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save resources with a dynamo on your bike

Save resources with a dynamo on your bike

Posted on March 16, 2020July 6, 2023

Using your bike instead of your car, it’s something people try to do when they want to live more sustainable. It’s a direct win, no oil or gas needs to be used and so, less climate change and pollution. But today there’s another part of your bike ride that I’d like to discuss: your lights. Because there’s even more you can save than oil or gas: batteries! By generating the energy yourself with a dynamo. You can save resources with a dynamo on your bike.

Old Bikes

The most sustainable choice you can make is to not buy any new stuff. And so, chances are great that you have an older secondhand bike like me. I’ve had my bike for over 10 years already! The newest bikes sometimes have built in hub dynamos (even then not always) but the old ones like mine don’t and so you need to install a dynamo yourself. To me this tip seem old-fashioned, but it’s also what I see the most on the streets; people without dynamos.

Disposable Lights

Some people use batteries for their bike lights, but what I see the most is the worst: disposable lights. You can buy them everywhere for a few euros. They’re used once and then go to the landfill. It’s horrible if you ask me. All this effort and resources for a single-use item. No, this is not the way to go. It can be done way more sustainable with a dynamo.

A Dynamo

A dynamo is device you install on your wheel and it generates energy for the lights on your bikes when the wheel turns and so when you bike around. The energy is produced right then and there when you need it: while you bike! If you ask me the list of advantages is huge! You don’t need to buy disposable lights any longer. And if you have a light but only use batteries it’s still a win. Even if batteries are reused then you still use less energy since batteries need to be charged or made. It’s also local: instead of buying batteries or lights which are probably made on the other side of the world and shipped here, you just generate it yourself. No more waste of lights, batteries or transportation.

Reelight

It’s not an easy task to install an old dynamo with wires on your bike. If you or someone you know is technical, you can do it yourself. But at the bicycle repair shop they will probably tell you that it is too expensive to do it that way. Luckily, I have found a brand that offered wireless dynamos. No batteries, no wires, nothing. You just install them on your bike and that’s it. The brand is called Reelight (this is not a sponsored post, I just and use the brand myself). Personally, I use the model SL100 series and I can really recommend it. But don’t forget: buy the dynamo and other parts you need secondhand if you can, it saves energy and resources and is the most sustainable choice you can make!

Green Energy and Saving Money

Energy generated by a dynamo is the greenest energy you can get. It’s renewable energy made by you! That means we need less wind mills or solar panels in the end (if the batteries you’re ditching were produced with green energy, which is probably not the case). And meanwhile it’s a tiny work-out for you! Moving around more means a healthier you. Not unimportant either: it saves you money for the rest of your life! If you install a dynamo once you’re done. There’s nothing more to do! If you use batteries or disposable lights you need to buy new ones all of your life. A dynamo is a one-time investment you’ll definitely get returned. Who does not want to save money?

Minimalism

And at last it also supports my minimalistic lifestyle. There’s one thing less on my mind I need to do or think of. I hated it when my lights were empty, again! You always find out that you’re lights are empty on an inconvenient moment when you need them. You risk a fine too in the period you don’t have a light. I hated that! And you have to do all these things again: go to the store for new lights, pay money, go home, install the new light, recycle the old. For me it was never ending clutter in my mind.

That’s how you save resources with a dynamo on your bike. Do you have a dynamo on your bike?

Yours sincerely,
Romee

Follow my personal journey on Instagram.

2 thoughts on “Save resources with a dynamo on your bike”

  1. Pingback: Weekly diary #57: I've invested my money into solar panels |
  2. Pingback: Everything I bought new in 2018 | When A Teen Goes Green

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ABOUT ME

 

when a teen goes green

Hi! My name is Romee Hoeksma and I am on a journey to an eco-positive life. An eco-positive lifestyle is a lifestyle in which I have a more positive than negative impact on the beautiful planet earth. On this blog you can follow my journey to a life with only positive impact. At this blog you can find all sorts of things, from tips to recipes to personal experiences, but most of all fun (I hope!). I write about how I want to change the world, but don’t look at it as if I’m judging you. If anything, I like responses from my dear readers the most, so don’t hesitate to contact me or respond to any of my posts!

Yours sincerely,
Romee

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Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) naar Bratislava (🇸🇰) reisde. Dit was reisdag 3/6 van onze duurzame interrail reis. Ik ben vandaag 25 jaar geworden 🥳. Ik hoop heel hard dat dat betekent dat ik ongeveer op een kwart van mijn leven ben. En wat een verjaardag is dit! Ik mag het vieren in Kopenhagen met mijn favoriete persoon @casperchristiaanse , terwijl ik met de trein door Europa reis 🚃. Ik ben een gelukkig mens. Op naar de 50! Dit is hoe ik van Dresden (🇩🇪) naar Krásná Lípa (🇨🇿) reisde. Niet een bijster lange, maar wel een prachtige treinreis, omdat je door het nationaal park Boheems Zwitserland gaat. Dit was de tweede reisdag van onze interrail (2/6). We zijn op de helft van de interrail. Terwijl ik dit typ zijn we onderweg naar Warschau (8,5 uur vanaf Bratislava). Nog twee bestemmingen te ontdekken, maar wat hebben we nu al veel genoten. Elke dag goed en lang slapen, nieuw vegan eten proberen, bijzonder lang wandelen, spelletjes spelen, weinig schermtijd, genieten van de mooie uitzichten en zon: deze reis is genieten 💜. Dit is hoe ik met de trein van Amsterdam naar Dresden reisde 🚃. De interrail is officieel begonnen! (1/6) Vandaag verschijnt er geen artikel op mijn blog. En de komende twee weken hierna ook niet. Dat is voor het eerst, in de 7 jaar dat ik schrijf. Een heel leuk onderdeel van duurzaam leven is tweedehands kleding. Hier zijn 4 tweedehands outfits die ik droeg in augustus 2023 🌞. Je zag het al in de reel van vorige week: ik ben op vakantie geweest naar Gent, in België. Het was een ontzettende aanrader, en daarom verscheen er vandaag een artikel op mijn blog over de leukste en duurzaamste hotspots in Gent 🌆. Check it out via de link in mijn bio Gent, wat was je prachtig 🌆. Dit is absolute een duurzame vakantietip (oh, maar wees niet zo naïef als ik en ga lekker met de trein 🚃). Binnenkort is op Youtube de gehele vakantievlog te bekijken.

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