Re: Batteryless bicycle lights, new kind dynamo

On Mon, 08 Aug 2005 13:23:42 -0700, Tim Wescott <tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Rene Tschaggelar wrote:
>
>> iwicom@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
>>
>>> No battery is needed. No friction on any parts of the bicycle. Based on
>>> a newly invented generator, this light system works regardless the
>>> bicycle's speed and weather conditions (not like normal dynamos!).
>>>
>>> our website: http://www.freelights.co.uk
>>
>>
>> Wow, we always wanted this kind of perpetum mobile.
>> ... It won't slow me down ...
>> ( Worldwide patents panding. )
>> Great. Can I order a 10MW machine ?
>>
>> Rene
>
>It's been ripped apart on this group before. The page does admit that
>it's not completely dragless, but shows quite a bit of ignorance about
>physics. If he's going from mechanical motion to LED's with fairly low
>loss he's doing well. If he's actually generating enough light to be
>seen then that's pretty good.
>
>I suspect that he _is_ getting more efficiency at low speeds with his
>tumbling magnet idea, and it's pretty easy to beat the usual
>wheel-on-the-tire arrangement. I doubt that it'd light up the road like
>a good generator (I've always wanted a Sturmy-Archer Dynohub).

There was an article in one of the mech.engineering mags (Eureka maybe) this month on a neat
product that fits inside the pedal, using a small generator and capacitor to provide lighting from
the rotation of the pedal shaft.
http://www.pedalite.com/


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