Re: lights on bikes. Dynamos and dynamo hubs thankfully remain constrained by physics, so they will remain interoperable with a number of brands for a long time.
I highly recommend anyone that uses a bicycle for any meaningful amount as part of their day-to-day routine to get a dynamo hub and a light. You will save your sanity with battery replacements.
I always have my battery powered lights on when I'm riding on the road, even in the middle of the day. I run a bright red rear light (not flashing 100-200 lumens depending on time of day) and a bright amber or white front light (120 lumen amber during daylight, 200-800 lumen white near sunrise/sunset or when dark). Car drivers are very unaware of their surroundings, any additional indication I can give them to pay attention to me and not hit me is worth it for me. I want my lights to look like drivers expect car lights to look, as that's what they're trained to look for.
Mmmm I'm not sure about that universally in cities at least. I have dynamo lights on one bike and I love them. BUT the wheels on a decent bike are already the single most expensive part and easiest to steal if you're sloppy about your locking. Dynamo hub + custom wheel build just doubled the value of what was already the most stealable component.
It definitely changes when and where I ride that bike in ways that don't always mesh well with the advantages of the dynamo. I still prefer it but if I didn't have a cheaper less desirable bike for some lockup situations I'm not sure I'd do it.
Not sure I agree. A basic dyno hub is not really that more expensive than a mid-level regular hub (the Shimano on my bike cost about $60 if memory serves), and you really have to have a trained eye to even spot it. They're also pretty rare, which makes recovery more likely in the event of theft. I guess mine never really stuck out at me as a theft target. And if you're in an area where that's really a risk, you probably want to be using something like PitLock anyways. The benefits of always having lights massively outweigh the downsides IMO.
Yeah most of the cost is in the wheel build. It's a couple hours of skilled work. I learned to do it myself but the last wheel I had built cost $150 for just spokes and labor.
A bike thief has a trained eye! Someone snagged a vintage campagnolo brake caliper off my bike a couple years back. People know what they're looking for.
I should check my privilege of living in a place with trivial bike thefts. I’ve gotten used to sticking my u-lock through the frame, bike rack and front wheel, but haven’t had it realistically challenged to know if it’s effective.
I highly recommend anyone that uses a bicycle for any meaningful amount as part of their day-to-day routine to get a dynamo hub and a light. You will save your sanity with battery replacements.