work, you must be consistent about which core is grounded to the frame, or hope you don't have a decent frame connection.
With SON, there's no option, you must use 2 wires. (although, one could just ground one of them to the frame I guess).

I have checked the Shimano installation instructions and it does mention getting the connection right.  However, I have a Cyo and it runs fine on or off the bike so I guess it doesn't matter for a LED lamp.  There were certainly no instuctions with my lamp as to the correct connections.  It was the same with my previous IQ Fly.

It's 'cos the Cyo has a plastic body and doesn't earth to the frame.