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!)  |
| Lumotec front light. Credit: Peter White Cycles |
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.
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:
 |
| All Breezer courtesy www.breezerbikes.com |
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
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.
MarinThis 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.
ElectraElectra 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 Options
·
Dutch/Danish and other Euro bikes
These are the real deal European style bikes sold by bike
shops like Adeline Adeline and Rolling
Orange in NY, Bicycle
Belle in Boston, JC Lind in Chicago, Dutch
Bike Co. in Seattle, Clever Cycles in Portland OR, and My Dutch
Bike in SF. These shops all sell bikes
with dynamo lighting or will adapt dynamo lighting to your bike. You can add
your favorite shop with dynamo bikes in the comments.
These shops sell bikes from several makers who have models
with dynamo lighting. The prices tend to range from $1000 to $3000 when you add
a few accessories! Some of those brands include: Brompton (UK), Gazelle (NL) Pashley (UK), Paper (UK), Pilen (SE), Retrovelo
(DE), Van
Moof (NL), Velorbis (DK), Workcycles
(NL)
· 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!
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 |
Overseas, yes, here in the US, no.
On their Dutch site… you can find:
·
Aero RS 0
 |
| Courtesy: Giant. |
I have read about Jamis' prior offering here, but their 2014 Commuter line does not come with a dynamo option.
Edwin Williamson
Nashville, Tennessee
6 comments:
Nice work Edwin. It's good to see a few versions under a $1000 with wide gearing.
Nice, comprehensive list!
Great post, LOVE Electra!
You mentioned Euro bikes. The German company Kettler makes a comprehensive line of city bikes with dynamo lighting. If you don't have a dealer nearby, you can buy factory-direct on Kettler's US website:
http://www.kettlerusa.com/bikes/city
I actually have a Kettler Berlin Royal on order right now---very excited!
Dennis, after your Kettler arrives and you've put some miles on it, let us know how you like it.
Only two commutes in on the Kettler Berlin Royal, but I wanted to share my first impressions.
This is an imposing bike--very handsome and very large, with prewar motorcycle styling and oversized wheels and tires. It gets lots of compliments.
It's like riding a magic carpet. You ride above traffic where you can see and be seen, and the balloon tires and sprung seat ensure that bumps are only seen, not felt. The city bars with leather ergo grips are ergonomically sound, eliminating the numb wrist I get on other bikes. Handling is stable and relaxing.
The LBS was impressed at how rugged and well-built this German-made bike is, but puzzled why it's equipped with Dutch valves that can't be filled by US compressor hoses. (Luckily, screw-on adapters seem to work.)
The Kettler is fully equipped with everything needed for commuting: front and rear lights (with standlight) powered by a dynamo hub (no batteries required!), chain guard, fenders, bell, oversize pedals, internally geared 8-speed hub, tires with reflector sidewalls, weatherproof roller brakes with enormous cooling fins, and coolest of all, a rack built into the bike itself (not some unsightly add-on rack) with matching pannier. Nothing to remember, nothing to bring, just hop on and go.
Now the downside. Despite its aluminum construction, this is a heavy bike (about 40 pounds). And the same features that make it a great commuter (from the IGH to the upright seating position) also add a lot of drag. So you'd expect low, city-friendly gearing...nope. I'd gladly trade its very tall 8th gear for a lower first gear to get up the nastier hills.
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