#BikeNite A2: The coolest thing about dynamos (or magnetos 😁) on cycles is that there's only one wire that goes from the dynamo to the light. You can't mess up the connections because there's only one.
Well, one wire for each light, so two if you have both headlight and taillight.
@bobjonkman @ascentale @DurableAce @bikenite
Not always true. Personally I cant see how single wire works.
My Son Delux, and Shutter Precision both have two wires and I think this is standard. But due ac current there is no fixed polarity so you don't need to wire lamps in a certain direction.
But you do wire in a circuit. My front light acts as a junction - two wires from dynamo plug in and light works, independently two wires protrude which are start and finish of circuit to rear lights
@MatthewNewell @bobjonkman @ascentale @DurableAce @bikenite it's meant to workthe same way single wire car power works: the body is the other wire.
It doesn't always work and selleng the system with two wires just makes it easier, they don't neet ti ask questions about frame matirial or instruct to ensure things are going through the paint.
@MatthewNewell @bobjonkman @ascentale @DurableAce @bikenite Your frame can be the second wire.
Be careful that the cable to front and rear lights are not connected incorrectly. You might get a short. Which doesn't hurt anything, but lights will simply not work. So, if the lights don't work, switch the wire connection on either side, front OR rear light (not both!).
@MatthewNewell There's also the extra complexity of headline and taillight. My Shutter Precision hub combined with B&M lights has a wiring setup where two wires go to the headlight, which has 4 connectors; you plug the two wires coming from the taillight into the headlight as well.
That said, it's not that difficult; but if you're concerned, I'd recommend having a bike shop do the installation. A reputable shop will also route the wires nicely.
@Andres4NY In the past I've had various issues with my own wire routing (for both dynamo lighting & ebike stuff). One example, I messed up a wire by putting it somewhere that rubbed against a sharp thing with each turn of the handlebars (it needed more slack). Brake/derailleur housing is partially designed designed to handle rubbing like this; electrical wiring is not. It wore through and broke. A good shop will know to avoid this.
@Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it @MatthewNewell@mastodon.social @bobjonkman@mastodon.sdf.org @ascentale@sfba.social @DurableAce@social.vivaldi.net @bikenite@fedigroups.social One thing that I'd recommend for non-trivial dynamo wiring is to use the Schmidt coaxial cable rather than the usual figure-of-8 'bell wire' stuff that most other manufacturers use. It's a pain to terminate, but the cable looks nicer on the bike, is more flexible and seems generally more robust.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/dynamos/schmidt-coaxial-cable-5m-roll-black-2-x-05-mm/
@kim @Andres4NY @bobjonkman @ascentale @DurableAce @bikenite
It's very much personal preference - it's a very expensive way of doing it.
I much prefer the simplicity, flexibility, and lack of cost of dual core and mini spade connectors.
Especially due to fact that water ingress into a coax connector causes a short whereas spade connectors are just single wires so you would need both to get simultaneous ingress and cross-connexion to short it out.
@MatthewNewell@mastodon.social @Andres4NY@social.ridetrans.it @bobjonkman@mastodon.sdf.org @ascentale@sfba.social @DurableAce@social.vivaldi.net @bikenite@fedigroups.social I don't think water ingress is a particular problem with this stuff, the spacer isn't porous. (It's originally designed to be a microphone cable, not for RF, so the internal insulator is just solid plastic, without any air spaces.) Also, since you'd wire it so the outer conductor is 'ground', the jacket wearing through and the outer conductor shorting on the bike frame shouldn't cause the lights to stop working; it's just another layer of protection for the inner, which itself is about as robust as one half of a bell-wire.
By far the biggest issue is that unless you're well practised with crimping/soldering/heat-shrink, it's easier to make a poor termination with coax and spade connectors (unless you fork out for the expensive pre-terminated cables).
(One thing I love about the Shimano and Shutter Precision dynamos is that you can re-terminate the 'lego brick' connector with nothing more than a pokey-thing and something to strip the wire. They're also more inclined to disconnect without damage when you forget to unplug before removing the wheel, compared to spade connectors. Less robust than the Schmidt approach, but really easy to repair.)
FWIW: I have bikes with both types of dynamo/wiring, and they've never given me problems. I've had a light that was faulty from new (replaced under warranty), and another one damaged in a crash, but the dynamos and wiring Just Work™. Meanwhile, I've had countless issues with battery lights, mostly involving poor quality brackets, water ingress (particularly on rear lights) or dodgy battery contacts.
All dynamos I've ever used have a single screw lug on the bottom, and the lights have a single wire to attach to the dynamo lug. The mounting brackets have pointy screws meant to penetrate the paint on the fork or stays to complete the electrical circuit through the frame.
Mind you, these are Dutch dynamos, probably from 30+ years ago.
Fun times routing the wires, usually spiraling them around the tubes.
@bobjonkman @ascentale @DurableAce @bikenite
Not sure those would work on my carbon forks.😄 I use dynamo hubs which I build into wheels - it's not at all easy or quick. However, once the initial time investment is made they are super-reliable and easy.
My frame has routing for gear cables and brake hoses inside to keep them clean so I route the cable from hub to front light inside the front fork with the discbrake hose. I route from the front light to the back lights with rear mech cable
Your bike is fancier than my bike 😁
I've built wheels, but never with a dynamo hub. Maybe a good winter project...