I know that the dark afternoons/nights are just beginning to recede but bike lights still play a part on dismal days. Some friends have gone onto dynamos and these even auto switch on when cycling on very shaded lanes. Modern lighting system for dynamos are far cry from the old dynamo that rubbed on the tyre and only ever gave a dim light and went off when you stopped, even if you got a brighter battery powered light the batteries never lasted long. Battery's were not cheap.
The old dynamo
Modern battery powered lights are excellent, bright and batteries last a lot longer with the advent of LED's, also rechargeable from USB sockets make life simpler.
The big drawback with battery powered lights, even the rechargeable, is that you never know when the battery's will run out. So you don't run with them on until needed. Lots of cyclist now use lights on all rides dark or not.
So why not use a modern dynamo? Yes you need a wheel with a dynamo hub but they are now not expensive and provide plenty of power for modern LED lights. I have a bike with a modern dynamo and led lights (just given it to my daughter) and the output is more than sufficient to cycle down country lanes in the pitch black. Plus you can have your lights on all day without worrying about batteries going flat and modern dynamo lights can have a “stand light” function, which means the lights stays on even when you stop. This is due to the lights having a 1 farad capacitor inbuilt which charges as you cycling and will keep the lights on when stopped for around 5 minutes.
A Modern dynamo hub
Another benefit is that on modern system can also have the facility to charge you mobile phone or GPS.
According to research the drag with modern dynamos is around an extra 5 metres effort per kilometre which is not even worth thinking about.
So Easter, Birthdays or any other occasion that someone wants to buy you a prezzie, keep a dynamo and lights in mind.
Tony..
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