Schmidt light ordering
 
 

Schmidt System Ordering

How to Order

You'll need to decide whether you're getting a built wheel by me or just the hub. Then you'll need to decide what headlight and taillight you'll be using and whether or not you'll be using a GPS or mobile phone charger in the system.

All current LED headlights can be used with or without a taillight. All of the latest headlight designs use an LED as the light source. All of the older headlights that use a halogen bulb require that you use one type of bulb if a taillight is connected, and another type if no taillight is connected. I sell dynamo powered taillights from Busch & Müller, Schmidt, and Supernova.

All headlights have circuitry to protect the LED from blowing out when the hub is spinning fast on a downhill. The newer LED headlights have wider and brighter beams than the older halogen headlights, so there's no need to run two headlights aimed side by side if you want a wide beam of light on the road. We used to do that years ago, but no longer.

Next, you need to decide where to mount the headlight. The ideal mounting location for a headlight is directly over the front wheel at the fork crown. For each headlight, there is a bracket for mounting on forks with caliper or sidepull brakes, and a different bracket for mounting on forks with cantilever or "V" brakes. Any fork crown mount is fine with disc brakes. It's important to use a mount that's designed for a particular headlight. Some headlights are physically taller than others, and so their mount can be short and still have the beam high enough to not be blocked by the tire or fender. But if you combine a short headlight with a short mount, part of your beam can be blocked. Most lights can also be mounted on your handlebar with one of several handlebar mounts we sell.

We have taillights available in different form factors for different mounting positions on the bike. Decide the best location for a taillight and most likely we'll have a suitable model for you.

I used to recommend mounting on the side of the fork with older halogen headlights, all of which had narrow beams. This made sense if the light couldn't be mounted on the fork crown or the handlebar if you had a large handlebar bag in the way. But modern headlights have very wide beams which would be blocked by the tire, so now I advise getting rid of the handlebar bag and putting the light at the fork crown.

Make sure you tell us where you plan to mount the headlight. That way we can be sure to give you a long enough wire to the dynamo.

Almost all headlights for use with hub dynamos all come with a wire to the dynamo, and a built-in switch. Unless we tell you the headlight has no switch, you can safely assume that it does have a switch. The switch controls power to the taillight also. Busch & Müller headlights all come with a 70cm long wire attached to the light, and bare ends to the wire. If you will be using these headlights with a SON dynohub, you will need either the 4.8mm female connectors attached to the wire, or a co-axial connector. It's best to have us attach the connectors for you. For handlebar mounting you'll need to splice in extra wire. I have a special crimping tool for 4.88 connectors that makes a more secure connection than you can make at home. For that reason, if we know that you'll be using a B&M headlight you're buying with a SON hub, we will connect the 4.8mm connectors to the wire for you. We don't charge for this. We do charge for soldering the co-axial connectors should you choose to use them.

And if you will be using these lights with a different hub such as one of the Shimano or Panasonic dynohubs, you'll use the plastic connector that comes with the hub. If you've lost it we sell replacements for both types.

Spare Bulbs

Spare bulbs for the halogen headlights are not readily available at electronic supply shops. As far as I can tell, there is no other use here in the USA for the type of bulb used in the older Lumotecs or Schmidt E6 headlights we used to sell. So, while they are quite common in Europe, they are still only available in those bike shops that carry these lights. We still keep these bulbs in stock for people with older halogen headlights.

The halogen bulbs used tend to get dim before they finally blow out. This is due to microscopic bits of the filament burning off and coating the inside surface of the bulb. So if you find your system isn't as bright as when it was new, just put in a new bulb. You should be pleasantly surprised at the difference. This doesn't happen with the LED headlights.

My page with all the beam images is here. See this article for an explanation of why you might prefer one type of headlight over another type.

Wheels

I have a huge assortment of rims in stock. Rim prices range from $30 to over $100. The labor charge for building a 32 or 36 spoke wheel is $ 0.00 . We have Wheelsmith DB-14 stainless spokes in regular stainless finish as well as black plating with plated brass nipples. We have Wheelsmith XL14 spokes in stainless finish. And we have their DH13 spokes.

As of February 2021, Wheelsmith spokes are no longer being produced, so as we sell out, that's it.

I also stock a wide selection of Sapim spokes, including Laser, D-Light, Race, Force and CX-Ray. We have these in both stainless finish and black plating.

We have a Phil Wood spoke cutting and thread rolling machine so we either have the proper length spoke for your wheel already on the shelf, or we can cut spokes to the length needed and roll a precise thread for the nipple.

We have aluminum nipples in silver and black, but I don't recommend them for most riders as they are easily damaged. I prefer to use brass nipples, and we have them in short and long lengths, both silver and black finish.

I build matching rear wheels with Shimano, Campagnolo, White Industries, Velocity, Chris King, Phil Wood and Rohloff hubs.

See my Velocity rim page for many rim details. A Mavic rim page is in the works. Rest assured I stock most Mavic rims.

I stock a huge range of rims in various diameters. From large to small I have 27", 700c, 650b, 650c, 559/26", 451/20", 406/20", 349/16", 305/16". So no matter what size wheel you need, I can build you a wheel with a SON hub, and a rear wheel to go with it if needed.

Please call for wheel pricing: 603 478 0900

 

Headlights

Check out the great variety of Busch & Müller headlights for use with the SON.

See here for Wilfried Schmidt's headlights.

Click here for Supernova headlights.

And here for Spanninga headlights.


Taillights

For a detailed description of compatible taillights, see my page on taillights.


Mounting Lights

Some folks choose to make their own brackets for mounting the headlight. I have many different brackets available for either fork crown mounting, or handlebar mounting. Some headlight housings are taller than others. So the taller headlights use shorter mounts. The lens must be high enough above the front tire and fender so that the beam isn't blocked.

Click here for my page on "Mounting Lights".


Connecting Dynamo Lights

Most headlights and taillights use similar connectors. The exceptions are the Supernova headlights and taillights. The Busch & Müller taillights and headlights use metric spade connectors, male at the light, and female for the wire. The connectors at the lights are the 2.8mm size, not at all common here in the USA, but I stock them by the thousand, and it's very rare that we run out. The two connectors at the Schmidt SON hub are male 4.8mm metric spade connectors, and all of our headlights can be ordered with the correct female 4.8mm connector already attached.

A co-axial connector is now available for the SON hubs. Please see this page "Schmidt Headlights" for details.

Shimano and Sanyo dynamo hubs use their own proprietary plastic connectors. We sell spares of these as well.

We have a variety of taillights wires already made with various connectors attached, and we can make any length you want with our heavy duty Co-Axial wire, with the appropriate connectors attached and shrink tubing protected.

Be aware that the housings for most Busch & Müller headlights are made for both sidewall dynamos and hub dynamos. A sidewall dynamo acts as its own on/off switch, so the headlight doesn't need a switch. The housing will have two pairs of connectors, one pair to connect to the sidewall dynamo, and the other pair to connect to a taillight. When they build the headlight for use with a hub dynamo, they add a switch plus a dual strand wire to the hub, and leave all of those external connectors intact. You will use one pair of connectors to run wire to the taillight, but the remaining pair of connectors won't be used, as they also add hard wiring for the hub connection, which is internally routed to the external on/off switch. So when you use a B&M headlight with a hub dynamo, you'll be left with an extra set of connectors. Just remember that this is normal, it's by design, and nothing to worry about. And there's no need to cover up those connectors. Just ignore them. Lastly, it makes no difference which pair of connectors you use for the taillight, provided you use one power and one ground, not two power or two ground, obviously. Check for the markings in relief on the headlight housing. The lightning bolt indicates "power."

Click here for my "Wiring Instructions" page.


Where Can I Buy One?

You can buy one from us. Just call (603) 478-0900 to place an order.

You can also order through many local bike shops in the USA and Canada. See below.

Shop List by State/Province

Click here for a list of shops selling Busch & Müller, Schmidt, Pitlock, Spanninga and Supernova.

 


 

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It's best to call before 4PM Eastern time since after that we're either running around like headless chickens or at home ready to jump into the pot.

Please don't place an order without first reading this.

This page updated: Saturday, September 22, 2018

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