Price: $129.99
Hmmmm The “Maker” in me says To high of a price.
Lets see… I Know!
1: Bullet Headlight Taillight Bike Generator Set.
Comes with a 12v 6w Generator
Price: $46.95
1: USB 12v adapter (Maybe a car lighter adapter )
Price: $5.00
Some solder and wire and BAM!
I’m sure you could source the parts cheaper that was just a quick look with google
When I was young, I had a clunky, inefficient dynamo attached to my bike that powered the headlight when I pedaled. The Siva Atom works the same way
Not really a ringing endorsement…
That’s exactly the “clunky inefficient dynamo” from the OP. Those things are horrible. You could build it, but you wouldn’t use it if you could help it, because they’re such a pain in the butt.
I couldn’t help but read the first paragraph to the tune of “The Logical Song”
Got one through the Kickstarter and been riding around with it on my bike for the past few months. I detect no difference in the biking experience but then I’m old and slow anyway.
This plus my home-brew solar backpack (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/07/01/352476/-Dirty-F-ck-ng-Solar-Hippie-Backpack) make me a 21st century survival nomad, at least as far as electricity is concerned.
I made one of these:
http://makezine.com/projects/pedal-power-phone-charger/
It works, but I haven’t dared to try charging anything expensive.
Agreed, but one thing to consider is that their unit has a battery. That sidesteps a lot of waterproofing issues, since you don’t have to have a USB jack out in the rain and dust.
You could skip the battery and run a USB cable all the way to your phone, but that’s pretty messy and a bit dangerous, and your phone would probably start and stop charging constantly as the voltage swings, driving you nuts and possibly damaging your phone.
That said, their battery is pretty small (1650mAh), so if you did DIY something, you could use something like this one, which is much power. Mount that on your rack and be charging it at all times.
But in any case I’m super leery of those old style bicycle power generators and I’m all for some innovation there. Regenerative braking? Much higher output? Automatically disengaged when going uphill?
You can get 12V 6W out of a decent hub dynamo at speed, but a cheap bottle dynamo like that? No.
There was the Busch & Müller Dymotec S12, but it wasn’t cheap, and has been discontinued.
And the car lighter will be inefficient.
You’re almost certainly better off with a better quailty dynamo and something like http://www.kemo-electronic.de/en/House/Home/M172N-Bicycle-Power-Charge-Controller-USB.php
(The M172 is a bit cheaper than the M172N, but limited to 300mA rather than 500mA.)
For other commercial solutiions, see e.g. https://cyclingabout.com/list-of-hub-dynamo-power-supplies-for-usb-devices/
One option not listed there is http://www.dutchbikebits.com/axa-luxx-70-plus-headlight-with-usb
Bullet Headlight Taillight Bike Generator Set:
Bullet Headlight
Small Taillight
12v 6w Generator
I say again: you can get 12V 6W out of a decent hub dynamo at speed, but a cheap bottle dynamo like that? No.
Maybe you should have a word with the manufacture then.
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