On behalf of his sister-in-law, Edwin searched far and wide for bicycles in the U.S. market that come standard with dynamo lights. We are grateful that he's chosen to share his research with us.
As a long time reader of Bikes for the Rest of Us, I
like practical bikes. Bikes that are good for most people, most of the time.
The kind that you can ride most places in most conditions. The kind where you
can go shopping for a week’s worth of groceries, commute to work and head out
at night. The kind of bike that, if you wanted, you could ride on a 30-mile
charity ride. Or adventure ride with your friends. The kind of bike that works during
the day and during the night, rain or shine, without modifications. Kind of
like the cars we drive.
The key features to this kind of bike are comfort, so
that you can ride it all day; fenders, so you don’t get wet; a rack or basket,
so you can carry your goods; and most importantly, lights, so you can see and
be seen.
After riding around
cities for the first 30 years of my life without a permanent lighting system on
my bikes, I was blown away when I finally made the investment in a dynamo hub a
few years ago. It has not changed my bike style or bike practices, as I always
biked most places most of the time; it just made it so much more dependable and
safer. Now I ride with my front and rear lights on all the time. I think it is
safer and I stand out whether biking alone or in a crowd. My front light is a
Busch and Muller Lumotec
IQ Premium Fly RT Senso Plus ( I hope this name is actually shorter in its
native German!)
The lower lights stay on all the time – day time
running lights! And the top light turns on at night for a more traditional head
light with a horizontal cutoff according to German lighting standards. (Yes,
they exist, and you can read about them and other light-nerd stuff here.)
My rear light is a
Busch and Muller Toplight Line Brake Plus.
 |
| Credit: Peter White Cycles. |
It has a great, steady rear light that brightens
when you brake!
I bought them both from the man who knows more about
bicycle lighting than anyone else in the U.S., Peter
White.
Enough about me. What inspired me to write this post
was looking for a good production bike for a friend. Actually, for my
sister-in-law, which is slightly more pressure than just for a friend. I was
thinking the best bike for her would be the kind of bike I described above,
that comes with fenders, racks, and dynamo lighting, so she could ride at night
without worrying about whether her batteries were charged or her lights had
been stolen off her bike last time she parked it for a few minutes outside.
So I started thinking about the options for a stock
bike, sold in the U.S., that fit these criteria. And here is what I found, with
a few notes on the specifications of each. I have ridden very few of these
bikes and so this is not a review, but more of a gathering of what is out
there. Let me know in the comments if there are others that you know about that
are not listed.
Breezer
These bikes are fairly widely distributed and can even be
found in two of our five bike shops here in Nashville. Models that come with a
Dynamo hub are:
o
Price: $1099
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano
DH 3N20-NT
§ Front Light: B&M Lumotec Lyt
§ Rear Light: B&M DToplight Plus with Standlight
o
Other: Comes in diamond frame and
step through. The rear hub is a NuVinci 360 Continuously Variable Planetary
gear system. In short: there are no gear “steps,” but a gradual change in
ratios.
Uptown 8
Uptown 8 LS
o
Price: MSRP $849
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano
DH 3N20-NT
§ Front Light: B&M Lumotec Lyt
§ Rear Light: B&M DToplight Plus with Standlight
o
Other: Rear hub is a Shimano Nexus
Revo-shift 8 speed internal hub. Comes in diamond frame and step through frame.
Uptown 5
Uptown 5 LS
o
Price: MSRP $789
o
Dynamo Notes:
§ Dynamo System: Shimano
DH 3N20-N
§ Front Light: Trelock Bike-I Uno LED
§ Rear Light: Trelock Trio Flat Standlight
o
Other: Rear hub is Shimano Nexus 5
speed. Comes in diamond frame and step through frame.
Beltway 11
o
Price: $2099
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano DH S501
§ Front Light: B&M Lumotec IQ Fly
§ Rear Light: B&M DToplight Plus with
Standlight
o
Other: Rear hub is Shimano Alfine 11,
a high quality internal gear hub with a wide range of gears.
Beltway 8
o
Price: MRP $1569
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano 3N30-QR
§ Front Light: B&M Lumotec Lyt
§ Rear Light: B&M DToplight Plus with Standlight
o
Other: Rear hub is Shimano Alfine 8,
a high quality internal gear hub with a moderate range.
Finesse
o
Price: MSRP : $1649
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: WH-S501-V-3D (Complete Wheel)
§ Front Light: B&M Lumotec IQ Fly
§ Rear Light B&M DToplight Plus with
Standlight
o
Other: Rear hub is Shimano Alfine 8
internal gear hub, disc brakes.
Greenway Elite
Greenway Elite ST
o
Price: $899
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano DH-3N30-QR
§ Front Light: Trelock Bike-I Uno LED
§ Rear Light: Trelock Trio Flat Standlight
o
Other: This is the one Breezer dynamo
offering with a derailer: 2x10 speed.
Novara
As
REI’s in house brand of bicycles, Novara has tried several different bicycles
with dynamo hubs, including the Transfer, featured on this site. Other models included the Fusion, also featured
here. Sadly, they are both discontinued. The current
line up seems to include one bike with dynamo powered lights, the Gotham.
Gotham
 |
| Photo courtesy of REI. |
·
Price: MSRP $1399
·
Dynamo Notes
·
Dynamo System: Joytech Dynamo hub
·
Front Light: specifications
unavailable (looks like a handlebar mounted spotlight)
·
Rear Light: specifications unavailable
·
Other: Nuvinci N360 continuously
variable transmission like the Breezer Uptown Infinity, but driven with a Gates
carbon drive.
Marin
This company has turned out a lot of
practical city bikes, commonly called “hybrids.” Not many have had dynamo
lighting, but they have one out now.
Fairfax SC6
 |
| Photo courtesy Marin. |
·
Price: Roughly $2000, MSRP not listed
on site
·
Dynamo Notes
·
Dynamo System: Shimano Alfine Dynamo
·
Front Light: Super Nova E3 Pro
·
Rear Light: unknown
·
Other: Shimano Alfine 11 rear hub.
Electra
Electra is famous for its comfort
bikes, Cali-style and their Dutch style Amsterdam models, some of which have
dynamo hubs.
Amsterdam 8i
 |
| Photos courtesy Electra Bikes. |
o
Price: $1200
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano Nexus
§ Front Light: Spanninga, unknown model
§ Rear Light: Spanninga, unknown model
o
Other: Shimano Nexus 8 speed rear
hub, wheel guards, cutesy colors.
Fashion 3i
o
Price: $899
o
Dynamo Notes
§ Dynamo System: Shimano Nexus Roller
§ Front Light: Spanninga, unknown model
§ Rear Light: Spanninga, unknown model
Other: Shimano Nexus 3 speed rear hub, wheel guards, cutesy colors.
Other Options
·
Dutch/Danish and other Euro bikes
· The big guys:
They don’t
offer anything here in the US, though they have tried in the past. I never know
if they drop these attempts because the public won’t buy them, or if they do
not know how to sell them!
Specialized: This big bike company had a few
dynamo versions of the high end commuter bike called The Source over the last
few years. They
also used to make a dynamo powered version of one of their Globe bikes. They
don’t anymore. On
their Dutch site they still have several Source models with dynamos.
Trek
used to make a cute bike called the Belleville that came in diamond frame or
mixte with dynamo lights, fenders, with front and rear racks. A true bike for
the rest of us. And it was featured here.
On
their Dutch site, Trek has several bikes with dynamo lighting like this one:
 |
| Courtesy Trek Bicycle Products |
Cannondale
I don't think they ever had one in
the US, but on their Dutch site, you can find:
The Tesoro 3!
 |
| Courtesy: Cannondale |
Giant
Overseas,
yes, here in the US, no.
On their Dutch site… you can find:
·
Aero RS 0
 |
| Courtesy: Giant. |
Jamis
I have read about Jamis' prior offering here, but
their 2014 Commuter line does not come with a dynamo option.
Edwin Williamson
Nashville, Tennessee
