Just making sure - have you ridden with dynamo lights? We had a folding bike from the late '60s with a dynamo and the utter and total lack of light output was astounding even in the '80s.
Only with an old halogen/bottle dynamo setup. I agree those are horrid. I've seen LED ones in action, but never ridden 'em. If I go the dynamo route, I'd probably plop down the money for a Schmidt Edelux II. Is it the brightest thing I could buy for the money? No. Is it comparable to the Light and Motion's I've got? Yes. Is the beam pattern on it better? You betcha. Thing is, the L&M lights have symmetrical mirrors, so I never use anything brighter than "low" on my lights if I'm in the city. That's 75 or 150 lum depending on which light I'm using (and if L&M isn't lying to me). 75 being the one I judge by because I had it first and its perfectly functional for me. Not exactly a high bar for a LED to hit these days.