My concern about stuff like that is that it stops you thinking about what's going on around you and you will tend to rely on the gizmo rather than your own senses. Plus in heavy traffic it will be useless. Much like a lot of safety tech in cars - it's meant as a back up if you miss something or screw up but people end up relying on the tech. If it fails, or if it misses something, your screwed (or someone else is)
Lots of good evidence on in-car safety tech that it reduces peoples awareness of other road users. For this it's the sort of thing that a noob could buy and not develop the skills and senses needed to ride on the road safely. I'll stick with my 'sposure trace and traceR and keeping an eye manually on whats going on behind you.
You have to question why anyone would (a) produce such things (b) consider buying such things. The answer to both questions is truly beyond me
Just had a look at their site and all I can conclude it’s a marketing tool (ie the product). The rest of the pads are reasonably priced. I’ve not heard of the company before but running a limited edition pad for lots and lots of £££ has certainly given them a bit of attention this week. Bet they sell loads of their regular pads this week.
Who would buy the limited edition oads? Not me but I could think of them going on custom bikes that you see at the shows
As the climate crisis worsens, and late-stage capitalism hastens our rush towards fiery doom, you might be forgiven for thinking cold, wet rides are now a thing of the past.
However, should we manage to slow our descent into extinction, these shoes from Leatt may come in handy*:
Spotted at Eurobike by _owenwheels on Instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/p/Cf-z-tIsZDi/ ) . SON have a dynohub that supplies DC rather than AC. Which would eliminate the need for converters to charge USB devices, but presumably require lights that run on DC rather than AC.
No indication of when it'll come to market.
Screenshot 2022-07-20 at 16.06.40.png (561.26 KiB) Viewed 2494 times
but presumably require lights that run on DC rather than AC.
Shouldn't require new lights Jack.
EDIT: Just thinking about this - now, obviously the hub doesn't produce DC, it simply has an inbuilt reg/rec which makes me think 2 things. 1/ Is the hub a vulnerable spot for delicate electronics? 2/ It's something else to go wrong that can't be accessed / repaired / replaced by the user.
but presumably require lights that run on DC rather than AC.
Shouldn't require new lights Jack.
EDIT: Just thinking about this - now, obviously the hub doesn't produce DC, it simply has an inbuilt reg/rec which makes me think 2 things. 1/ Is the hub a vulnerable spot for delicate electronics? 2/ It's something else to go wrong that can't be accessed / repaired / replaced by the user.
I thought that dyno hubs produced DC already - thats why they are called dynamo hubs and not alternator hubs.... well there you go.
So maybe this one is a true dynamo ie. with a field coil? Alternators provide more power at low revs so not wholly convinced this is a good idea. If its an alternator with a built in reg/rectifier then I'm with Stu - a potential failure point that can't be got at without pulling the wheel apart. Mind car alternators are like that and they last for ages...
I thought that dyno hubs produced DC already - thats why they are called dynamo hubs and not alternator hubs....
No, they're AC Phil. It's one of those funny and wrongly named things - bit like when those dicks on Top Gear say 'and it produces 497 torques' ... like a 'torque' is some sort of measurement
If its an alternator with a built in reg/rectifier then I'm with Stu
Reading Jack's link then that's what it appears to be. To quote - 'this hub has converter inside as well as the dynamo parts'.
In general I’d agree with the concern that adding a built in converter to the hub is just another “black box” to go wrong. On the other hand SON stuff is well designed and well made. I don’t know another company that stands so squarely behind their products and has a lifetime commitment to keeping them in service.
On new lights or not, I take your word for it Stu, but I have observed that B&M sell the same model of light in both a dynamo version and an e-bike version. I’d assumed this is because you can’t switch them between AC (dynamo) and DC (e bike battery) power supplies.
I have observed that B&M sell the same model of light in both a dynamo version and an e-bike version. I’d assumed this is because you can’t switch them between AC (dynamo) and DC (e bike battery) power supplies.
Possibly to do with voltage Jack. Just like a normal bulb, an LED will run both DC and AC, just that you tend to get flickering until the waves speed up beyond what we can really see.