I finally installed my new SON last night, along with a Lumotec
Oval Senso Plus. A mere (!) ¤250 or so, including various delivery
charges, when rim, spokes, light etc were all taken into account
(and forgetting the other things I was tempted to order since I was
typing in the Visa number anyway...). Wheel building was fun
(thanks Sheldon), though the new wheel isn't quite as true as the
one it replaces (very impressed with the wheels on my Horizon, dead
true after c17,500 km).
Difficulties mounting the Lumotec: fork crown is too big to take
their bracket, and the brake-boss bracket promised all sorts of woe
(screwing up the brake tension, obstructing block adjustment and so
on).
Really impressed by the smoothness -- steps from no light to full
light at quite a low speed. No detectable drag.
I got a big kick from the Senso this morning -- it lit up as I
entered the covered car park, and this evening as I passed under
the shadier trees.
I've always been a dynamo advocate -- battery lights get forgotten,
go flat, fall off and smash, get stolen, are yet one more thing to
fiddle with at journey start and end. Dynamo lights are always
there, and with standlights stay there when you need them, and are
almost fuss free. Of the remaining failure points -- bulbs blowing,
connections getting tempremental, the bottle slipping -- the last
was the greatest pain and is eliminated. I'm enjoying the "new kit"
feeling at the moment, but am looking forward to just forgetting
its existence.
And much to my surprise it saves weight (about 120gm)! This is
largely due to buying a slightly lighter rim, but getting rid of
240gm of bottle dynamo put the balance in my favour (not that
weight is relevant with a bike like this, of course).
Thanks for all the advice!
Brendan
--
Brendan Halpin, Department of Sociology, University of Limerick, Ireland
Tel: w +353-61-213147 f +353-61-202569 h +353-61-338562; Room F2-025 x 3147
[email hidden] http://www.ul.ie/sociology/brendan.halpin.html