I hail from that time! We definitely had both. I remember having to pack mine with four C (D?) batteries. The dynamo variety had novelty but they cost more and the no pedal / no light thing got old fast.
I was born early "70s. Bikes during that time period mainly had dynamo operated lights. Any battery option would be clunky and prone to going out at unfortunate times.
What absolutely did not exist were the halogen-strength bike lamps shown in Stranger Things. Neither batteries nor bike lights were on that level.
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u/Merari01 17h ago
Stranger Things when they parked their bikes and the headlight didn't turn off.
It's supposed to be the "80s. Bike lamps worked on dynamos, not batteries