Quickie Velogical Review

[Matthew J]

Finally have my new commuter up and running.  Took it on some shake down rides over the weekend and rode to work this a.m.

Frame and front rack are custom.  Some on the RBW group may be interested in the Velogical dynamo I am using to power the head lights and tail lights.

The new frame has a dynamo braze on but you can buy the Velogical with bolt on mounts.  As this builder picture shows, the Velogical tucks neatly under the Honjo H-35 fenders.  There is a simple wire lever that either locks the dynamo on to the wheel or off. 

Lights are Lumotec EYC and Secula - you can see the latter in the linked picture.  Velogical instantly powered both.  Even at low speed the lighting is as bright as I could ever need in the city.  Engaged it makes a little noise - not enough to annoy me - coasting the TT White Industry freewheel is louder  I imagine there has to be drag, but nothing I notice.  It has been pretty wet here in Chicago the last few days (weeks really).  I deliberately rode through puddles.  Velogical did not seem to slip any.  I hope to take the bike on some short tours away from city lights soon.  Frankly the lighting appears bright enough that I do not expect any problems.

I have a SON hub on my tour bike and had one on my previous commuter.  They are definitely great power generators.  Velogical is somewhat less expensive, lighter, and allows use of whatever front hub you want.  Time will tell whether these little dynamos are durable.  At this point it definitely appears to be a viable alternative to generator hubs for some uses.

[hangtownmatt]

Matthew, 

Please keep us posted as you continue to use this device.  It sounds like a great alternative and I'm interested in hearing more real use experiences.

Matt

[Andrew Marchant-Shapiro]

They work well and are a nice alternative if you want to avoid modifying/dedicating a front wheel.  Nevertheless, keep in mind that there are a number of dynohubs that are per se less expensive, and only marginally more expensive if you build your own wheel.  Further, be aware that the Velogical unit, IME, puts out less than 3W.  Plenty for most LED systems, but it is less powerful than a dynohub.

[Matthew J]

>  Plenty for most LED systems, but it is less powerful than a dynohub.

Definitely worth repeating that my headlight and taillight are among the smallest dyno LEDs available.  

However, the amount of light the two generate given their size is pretty amazing.   Still, if I think I am going to be riding at night where is not a lot of street lighting and what not, I would probably hook up my usb DiNotte tail light to assist the Secula. 

[Ron Mc]

did you order from Germany?  google turns up "no shopping results" for velogical

[Matthew J]

Yes, ordered directly from Germany.  I recall but no longer have something in one of the communications from manufacturer that he is in the process of setting up a U.S. distributor.  Appears this has not happened yet.  

The process went surprisingly well.  The person who helped me seemed very internet and U.S. market savvy.

[Ron Mc]

mind if I ask the cost?  thanks again

[Mike Shaljian]

They cost about $150 plus ≈ $15 shipping, depending on the exchange rate. I bought one recently but have yet to set it up. If you email from the address listed on the webpage they respond very quickly.

[Matthew J]

I paid with Paypal that does not itemize.  Total payment in March this year came to $229.05.  (unless Velogical prices went up believe this would be a little lower now with stronger dollar).  That price includes some hardware the builder needed to braze on.  Someone buying with the bolt on hardware would not need those extras.  

[Jim Bronson]

With Rivendell selling the SP dynamo hubs for $110, that doesn't really make a lot of sense to me from an economic standpoint.  I guess though if you have to have absolute zero added drag when your lights are off, that would be one way to do it.  Or if the slight vibration of a dynamo hub drives you crazy, as it does with some people.

All practical considerations aside, it looks very nice.  I also like the look of your frame, is it stainless or titanium?

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Keep the metal side up and the rubber side down!

[Matthew J]

> With Rivendell selling the SP dynamo hubs for $110, that doesn't really make a lot of sense to me from an economic standpoint.  

As I say in my OP, my dedicated tour bike has a SON.  Certainly know and appreciate the value of a good dyno hub.  The Velogical is significantly less expensive than the SON.  So far it is proving to be a good alternative.

> All practical considerations aside, it looks very nice.

Yes, the Velogical is somewhat more expensive than Asian dynos, but it so far is proving to be a quality source of all the power I need for lighting my commute.  I guess I could have used the extra $75.00 for dinner and bad seats at the symphony, but the CSO nose bleed seats are pretty uncomfortable.  

> I also like the look of your frame, is it stainless or titanium?

KVA stainless.  Surprisingly light, yet with its low trail geometry easily managed an approx 20lb on the porteur rack last weekend.  Plan to keep finding heavier loads until I find its good handling limit.

[Mike Shaljian]

It does make sense if you are running more than one wheelset. My Jones can't use a dynohub so I didn't have a choice, but it's pretty sweet not having to invest in two dynohubs to run mountain and slick tires. There's also a not-insignificant weight savings to using a 70g bottle dynamo versus heavier dynohub options.

[Manos Carabassis]

Hello Matthew,

 Nice short review. Very significant that you also have a SON dynohub, so that you can actually
compare the Velogical against the "standard" one.
 I'm about to purchase a dynamo, the Velogical seems a nice solution.
My main concern is how drag evolves riding at higher speeds, contrary to dynohubs where output
voltage / power tend to stabilize above a speed on the Velogical speed / voltage and drag seem to
be in a linear relation resulting in rather high drag numbers above 20mph.
My question is if you've felt such a drag increase above 20mph.
Also comparing to the SON does the Velogical feel "heavier" at higher speeds ?
I guess the photo represents the actual Velogical dynamo, so you've got the "Trekking" edition.

[Peter White]

Keep in mind that while Velogical says that their dynamos are compatible with a variety of name brand lights, both Busch & Müller and Wilfried Schmidt do not guarantee that their lights are compatible with Velogical dynamos. Both companies have asked me to advise against using their lights with Velogical dynamos and to deny warrantee claims on damaged lights used with Velogical dynamos.

PJW

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Peter White

[Mat Grewe]

Hey Peter,

Out of curiosity, did B&M or Schmidt give a reason as to why their lights are not compatible with Velogical dynamos?  Or, has their stance changed in the last few years?

Thanks,

Mat

[Patrick Moore]

And apology if this was answered earlier, but do B&M and Schmidt lights actually work with the Velogical or not?

[Mat Grewe]

I apologize, I didn't mean to imply that the are not compatible, as I do not know myself!  Peter said they do not guarantee their lights are compatible.

[Patrick Moore]

I didn't read your comment that way, FWIW, but I am interested in hearing how well, or badly, they work with the Edeluxe and Ixon Premium and ilk.

And: If the Velogical does power a, say, Edeluxe, will it power the Edeluxe and a tail light?

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Auditis an me ludit amabilis insania?

[Jonathan Gutoff]

I have two Velogical generators, both ordered from directly from Germany. One over four year ago, another three. In both cases the customer service was really great. Both have been powering B&M Eycl front lights and  Toplight Plus rear lights without any problem in rain. There is some noise, which, obviously, means some energy loss, but not much. Perhaps because I'm not very sensitive, I can't notice any increased effort when the dynamo engaged.

[Patrick Moore]

Good to hear 2 positive reviews of the Velogical, particularly that it can fully power a real headlamp and a tail light even at slowish speeds, and that it does not slip when wet.

I now use hub dynamos on 3 of my 4 bikes, but it's good to know that the Velogical is a relatively inexpensive, lightweight alternative. I just may include a bracket on the next custom I am considering.

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[Peter White]

Please be aware that Busch & Müller, Wilfried Schmidt Maschinenbau, and Supernova all state that use of their lights with Velogical dynamos voids the warrantee on their lights.

Peter White

Peter White Cycles LLC

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Peter White

[peec...@yahoo.com]

I put a velogical on my Sam Hillborne for reason of preserving the wheel set and the occasional need for night time lights.  Glad I did that but my experience is some dimming of lights on inclines and some slippage in wet conditions.  No noticeable drag.  Overall the Velogical is an elegant example of German engineering.  I opted to void the warranty on the above mentioned lights but no concerns.  Tim