Headlights

I sell many headlights for use with various dynamos. Bottle type dynamos that run against the tire sidewall are turned on or off by placing the roller against the tire. So an electrical switch is not needed. The dynamo itself is the switch. Hub dynamos such as the Schmidt or Shimano Nexus require an electrical switch. Without the switch, the light would burn whenever the bike is moving, even during daylight, thus shortening the life of the bulb, and in the case of the Shimano, adding a fair bit of drag.

Naturally, lights without switches are less expensive than those with switches. The standard Lumotec headlight without a switch sells for $ 17.00 . The Lumotec with coaxial cable and high quality stainless steel switch sells for $ 47.50 . The Schmidt E6 wired and switched for use with the Schmidt SON sells for $ 109.00 to $ 122.00 , depending on the configuration. The Lumotec is also available with a plastic slider switch and lighter wiring for just a bit more than the standard unswitched Lumotec. But the best quality switch and wiring is in the Schmidt E6 headligt

The beam images below are from the lights projected on a flat vertical wall. You can see the back edge of the light in the lower left corner of the image.

All of these headlights project a beam that's brighter on top. The reason is that the top part of the beam will be projected further down the road. So making the top brighter results in more even illumination of the road ahead of you.

Lumotec beam pattern

The Lumotec's pattern consists of a bright horizontal bar, with a second, dimmer bar beneath it. It's hard to see, but there's a fair bit of stray light all around the main beam.

Schmidt E6 beam pattern

The E6 projects a square beam, that's brightest at the top center, and dims gradually to the bottom and sides. There's much less stray light outside the main beam than with the Lumotec. By having the top part of the beam brighter, the patch of light projected on the road is more evenly lit, since the top part of the beam is projected further down the road. At higher speeds, the E6 is often prefered, but at lower speeds, some riders find the beam to be too narrow, and prefer the Lumotec, or one of the LED headlights from Busch & Müller or Inoled. No dynamo headlight concentrates the light as effectively as the E6. Depending on your riding style, that may or may not be a benefit.

If you're using a Schmidt hub dynamo, you can power two headlights, so you can have the best of both worlds, so to speak. You could use a Lumotec or a DLumotec (LED) headlight as a Primary, with the wider beam for lower speeds, and then add a Schmidt E6B Secondary headlight for fast descents. This can be done with hub dynamos, but not with sidewall dynamos. So if you're not sure if you would prefer a wide beam or a narrow beam, get a hub and get two headlights, one of each type.

The Lumotec is available in versions for sidewall dynamos as well as for the Schmidt hub. The Shimano Nexus hub has a separate switch available and can be used with unswitched headlights. The Schmidt E6 is available switched with hard wiring and unswitched with no wiring. The E6 bayonets apart for easy bulb replacement. All dynamo headlights I sell use the same bulbs; either the 2.4 watt or 3 watt bulb. If used with a .6 watt taillight, use the 2.4 watt bulb. If you prefer a battery taillight, use the 3 watt bulb in the headlight.

None of these headlights should be positioned upside down. In the case of the Busch&Müller headlights, that can allow water to collect in the housing, shorting out your lights in the rain when you need them most. But more importantly, by rotating the lens upside down, the brightest part of the beam hits the road closer to you, making for a light that is next to useless for clearly seeing the road ahead for any meaningful distance.While the Schmidt E6 is impervious to water penetration, placing it upside down is particularly silly, since you've spent so much money for a carefully refined beam pattern, and by reversing it, you make the light beam worse than the cheapest dime store flashlight.

Side view of the now discontinued BiSy headlight. These are now all gone, but I used to sell them, and you may find one used. The optics are identical to the E6. In fact, the E6 is the replacement for the BiSy. So if you find one of these for sale and it works, rest assured it's one of the finest dynamo headlights ever made. The housing is not nearly as ruggedly made as the E6, and replacing the bulb is a bit of a pain. It's also not switched for use with a hub dynamo. You'll need 3mm connectors for attaching wiring to these, which we sell. They use the same bulbs as the Lumotec and E6 headlights.

All dynamo powered headlights mount in the same fashion. At the bottom rear of the light is a horizontal hole, perpendicular to the light beam, and 6mm in diameter. I have various mounts to allow placing the headlight in many locations on your bike. Lights can be placed above the front brake, on either fork blade below the brake, or on the handlebar, or an accessory bar attached to the handlebar.

Metric connectors attach the wiring to some of these headlights. These metric connectors are virtually impossible to find in the United States. But I stock them by the hundreds. So if you have any concerns, buy some extra connectors when you purchase your system. They are very inexpensive.

Some headlights are hard wired for attachment to the Schmidt SON dynohub. All have connectors to attach optional taillights. We stock lots of wiring and connectors to allow many configurations for your bike. We don't have a package as such, since everyone's bike is a bit different. We prefer to sell you exactly what you need to give you the best lighting for your needs.

For more information about lights for the Schmidt hub, go to the Schmidt page.

For a comparison of various dynamo powered headlights, see:

http://www.fa-technik.adfc.de/Komponenten/Scheinwerfer/vergleich.htm

Most of the lights listed are not imported to the US.

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This page updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Peter White Cycles
24 Hall Rd.
Hillsborough, NH 03244
USA
603 478 0900 Phone
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