# Edelux vs. The World



## Lugano (Jan 16, 2011)

For the dynamo fans out there...

I am considering a light upgrade for the winter riding season. Based on my searches, the Schmidt Edelux seems to produce the highest number of Lux. I guess this is Lumens over a specific area and is a bit hard to imagine. But that is what I am reading. I guess it uses the same optics as the Busch & Müller CYO but with possibly a higher level of polishing of the lens and of the reflector. My reading seems to indicate that the Schmidt Edelux is probably the best dynamo light on the market. I'd love to have a confirmation of this or a good discussion on realistic alternatives.

I'd love to hear from anyone who has actual experience with the Edelux and possibly others to make a comparison.

I currently use a Supernova E3 Triple and while it is expensive and reasonable, my buddy's B&M CYO seems to make a more usable pattern with more useable light in a box pattern projected ahead of the bike. To be honest, I am underwhelmed by the Supernova and some of the comparisons I've read seem to confirm my suspicions.

I've done some searching and there's very little dynamo information in this forum. Mostly battery lights and that's good. I use those too. But last night's ride came down to some timing of the end of the life of the battery and I'd like to be able to avoid that.

The _Never Say Die_ lighting of the dynamo is hard to beat, even if the total output is less than a battery light.


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## irrah (Dec 18, 2008)

Lugano said:


> For the dynamo fans out there...
> My reading seems to indicate that the Schmidt Edelux is probably the best dynamo light on the market.


At the moment, but Bumm Luxos will soon be in stores..


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## Lugano (Jan 16, 2011)

irrah said:


> At the moment, but Bumm Luxos will soon be in stores..


Thanks for pointing this out! I also just noticed it and see that it's not yet out. I will wait. This looks like a possible real improvement.

I can hold out! :thumbsup:


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## znomit (Dec 27, 2007)

Yeah, I'm pretty keen on one too!


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## robdeanhove (Dec 8, 2005)

I too bought a Supernova E3 triple and sold it pretty quickly having been thoroughly underwhelmed also. A long journey through DIY later and I have concluded that the best & brightest dynamo light out there, capable of being raced in a MTB race at night (I did this!) is the Exposure Lights Revo dynamo light. The K-Lite product is the the only light out there that is comparable with proper off road technical brightness and supporting standlight. I was coming from using an Exposure 6-Pack, normally run on the mid setting to get a decent burn time, so I had high expoectations from my battery light benchmark. They're both quite different products, I have tried bith and you won't be disappointed with either, so take your choice!

Exposure Revo all in one approack









K-Lite Dynamo tiny head unit and separate driver & bolt on accessories


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## Old School Ride (May 22, 2015)

I have been using a Hermans H-one-s and finding that it worked quite well, but in reading about the broader and brighter beams of the Edelux and Luxos, and hearing Jan Heine (and others) rave about the Schmidt, I thought I'd give it a try. Out of the box, it was nice- light and shiny, quite attractive. There is only one lead to the rear light, the second lead is grounded to the housing of the light, via the light mounting bolt. Seemed a bit primitive to me as well as being subject to corrosion and oxidation. The lead wire was just barely long enough and not long enough to lay it neatly along the rack rails and forks. This was just stingy- for $180, put and 'effn longer cable on the light! I thought that I'd hooked it up improperly b/c when I spun the wheel, nothing happened. Turns out that there is a lag before the light engages. It didn't seem to be a problem while riding. The Hermans lights up with the subtlest of wheel spins. The standlight is the best of any light I've encountered- much brighter than the others, but the Hermans lasts, albeit dimly, for HOURS. I don't really have a great need for a standlight, so this is a feature that I'm not excited about. Besides, if the wheel is rotating at all with the Hermans, it lights up. On the road it felt evenly lighted or evenly dim, but with a few hot spots, notably a distracting artifact in the leading edge of the beam. The beam itself is quite wide, and like and automotive low beam, it is a squished cone. I could see road signs at a distance, but could not read them. When I got close enough to read the sign, the top part of the beam was well below the sign, which was supremely annoying- made me feel like I should have a headlamp as well. I wanted to test the mettle of this light, so I descended a steep hill at a high rate of speed. I found myself striking bumps and potholes that I might otherwise miss in the daytime. Curves were just frightening at speed because the flattened cone of light gets turned 35-40 degrees and suddenly becomes like a pen light. I found this just unacceptable and a shitty tradeoff. I realize that with 3w, there's only so much that can be done, but it feels like the light is spread too thinly instead of in a focused area where it would be most useful- out in front where a rider can adjust to the terrain and point the bike to where it needs to go. I'll try the same ride with my other lights soon to see if my impressions are skewed and my memory of the performance of the other lights was incorrect.


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