Dynamo hub advice

Wishbone Ash

ford2600 wrote: »

http://spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s209p0

Great stuff - I'll have a gander through that when I get time.

(I should really know this but would a standard wheel for a 23/25mm tyre be the 19mm wide one?) (Don't have access to a bike right now!)

ford2600

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Great stuff - I'll have a gander through that when I get time.

(I should really know this but would a standard wheel for a 23/25mm tyre be the 19mm wide one?) (Don't have access to a bike right now!)

I'd hold off on ordering until you know what bike it's for.

I use H plus Son rims which are wide at 21mm (I think) your normal roads rims are narrower.

25mm tyre is the minimum width for my rims, which might have clearance issues on a race bike.

If for a audax bike in the traditional sense then clearance wouldn't be an issue. Wide rims allow lower pressure (along with wide tyres) which can help on very long rides on poor roads.

Get bike sorted first before you dive in buying wheel would be my advice.

Then there is the whole disc side of things....

Lumen

ford2600 wrote: »

Get bike sorted first before you dive in buying wheel would be my advice.

Then there is the whole disc side of things....

For the past few winters I've used a disc dynamo hub on both rim braked and disc braked bikes. Front spacing is the same, I just take the rotor off if I'm using it on a rim-braked bike.

In fact it's now not rim-brake compatible anymore but only because the brake track is so concave.

ford2600

Lumen wrote: »

For the past few winters I've used a disc dynamo hub on both rim braked and disc braked bikes. Front spacing is the same, I just take the rotor off if I'm using it on a rim-braked bike.

In fact it's now not rim-brake compatible anymore but only because the brake track is so concave.

Not a bad idea to make a wheel future proof. Pretty bright idea befitting your name...☺

Use disc dynamo hub laced to a rim suitable for braking.

Still leaves WA to decide how wide rim will be and what bike it is for...

I'd still go shimano TBH, when bearings need to be serviced, have a go if you snap internal cable get part for under €40 and repeat after another 20k km.

Ive posted service instructions before

Edit
http://dl.dropboxuserc... Dynamo Hubs.pdf

And here is shimano doc
http://www.paul-lange....DH//DH-3N80-2N80.PDF

Wishbone Ash

ford2600 wrote: »

I'd hold off on ordering until you know what bike it's for....

I was thinking of putting it on my existing commuter to see how I get on. If I'm happy, I'll go with it again with a proper winter/audax bike.

cdaly_

I'm running 37mm tyres on a 19mm rim (mavic A719). I have previously run 25mm tyres on the same rim without clearance issues.

Planet X

cdaly_ wrote: »

I'm running 37mm tyres on a 19mm rim (mavic A719). I have previously run 25mm tyres on the same rim without clearance issues.

47mm. or 1 and 3/4" on my Mavic A719 26" Surly.
Didn't check but assume it's a 19mm. rim?

Planet X

Nice profile on that Mavic A719 rim........

stopped_clock

Hope it's OK resurrecting this thread...

Now that the evenings are beginning to draw in a bit I'm starting to think about my lighting for the winter. I'm thinking about putting a dynamo hub on my bike. Intended use is suburban commuting mainly but also the occasional (short) audax.

Are people happy with the setups they've been running? Any recent front lights worth looking at, or is the Luxus U still the 'best'?

Is there much advantage in the more expensive hubs from SD/Supernova/SON over the cheaper Shimano hubs?

Is it still best to buy a fully-built wheel (like this one, say) rather than buying the bits and getting someone to put them together?

What's the best way to run cables on a carbon fork for clean lines etc.?

Thanks!

Mefistofelino

Over the years, I've used all three dynamo hubs. Heres my two cents worth.

Shimano
Heavy (ish) but good. Cup and cone bearings are nominally serviceable but tricky, due to the wiring. You can buy the inner generator assembly as a spare for under €40 which may be an alternative to risking wiring damage. Decent spoke flange diameter and width for a strong wheel. Probably the best compromise between costs, availability, weight and serviceability.

SP / Supernova
Essentially the same hub, though the Supernova is supposedly better sealed which might partly justify the higher cost. Lightweight but the hub spoke dimensions don't build into as strong a wheel as the Shimano. Not user serviceable. Supposedly, there is return to base option for the hub (which means stripping down the wheel) but could never find details for this. The internal wiring is very finicky. My SP hub ingested a lot of water in last winters floods and shat its wiring and bearings. I dismantled it to see if I could rebuild it - no hope. Good dynamo and very light but bearing life wasn't great.

SON
After the SP, I invested in a SON. Robust construction, bearing rebuild after 50,000 km and a thing of beauty. Decent water sealing too. However, it is bloody expensive and has to back to Germany for servicing. Connectors not as foolproof as Shimano either. My only regret is not getting the disc hub version as a future proofing move, as suggested above.

So in order of personal preference, taking cost, robustness and servicing into account

Shimano
SON

SP
Supernova

However, after all that, I've gone with a dynamo hub for reasons of long hours of cycling in darkness. If it was going to be just 3-4 hours in the dark and that was only occasionally, I'd go battery now.

Planet X

So,..............if you were to go for a battery light, what would you suggest, for Audax?
Off topic, apologies.

I have a SONdelux on my tourer and was planning to get a SON 28 for my audax bike but it wouldn't be justified for the amount of night riding I do.

...or even for early morning, dark evening finish audax.

Mefistofelino

Planet X wrote: »

So,..............if you were to go for a battery light, what would you suggest, for Audax?
Off topic, apologies.

I have a SONdelux on my tourer and was planning to get a SON 28 for my audax bike but it wouldn't be justified for the amount of night riding I do.

...or even for early morning, dark evening finish audax.

Don't use them enough to make a specific recommendation but I'd be looking at something with a focussed beam (usually German brands provide this) rather than having some massive output that is just fired everywhere. I'd also look at whether there is a spare battery pack available that can be swapped out on the side of the road.
One experienced Audaxer I know has been using an Exposure light for several years now. Good output and battery life, but quite "spendy ". I use a Lezyne as a backup to the dynamo lamp. Decent performance and compact.

Planet X

Was looking at an Exposure Strada MK 6 alright.
Good reviews.

Mefistofelino

stopped_clock wrote: »

Are people happy with the setups they've been running? Any recent front lights worth looking at, or is the Luxus U still the 'best'?

For a front light, I have the SON Edelux 2. The same LED unit as the Luxos but in a metal housing, with a glass rather than plastic lens, so more scratch resistant. Allegedly, the metal housing allows the LED be driven harder than in the B&M plastic housing of the Luxos, but this may be BS.

stopped_clock wrote: »

What's the best way to run cables on a carbon fork for clean lines etc.?

Two tie wraps and some good quality insulation tape the same colour as the fork. Remove the wheel and clean the inside face of the fork leg. Position the dynamo end of the cable near the dropout and tie wrap in place. Run cable along inside face of fork leg OR along the back /trailing edge of the fork. Keep taut and tie wrap at the top of the fork leg /crown. Place a strip of insulating tape over the cable to cover / hold in place. The colour should help camouflage the cable. Using a heavier duct tape would work too but will leave a residue on removal.

stopped_clock

Hey thanks Mefistofelino. That's really useful!

I reckon I'll go for a Shimano hub for a first system.

cdaly_

Planet X wrote: »

So,..............if you were to go for a battery light, what would you suggest, for Audax?
Off topic, apologies.

I have a SONdelux on my tourer and was planning to get a SON 28 for my audax bike but it wouldn't be justified for the amount of night riding I do.

...or even for early morning, dark evening finish audax.

I'd suggest going for a dynamo. I run my lights all the time and I've found that drivers take note of me at quite a distance which I attribute to the lights. You also get the benefit of a brake light using a dynamo along with the appropriate rear light. You don't get that with battery lights.

Weepsie

The buffalo and doozerie thread has stuff about Dynamo's being discussed, rather than the usual musings. Giving this a bump might redirect attention to here.

That plus I am now looking for a recommendation for a Hub. Was going to get it built in Humphries, they can provide a Mavic A719 32 hole rim, so looking for good Hubs that don't break the bank but will power a half decent light and maybe be able to charge GPS/Phone on the go further down the line.