Bicycle taillights for dynamo

Dynamo Powered Taillights

All dynamo powered taillights are steady-on taillights. They have no flashing mode, unlike many battery taillights, since flashing taillights are illegal in Germany, where these lights are made. There is some evidence that bright flashing lights mesmerize drunk or sleepy drivers, and that's not quite so good. And for group riding, such as brevets, flashing lights can be quite annoying for riders behind you. All Busch & Müller taillights, whether battery powered or dynamo powered have built in reflectors, for added safety in the event of wire or battery failure.

I do recommend that you use both a dynamo powered taillight and a battery powered taillight, if at all possible. If a wire should fail to the dyno powered taillight, the battery taillight is a backup. If your batteries fail in cold weather, the dynohub will still be working, and powering the wired taillight. Also, all of the dynamo powered taillights have reflectors, so even if both the wiring from the dynamo and your batteries should fail, you still have the safety of a rear reflector. Redundancy is good. Redundancy is good. Redundancy is good. Stop me, please!

But if you can only have one type of taillight, it should be a dynamo powered taillight, if at all possible. I've read all of the complaints about wired taillights. What if the wire breaks? What if I need to take my bike apart to transport it? These arguments seem silly to me. If you don't take reasonable care of your bike, things are going to break, or go out of adjustment. Just as with your brake cables, you need to be sure that your light wiring is in good condition. And if you need to frequently remove the rear fender or rack that your taillight mounts to, it's very easy to install quick connectors for the taillight wire.

For those folks who are concerned about the durability of the taillight wire, I now have extra heavy duty co-axial wiring available, the same wiring Wilfried Schmidt uses for their headlights. I have it in bulk, for those who want to make their own taillight wiring, and I have it in 1.9 meter lengths, complete with connectors attached for the headlight, and the taillight.

The DToplight Plus, DToplight XS Plus, Seculite Plus and 4DLite Plus all have the same "Standlight" feature as the Oval Plus headlight, except that the light is as bright when you're stopped as when you're riding, since it's the same LED. We sell one dynamo powered taillight that does not have a standlight, the DToplight XS. We sell it for those people who would like to save money. It still has a large reflector area for added safety. So If you think you need to use a battery taillight in order to have a functioning taillight when you're stopped, that's just not the case. The "Plus" taillights remain lit for six or seven minutes after you stop, plenty of time for the light to turn green.

Problems with Headlights!

The six volt halogen headlights I sell all contain over-voltage circuitry which protects the bulb from excess voltage produced by the dynamo. The circuitry assumes a total load of 3 watts. 2.4 watts at the headlight and .6 watts at the taillight. If you can't use a wired taillight you must change the headlight's 2.4 watt bulb to a 3 watt bulb. The 2.4 watt bulb will burn out quickly if there's no taillight attached.

Six volt LED headlights have a similar problem. They are designed to be used with a .6 watt taillight. They are more sophisticated than the halogen headlights though. While a halogen headlight used with no taillight and the stock 2.4 watt bulb will suffer a blown bulb very quickly, the LED headlight used without a taillight will continue to work for many thousands of hours. But, it will run hotter without a wired taillight than it is designed to, and so it won't last as long as it would if you did have a taillight wired into the system.

There's no hard rule that determines how much shorter the life of your headlight will be if used without a taillight. It greatly depends on how fast you ride. And given the expense of halogen bulbs, even if you don't use a wired taillight, using an LED headlight will still cost you less if you ride a lot at night. But, you'll get far more miles per dollar spent if you use a wired taillight with your LED headlight; that's a given.

Rack Mounted Taillights

The rack mount taillights all mount to a horizontal bracket with two holes either 50mm or 80mm apart. I sell some brackets to allow mounting taillights onto racks without suitable mounts. The Tubus Cargo and Logo racks incorporate the proper mount for these lights.

The Busch&Müller DToplight series have a single very bright LED inside the center lens. They come in 6 volt versions for use with the SON and other 6 volt dynamo systems, like the Dymotec 6, Shimano Nexus and Shimano DH-3N70 dynohub. There are also 12 volt versions only for use with the Dymotec 12 volt bottle generator. However, unless specifically stated, all wired taillights are 6 volts.

The 6 volt Busch&Müller DToplight Plus is now discontinued. It is replaced by the DToplight XS Plus, which can be mounted to either 50mm mounts or 80mm mounts.

Busch&Müller DToplight Plus 12 (12 volt) taillight to be used only with the Dymotec S12 dynamo. Wiring not included. $ 68.00

The Busch&Müller 4DToplight Permanent has four LEDs, two in the center and one each on each side of the reflector for increased visibility to the side. It looks the same as the DToplight Plus but has a switch on the bottom. It is powered by 2 AA batteries. $ 29.00

The Busch&Müller DToplight Senso Multi can be powered by batteries or the Schmidt hub. A three position switch allows automatic switching from battery power to dynamo power when you start and stop. The bike must be moving for the Senso function to turn on the lights. So they won't switch on while your bike is parked overnight. And is case of a wire failure, the batteries will keep your taillight "on". Wiring not included. $ 40.00

The Busch&Müller 4DToplight Senso Multi can be powered by batteries or the Schmidt hub. Two LEDs in the center, and an LED on each side make for increased visibility. A three position switch allows automatic switching from battery power to dynamo power when you start and stop. And is case of a wire failure, the batteries will keep your taillight "on". The bike must be moving for the Senso function to turn on the lights. So they won't switch on while your bike is parked overnight. Wiring not included. $ 44.00

The new Busch&Müller DToplight XS Plus mounts on a rack with either 50mm wide studs or 80mm wide studs. Wiring not included. Available now: $ 35.00 This replaces the Dtoplight Plus.

If you would rather save some money and do without the standlight feature, we now have the DToplight XS. It looks the same as the DToplight XS Plus but without the Plus it has no standlight. The light will go out completely when you stop. Available now: $ 22.00

Our newest taillight is the Toplight Flat Plus. It's less expensive than any other dynamo taillight with a standlight. Compared with the DToplight Plus, the only drawback is the smaller point source of the light, which makes it a bit less visible at a long distance, but still an excellent taillight, well worth it's cost. This is a particularly good choice if you have other taillights as well, and want to add some light from your hub or sidewall dynamo, or if you rarely need lighting, and want the least expensive system possible. This taillight, with a Dymotec sidewall dynamo, and a Lumotec headlight makes for a nice system for not a lot of money. 50mm bolt spacing. While the LED is small, it's still very bright. Wiring not included. Available now: $ 21.00

Most of the taillights we sell have screw posts for the wiring. The double strand wire we sell has connectors on one end only, for attaching to the bottom of the headlight. And you then use the bare wire ends for the taillight attachment. But the Toplight Flat Plus has only male connectors, meaning you'll need a wire that has female connectors at both ends. This doesn't exist all made up, so you'll need to make your own. We'll supply the standard double strand wire with connectors attached at one end, and some extra connectors. When you know how long the wire needs to be, just cut off what you don't need, and attach the loose connectors to the bare end. Now you can attach the Toplight Flat Plus to your headlight. Also, some taillights use the mounting screws to supply the ground connection. That's not the case with the Toplight Flat Plus. It will not ground to a rack automatically. You need to use two wires, one for power, and one for ground, hence the need for a double strand wire.

Fender Mounted Taillights

Fender mount taillights require two holes drilled in the rear fender. The holes should be 5mm in diameter, one above the other, 20mm apart. Care should be taken to mount the light so that the brightest part of the beam is at driver's eye level. Where you mount the light along the curve of the fender determines where the beam is aimed.

I only recommend mounting my fender-mount taillights on high quality fenders such as Gilles Berthoud, or Esge/SKS. Other fenders, particularly Zefal, are too light and will easily break when you mount a light on them.

The Busch&Müller Seculite Plus taillights can be wired into the system via connectors on the bottom of the headlights.

Busch&Müller Seculite Plus. Wiring not included. $ 30.00

Busch&Müller Seculite Plus (12 volt) to be used only with the Dymotec S12 dynamo. Wiring not included. Available now: $ 58.00

The LED light is in the top clear section. The LED glows red. The reflector is below. As with all "Plus" designated lights, it has a Standlight.

The Seculite Plus was designed to be mounted on a rear fender. But with the Cross Bracket, it can be mounted on a rear cantilever brake stud.

Cross Bracket for mounting Seculite Plus on a cantilever stud: $ 4.25

People have asked me if the Cross Bracket is strong enough to hold our battery powered Spanninga taillight that you can see below. I don't know if it's strong enough or not. Try it at your own risk.

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4D Lite Plus

The heavier Busch&Müller 4D Lite Plus fender mount taillight has a metal bar to protect the plastic lens in case you get rear ended. As with all "Plus" designated lights, it has a Standlight. Wiring not included. $ 36.00

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Spanninga SPXb

The SPXb from Spanninga is a battery powered taillight designed for mounting on a fender. If you already have a dynamo powered taillight on a rear rack, put your fender to work carrying another light. The SPXb is ideal. It incorporates a reflector. The Spanninga uses 2 AAA batteries, not included. $ 30.00

All taillights are LED types. They do not have bulbs to wear out. Since taillights do not need a tightly focused beam, LEDs work better than bulbs, since they are brighter than bulbs of comparable wattage.

Racks and adapters

This is a rear view of the DToplight XS Plus upside down. It's upside down so you can more clearly see the wiring connections on the left side. You feed the bare wire ends up into the connectors and then slide the little locking tab over to secure the wires in place. You see here two bolts coming out of the housing. When you receive the light there will be no bolts extending out. But there are four positions where you can push out the plastic and place the bolts from the inside. You can choose either 80mm spacing or 50mm spacing for the bolts. Here the spacing is 80mm.

Some racks like most Tubus models have a bracket on the rear to mount these lights. But some don't. So we have adapters.

If your rear rack has a single hole in the rear that will take a bolt which faces in the direction of travel, you can mount this bracket into that hole and then you'll have the 50mm and 80mm mounting points for any of the Busch & Müller rack mount taillights such as the DToplight XS Plus above. Single Hole Bracket: $ 3.25

If your rack has no hole in the rear but does have either a top plate or some cross braces, this T bracket can be clamped to the top of your rack and then the taillight can be bolted to it.

Here's a DToplight XS Plus mounted on a T bracket using the 80mm bolt positions. T bracket: $ 4.50

If your bike has a seat post binder bolt that's big and not recessed into the seat cluster, you can probably use this bracket to mount a taillight on the seat post binder bolt. The hole on the left would be at the seat post binder. The hole is about 8.5mm in diameter. Seat Post Binder Bracket: $ 3.25

I sell several Tubus racks which incorporate a mounting bracket which will fit many types of Busch & Müller tail lights including the DToplight Plus and 4DToplight Permanent. The Tubus Cargo is a heavy duty tubular cromoly steel rack for extended touring and heavy loads.

On some bikes, you don't need to run two wires from the headlight to the taillight. Headlights and taillights can often get their ground connection through the frame. So often a single wire to the headlight and then to the taillight is all you need.

But there are some situations where you won't be able to do this. For instance, if you mount the headlight on the front fork crown with a steel mount, the ground link would have to pass through the headset to get to the taillight. With most headsets that's fine. But some headsets will not pass electrical current through them. Shimano cartridge bearing headsets, for instance, won't allow you to do this because the material used in the cartridges is an electrical insulator.

If you mount your headlight with either my custom handlebar mount or the R&M handlebar mount, it will not be grounded to the frame, and you will have to run a second wire. But that wire doesn't necessarily have to extend all the way to the dynamo. You could run a short wire to a metal part on the bike, like a brake bolt, and pick up ground from there. And some headlights and taillights won't connect via their mounts to ground, and must be used with dual strand wire. The Lumotec Fly Nd Lumotec IQ Fly are two such headlights, and the Toplight Flat Plus headlight also requires two leads to function.

Before placing your order, think about how you want to run the wires. If you have any doubts about whether the included wires will be sufficient, just ask. We'll figure it out together. It's best if you are near your bike when you call if you have questions about wiring.

Single strand wire, 185cm, no connectors on either end: $ 0.75

Single strand wire, 185cm, connector on one end: $ 1.50

Double strand wire, 185cm, connectors on one end: $ 3.50

Schmidt CoAxial Wiring

Our double and single strand wire is pretty good, and a good value if you're watching your pennies. But if you want the most durable wiring on your bike, you should use the Schmidt CoAxial wire for your taillight connection. It's the same wire they use for their E6 headlight.

Schmidt CoAxial wire with ground and power connectors at the headlight end, and spade connectors at the taillight end. 190cm length. This is a very rugged wire, the exact same wire Schmidt uses for their headlight to hub connection, which has proven to be very durable for many years of hard use. $ 12.00

Schmidt CoAxial 190cm wire, same as above but with bare ends at the taillight end. 3mm connectors are included, so you can cut the wire shorter if you like, or just use it on taillights which don't have spade connectors. $ 10.00

Schmidt CoAxial wire by the foot, no connectors. $ 0.85 per foot. You can use this to extend a headlight to hub wire, or any application needing a durable coaxial wire. If you want to wire a taillight on a tandem, this is your best option. And we have all of the connectors you might need separately.

And if you just need single strand wire, we have a long spool of wire that we can cut any length you might need from, and then you just need some connectors. Loose single strand wire costs $.25 per foot.

3mm connector for sidewall dynamo, headlight, or taillight: $ 0.25

Busch&Müller DIWA Plus system

The new Distance Warning, or DIWA system for hub dynamos from Busch&Müller senses when the bike slows down. When riding at night with your lights on, the taillight will glow brighter when you slow down, just like the brake lights on an automobile. In the daytime with the lights off, the taillight will come on just as a car's brake lights would. The DIWA headlight and taillight must be used as a system, though they are available separately for replacement in case of damage to one or the other. The headlight is otherwise identical to the Lumotec Oval Plus with standard Busch&Müller slider switch, and the taillight is otherwise identical to the DToplight Plus. There is no option for mounting the taillight on a fender, it's only for mounting on a rear rack. The headlight uses a 2.4 watt bulb.

Lumotec Oval DIWA Plus headlight: $ 91.00

DToplight DIWA Plus taillight: $ 67.00

Pricing

Dealers please call for wholesale hub and light prices: 603 478 0900
Taillights for rack mounting

DToplight Series have a single super bright LED in the center lens surrounded by a wide reflector.
DToplight Senso Multi, dynamo or battery powered, switches on by itself in the dark:	$ 40.00
DToplight DIWA Plus, dynamo powered only, Standlight capacitor keeps the light on for several minutes when you stop: Must be used with Lumotec Oval DIWA Plus headlight for the stoplight function to work. If you use it with any other headlight, it will work the same as the DToplight Plus.	$ 67.00
The DToplight XS and XS Plus function like the DToplight Plus series, but are styled differently. The clear center holds the LED which glows red.
Dtoplight XS Plus:	$ 35.00
Dtoplight XS Our one taillight without a standlight:	$ 22.00
Toplight Flat Plus (my simplest rack mounted taillight)	$ 21.00
The DToplight XS Permanent and DToplight XS Senso are both battery powered. They have two super bright LEDs in the center which glow a bright red when turned on. The Permanent has a two position switch; off and on. The Senso has a three position switch, Off, On and Senso. Senso automatically turns the light on when it's dark. The bike must be moving for the Senso function to turn on the lights. So they won't switch on while your bike is parked overnight.
Dtoplight XS Permanent:	$ 29.00
Dtoplight XS Senso:	$ 36.00

4DToplight series have two additional LEDs, one at each side of the reflector for increased visibility to the side.
4DToplight Senso, (battery powered, switches on by itself in the dark):	$ 40.00
4DToplight Senso Multi, (dynamo or battery powered, switches on by itself in the dark):	$ 44.00
4DToplight Permanent, (battery powered only):	$ 29.00

Accessory mounts for mounting the DToplight and 4DToplight series taillights on racks not equipped with the proper bracket.

Bracket for rack with single center hole	$ 3.25
Bracket for rack with no rear mounting hole	$ 4.50
Bracket for seat post binder bolt	$ 3.25

Taillights for fender mounting

Seculite Plus dynamo powered with Standlight:	$ 30.00
4D Lite Plus dynamo powered with Standlight	$ 36.00
Spanninga SPXb battery powered (2 AAA not included):	$ 30.00
The Seculite Plus can be mounted on a rear cantilever brake with the "Cross" bracket. The 4DLite and Spanninga are a bit heavier and may not be a good choice for the Cross bracket.	$ 4.25

Rear racks that accept all Dtoplight taillights without modification.

Tubus Cargo rear rack 700c with bracket for taillight:	$ 121.00
Tubus Cargo rear rack 26" with bracket for taillight:	$ 121.00

Ordering

Almost everything you need to know about pricing and ordering a lighting system can be found here. Remember to order wiring if you need it.

Headlights

Check out the great variety of headlights for use with dynamos.

Battery Powered Lights

Other battery powered taillights and headlights are available from Busch&Müller, Inoled and Cateye. These are great supplements or backups for the various dynamo powered lights shown here.

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This page updated: Saturday, February 16, 2008

Peter White Cycles
24 Hall Rd.
Hillsborough, NH 03244
USA
603 478 0900 Phone
603 478 0902 Phax

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt.asp