My 10yo asked for a bike light and I was trying to explain these to him. Surprisingly still made.

They work even better with low current LED lights these days. You get a nice bright light at low speeds and don't need as much friction which cuts back on tire wear.

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Chicago_Blitz@reddit

I had one of these and a speedometer on my Schwinn Hurricane 5. They both really slowed me down but I thought I was cool.

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Dino_Spaceman@reddit

I remember how my dad added one, but it added so much friction to the bike that it was significantly harder to pedal so I asked him to just remove it.

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It was great that they didn't need batteries but you had to pedal notacibly harder so they must've been pretty inefficient and bike lights would stop working all the time with corroded contacts, bad wiring and bulbs burning out.

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boatoke@reddit

Shew thanks for the memory to simpler times. Although this was quite a technological advancement for those years.

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Wynnstan@reddit

I had a dynamo on my old bicycle. It also had a redback hiding under the seat. I was lucky not to be bitten.

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HowsMyBuddy@reddit

I had a black widow under a seat or two. They’d rather hang out under the seat than climb up and start chaos.

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Blizzardof1991@reddit

Wut

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gruuvey@reddit

A redback is a kind of spider.

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Friendly-Advantage79@reddit

Tell me you're from Australia without telling me...😂

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JEBariffic@reddit

Forgot about these! 😎 If I put one on my electric bike to charge the battery… 🤔

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HowsMyBuddy@reddit

They only had generators, no battery. Faster speed, brighter light, but no energy was stored.

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Rough-Patience-2435@reddit

Wile E Coyote perpetual motion machine.

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Aware_Impression_736@reddit

I had a generator light. Best accessory ever.

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xenomachina@reddit

My kids and I watched the movie The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind a few years ago, and one of these bike lights is actually important to the story.

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ent_idled@reddit

Very good movie, definitely worth a watch.

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No-Tap6886@reddit

I have the original one on my 76 Schwinn Varsity

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Strict-Effect6837@reddit

Yeah, I had one of those too on my 10 speed but you had to keep moving for it to work

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Silent-Jester@reddit

Hahaha I haven't seen one of those in years. Forgot all about them

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Mistervimes65@reddit

Those were a brilliant piece of technology. Generating your own energy.

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SignificantTransient@reddit

Except they slowed you down a fair bit.

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DefaultMode@reddit

Really? You must have had an old crusty one. Mine had almost no effect.

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lucrat@reddit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaKjmxb7Qlc

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ReturnOfNogginboink@reddit

Came to the thread for this clip.

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sineofthetimes@reddit

Knew what this was before I clicked the link.

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redbeard914@reddit

With LED lights, they will not need as much juice as today. But then, everything is rechargeable Li-Ion and brighter. With flashers to draw attention to us.

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dtoddh@reddit

I think this is awesome, and I strongly encourage you to do anything you can to keep your child on a bike. But you can find crazy powerful lights that charge on USB for $10 or less, some come with bike mounts. I use AMZ, any other big retailer will have these.

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ImMadeOfClay@reddit

Ah, the Slower-Downer 3000

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CawlinAlcarz@reddit

I had one of those growing up on my Sears 10-speed. They're still around because they're pretty solid and reliable, if low tech.

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darktideDay1@reddit

Those were cool. A little dim but with LEDs I bet the new ones are great. The one in the pic is mounted too high. Needs to be on the sidewall.

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ExternalSort8777@reddit

The one in the pic is mounted too high. Needs to be on the sidewall.

It doesn't appear to be engaged. Flipped down the driving wheel/power take-off (whatever you'd call that) at the top of the rotor might make contact with the tire in spot that you like better.

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darktideDay1@reddit

The one I had sort of flipped outwards away from the wheel. It didn't change position, just moved a little bit. I guess I am just really suspicious of AI pics.

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baconcheeseburgarian@reddit

You're one birthday away from him asking for a carbon fiber frame and spinners.

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Chad_Hooper@reddit

I had one of these on my bike at Burning Man 2007. I also had a handheld flashlight that was “squeeze to charge”, like a similar generator with lower torque.

The handheld flashlight was far more practical on the Playa in the dark than the one on the bike.

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Spear_Ritual@reddit

Batteries and an LED light are superior. But not nearly as character building.

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OIL_99@reddit

Pedal fast for high beams

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shotsallover@reddit

I had one of these. And aside from how much it sucked to get going, it screamed like a banshee once you got up to speed with it.

It would seem that the new LED lights these would warrant a smaller dynamo that's easier to get spinning.

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CautiousBearnz@reddit

We had a hill near us that we would cycle up with the generator not touching the wheel. Once at the top we would hot the button to engage it and then cycle like mad men down the hill. That light used to light up like a flood light, it was crazy fun

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Vprbite@reddit

Damn I miss these memories

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nadiaco@reddit

I had one and it sucked. Had to peddle fast and hard for it to work.

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Edward_the_Dog@reddit

And it never maintained sufficient contact with the tire.

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evilJaze@reddit

My tiny legs were so weak, it basically stopped me in my tracks when I flipped it on.

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Viper640@reddit (OP)

That is my memory too. Had to keep going fast for it stay lit.

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Boring-Ad9170@reddit

O.G. rechargeable

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Viper640@reddit (OP)

Powered by frosted flakes and push-up pops

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Boring-Ad9170@reddit

*Lucky Charms. My tongue is still bright pink.

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sydbarrett@reddit

https://i.redd.it/ab4e53sq7z2h1.gif

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samrebel@reddit

The first thing I thought of

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SFToddSouthside@reddit

I always wanted one, but growing up poor white trash said otherwise. My mother bought me a battery light, but that costs money for batteries.

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tilt-a-whirly-gig@reddit

Being poor is expensive af.

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SFToddSouthside@reddit

Ain't that the fucking truth.

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AbsoluteyStoned@reddit

Had to peddle like a mf'er down the dark street to get mine to work so i could see.

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quackman2025@reddit

I had one of these 😁

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Appropriate_Half4767@reddit

Me too, my Grandfather had these attached to his bicycles when I was a child in the 80's.

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BasketFair3378@reddit

My wife got stopped by the cops for no working lights before sunrise (on her way to work at the bakery) and had to explain to the cop that the lights only work when the bike is moving!

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Small-Palpitation310@reddit

Playing card duct taped in there was the best I had.

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bike619@reddit

Not as well made though…

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flagrantstickfoul@reddit

Cutting edge technology!!

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lelanicarver@reddit

I’m partial to Reelight - installed them on two of my bikes. A powerful battery light is brighter, but a generator light will get you home if the battery light runs out. Many years ago I had one of the tire generators, too.

https://reelight.com/en-us/products/nova?srsltid=AfmBOoqC7Kh_ynLI_7RHUp3SfX8Rpizx2bQ9p-XCjRBdbxR3Mc3F4Wss

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Electrical_Lake3424@reddit

If this sparks some interest in how electricity works, "The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind", about William Kamkwamba, might be worth checking out-- a true story, where one of these mini-dynamos plays an important role!