Friction Free Generator Lights

[Nirmala]

Interesting concept: a generator and bike lights that cause no extra drag on the wheel:
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...-powerful-friction-free-bikelight/description

 

[MLB]

it's always been an intersting concept, but just that as i understand it. The amount of energy being very small, the light output would be as well. The only way it's feasible is with the advance of LED and getting usable light from such small amounts of power.

On a side note, if you haven't experienced LED's in your home, you really should. They are SO much nicer than the fluorescent bulbs of old, much brighter per a given wattage comparison and the light is much whiter. The prices have come down a lot in the last 6 months. Really a great advance. If we can get everyone switched over they can make a significant difference in our electric usage and help prolong the life and capacity of our aging grid infrastructure. To say nothing of the reduced pollution from extracting the energy from fossil fuels.

 

[Nirmala]

Yes, LED bulbs for the home are great. We have them in almost every lamp.

 

[Cameron Newland]

Cool, interesting design!

I still think that even though there is no physical friction, this will rob you of a few watts. Aerodynamic drag will rob you of the most power, but the harvesting of kinetic energy using magnets will still exert an effect on the wheel – you cannot generate energy with magnets without the magnets also exerting an equal slowing effect upon the spinning aluminum rim.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy

The bigger problem with this product, though, is that it'll get stolen off your bike super quick when parked. Not that other lights are much safer, but if you have an integrated light that's drawing from your main battery, it's harder to steal since it's wired in (granted, that cable can be cut very easily).

 

[Nirmala]

Cool, interesting design!

I still think that even though there is no physical friction, this will rob you of a few watts. Aerodynamic drag will rob you of the most power, but the harvesting of kinetic energy using magnets will still exert an effect on the wheel – you cannot generate energy with magnets without the magnets also exerting an equal slowing effect upon the spinning aluminum rim.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservation_of_energy

The bigger problem with this product, though, is that it'll get stolen off your bike super quick when parked. Not that other lights are much safer, but if you have an integrated light that's drawing from your main battery, it's harder to steal since it's wired in (granted, that cable can be cut very easily).

Good points. The laws of physics do still apply And so do the probabilities of bicycle theft

 

[one4torque]

The name is misleading. There is no free lunch with energy.

 

[KCvale]

The name is misleading. There is no free lunch with energy.

There is if you know how to use it.
Use a generator as a brake.

Turn than momentum energy back into electricity to recharge the batteries that provided it.

Sure there are big losses but provided you draw as much as you can to slow down you may not have to worry about brake very often as all that power is not dissipated to friction heat.

 

[rick-n-ns]

The name is misleading. There is no free lunch with energy.

Agreed, and the point of it only puts out a watt or 2, AND needs a battery "back-up" I do not see the point. Throw away batteries are quite cheap, in fact I'd rather an E-bike have a battery light system than intragrated, simply because it means less wires, and because LED lights are so efficient, that a cheap throw away battery will last a long, long time

 

[WelshBazinNZ]

here's a link to another type of frictionless dynamo light that also came through kick starter and is now an up and running full blown product. I haven't tried them myself but they seem to be pretty smart. I might treat myself sometime but unfortuantely they will have to go to the bottom of long list of less exciting but more necessary purchases

http://www.magniclight.com/index.php/en/