One thing that is always a pain in long and short tours is lights and keeping batteries charged. Heavier lithium batteries take time to charge up, so quick stops at diners and gas stations don't always work out.
A couple years ago, I got a Schmidt Son28 dynamo hub. This is the black/purple model. It's laced up to a DT Swiss rim that works with the direct-pull brakes on my cross-check and can also hook up a tubeless mountain tire. The hub has disc mounts, so it can pretty much be used for anything.
I mostly use this hub to power Supernova lights on the cross-check, which I use for riding to work. I also used it in Maine with my Frankenstein-like touring mountain bike. The overall bike setup worked, but wasn't super ideal for the conditions. The lights worked well, though.
The Supernova lights have large capacitors inside, which hold a charge for about five minutes or so. This allows the light to act as a stand-light in the scenarios when you're not moving but still need light at intersections. Or, when you're standing in the parking lot of said Comfort Inn with a blank stare on your face as you contemplate near-term sleeping arrangements.
The headlight is powered by alternating current but has output wires that shoot direct current to the Supernova taillights. Unfortunately, if you have a Supernova headlight, only their taillight will work with it. I think if you altered the outgoing voltage with some resistors or something you could do something messy to get it to light, but it probably wouldn't be reliable.
Lights are cool. But, other stuff is cool, too.
So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out a way to use the power to charge devices like my phone, iPod and Garmin. The first thing I came across was the Tout Terrain Plug II.
I nabbed this photo from Google. Whoever it belongs to is probably pissed off, because the Plug II doesn't work very well. The idea is to convert the dynamo power from alternating current to the five volt direct current that all our fancy devices need.
One of the single speeders I met down south, doing Trans North Georgia a few years ago, struggled like crazy trying to use this in Tour Divide last year. He hated it. I told him I buried mine in my backyard.
It's a super great idea. Clean. Well-integrated. The functionality just isn't there.
Busch & Müller has manufactured lights and electronics for bicycles for many many years. Their E-Werk has been the standard for converting dynamo alternating current. It's a little less-integrated, but it works. From Google:
The significant problem to overcome is needing a cache / buffer battery between the DC converter (E-Werk, Plug II) and the device to charge (iPhone).
So, you're riding your bike with your iPhone plugged into the E-Werk or Plug, and it starts charging...
...Charging, charging....charging...wind blowing in your face...charging...charging.... charging...rain...rain...rain...more wind...roadkill...charging...stop at an intersection...
...The phone lights up because the supply of power has stopped. Its battery starts burning up, because the backlight is on. You start riding again, and the phone starts charging (and again lights up).
And by the way, you've got a text from mom, so you may as well read it.
This back and forth charging doesn't work. So, the idea is to have a buffer battery that supplies a constant charge to the iPhone, and the dynamo will trickle charge the battery with its stop-and-go goodness.
This is a good idea. And, it works. Except, the Plug outputs a voltage that isn't compatible with most available batteries. I've tried a few and can't get any of them to work. This is why I buried it.
Busch & Müller recognized this as a problem, so they developed a super sweet light called the Luxos U. You basically hook this thing up to your dynamo, and you're set. It has a small lithium cache battery built inside, and it has a control button and USB port wired to it.
Not messy. Few wires. Bright light. I hooked this up to one of the silver Son28 hubs. This one's on my Fargo.
The whole Luxos U setup is super satisfying and works exactly how it's supposed to. I got one and my friends, Jason and Rob both got them for their touring bikes. In the DC run last fall, my Garmin was about 15% battery life after 20 hours. I plugged it in, and it took about an hour to get it back over 60%. Pretty quick. It'll charge a phone from 50% to full in about an hour.
Better answer that text from mom. She's probably worried about where I'm sleeping tonight.
