Cheap Generator Bike Lights Are The Bomb

6V SET GENERATOR LIGHT by Bravo Sports/Bike Access - More Bicycle Accessories at doitbest.com

I continue my allegiance to this type of light. The Union sets may be nicer and the Schmidt and Dymotec systems CERTAINLY are, but the Chinese made unit I installed over 2 years ago is still going strong.

Last night's ride from Girlfriend's apartment in Berkeley to my house in El Cerrito reminded me again of how much I love riding at night. The streets, even the main drags like San Pablo avenue, are quiet. I can smell the night blooming shrubberies. I can tell what kind of wood is burning in the cozy fireplaces of the early 20th century bungalows that line the streets of the North Berkeley and Albany flats. No raccoons last night, but I often see families of the "little water bears" trolling from one garbage can or backyard fruit tree to the next.

Every bike, if it is to be used for transportation, needs a light. And for me ("disposable" commuter bike, don't ride in the rain much), a cheap "bottle" generator works best.

Bicycle Generator Lights Redux

You may recall my enthusiasm for generator lights. After my last commuter bike, equipped with the Good Stuff (which was really the low end of the Good Stuff, the Dymotec 6 and a standard Lumotec; you can spend a LOT more than I did) was stolen, I said the hell with it, and went back to a clunker approach. I had my current favorite bike shop put Planet Bike Freddie Fenders and a low end generator set on the bike I got off Craig's List, and let it go at that. I was happy. Then the headlight died.

Lesson one: The Good Stuff really IS better. The beam pattern on this cheap set sucks, and it's much harder, and impossible without tools, to change the headlight bulb.

Lesson Two: Always, always, rig a ground wire. In theory, you can do without one, using your frame as the ground, but in practice, it's never worked for long for me. It may take a little inventiveness on the cheap sets to figure out HOW to attach the ground wire to the generator bracket, but do it. Some crimp on connectors, and a few minutes of head scratching should see you through.

Problem solved.