Dynamo Lighting 101

by Aaron Enchin

Quality lights are an essential piece of safety gear for any city cyclist, keeping you visible to cars and other road users.  While there are loads of options for battery and USB rechargeable lights, they do require active maintenance. You have to stay on top of battery changes or recharging (nobody wants to be caught in the dark with a dead light!), and many of these lights can be easily removed (ahem, stolen) from your bike unless you take them with you every time you lock up.

This is where dynamo systems come in - a permanent, pedal-powered lighting upgrade that more and more riders are finding to be the best and most convenient way to stay safe and light your way.

What are dynamo lights? 

Dynamo bike lights are hard-wired to a generator that lives on your bike. While this tech has been around for decades (some of you may remember “bottle generators” that would drag along your rim or tire - see image below*), modern systems replace your front wheel’s hub with a generator hub. All you need to do is ride, and your front wheel powers both the front and rear lights! Modern dynamo lights have built-in capacitors, so they’ll stay powered on for a few minutes if you’re stopped, like at a red light.


*Picture of an original "Bottle Generator"


Why dynamo?

Dynamos are an amazing upgrade for city bikes, commuters, hybrids and beyond - here’s some reasons why we love them:

  • Anti-theft - Dynamo lights are permanently mounted to your bike and can’t be quickly removed. Say goodbye to having to remove your lights anytime you park outside!

  • Convenience - No more remembering to recharge your light or replace batteries. Because these are wired straight to your bike, they will always be powered, and you can even leave them always-on so you don’t even need to remember to turn them on or off!

  • Amazing visibility: Dynamo lights are typically very bright with a wide-spread light to illuminate the road in front of you.  No more sneaky potholes jarring you on a night-time ride!

  • Efficient, stylish and powerful! - Energy efficient by design, and with loads of lighting options available, you can get lights that are super powerful and match your style.

How to convert your bike to dynamo

You’ll need a dynamo front wheel (you can rebuild your existing rim with a dynamo hub - we love the ones from SON and SP Dynamo), dynamo-compatible front and rear lights (check out models from Busch & Muller, SON, Spanninga, or Supernova) and some cabling and connectors to put it all together. Be aware that while e-bike lights and cables look similar, they are not usually compatible with dynamo! 

We know there are a lot of moving pieces to this job, that’s why we always recommend our qualified mechanics and sales team to help you with the process. Once you make the dynamo conversion, all you’ll have is brightly lit paths ahead of you!

Look through our full collection of Dynamo Lighting options.


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