Dyno Hubs which are the best

c781941
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Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby c781941 » Wed Jun 06, 2012 1:52 pm

hi folks

I would like to know which Dyno hub (Son,Busch & Mueller etc)is the best .I ride a LWB Easy Racer which has a 406(20 inch) and 700 at the rear.I basically intend on using the hub set up for longer rides such as Audax events and nowadays there has been a leap in technology that there a lot of aftermarket battery rechargers which can recharge GPS and Iphones ...your advice is appreciated

Cheers

Ray

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:39 pm

G'Day Ray, welcome outside :)

I'm a battery lights, diamond frame bloke so I can't help directly. What I can do to help is move this thread over to a place where it will get more hits.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Hotdog » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:07 pm

Hi Ray,

I can't claim to have first hand experience here but I have looked into going dynamo powered myself. There's a lot of information on the various dynohubs on the Peter White Cycles website, it's a good starting point for at least seeing what the options are.

Based on the reading around that I did the consensus appears to be that the Schmidt SON hubs are the best, particularly in terms of low drag and especially with the light off, and they make hubs optimised to 20" wheels (SONdelux, formerly the SON20R). That said they are expensive and the Shimano Alfine/Nexus dynohubs are pretty close in terms of performance and significantly cheaper. B&M only make bottle dynamos.

For on the road charging of GPS, phones, etc using dynamo power the only system that I'm aware of is the B&M E-werk. There may well be others though.

As far as dynamo powered lights are concerned Schmidt and B&M LED lights were until recently regarded as the bee's knees but it seems that Philips has jumped ahead with their recent Saferide 60 model.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby RonK » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:31 pm

Since you ask which are the best, well the answer is that SON dynamo hubs are the gold standard. For 20" wheels, the SON Deluxe is the right choice.

The place to find information about them is on the touring forums. Here are a couple of relevant threads I picked out which discuss dynamo and related matters in details.

Dyno Hub Device Recharging

Hub Dynamos in Australia

The e-werk is only one charging solution. The Biologic Reecharge, made by Dahon, and the Pedalpower Super-I-Cable are a couple of other excellent offerings.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:39 pm

Hotdog wrote:For on the road charging of GPS, phones, etc using dynamo power the only system that I'm aware of is the B&M E-werk. There may well be others though.
There is also Tout Terrain's The Plug and Pedalpower's Super-I-Cable
Hotdog wrote:As far as dynamo powered lights are concerned Schmidt and B&M LED lights were until recently regarded as the bee's knees but it seems that Philips has jumped ahead with their recent Saferide 60 model.
There is also the excellent Supernova E3 Pro for a very bright LED headlight

Image


There is also a new light (can't think of the brand) that is a good LED headlight but also has a plug-in USB port to charge your phone from.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Crawf » Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:23 pm

Mine doesn't have the prestige name compared to those mentioned above and I can't comment on it's longevity as its reasonably new.
But I recently bought and built up a dynamo system based on an SP dynamo hub (PD-8 Disc). At $130 delivered there wasn't much of a monetary risk involved, works great as you'd expect with my F&R Supernova E3's, noticed no friction at all and is just about the lightest hub out there. It also looks physically identical to certain SON hubs.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby MattyK » Thu Jun 07, 2012 12:55 pm


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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby ekib » Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:10 pm

Crawf,

mind if I ask where I can buy this setup for $130 ?

thanks,

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Thu Jun 07, 2012 7:47 pm

Supernova also sell their own dynohub now, and that SP dynohub looks almost identical to it. Two different models.

Infinity S
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Infinity 8
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Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby RonK » Thu Jun 07, 2012 8:41 pm

A dynamo hub, once built into a wheel, is not easily replaced if something goes wrong. It must function efficiently as a generator, but more critically it must function reliably as a hub. How important this is will depend on your intended usage, but SON dynamo hubs have earned a reputation with cycle tourists for being not only efficient generators but also for being durable and reliable hubs.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Thu Jun 07, 2012 10:57 pm

il padrone wrote:There is also a new light (can't think of the brand) that is a good LED headlight but also has a plug-in USB port to charge your phone from.
Ah!! This one - the Axa Nano 50

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Crawf » Fri Jun 08, 2012 12:31 pm

ekib wrote:Crawf,

mind if I ask where I can buy this setup for $130 ?

thanks,

Ekib.
Try ebay seller idc1947, he was excellent to deal with.

There is also an Australian supplier, but I never bothered checking prices: http://www.klite.com.au/

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Aushiker » Mon Jun 11, 2012 3:22 pm

Another vote here for the SON dynamo hubs, a SON 28 in my case ...

Image

In regards to the Supernova E3 Pro this video was recenlty posted by a certain forum member :)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDjsj8xPdqc&hd=1[/youtube]

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Ross » Tue Jun 12, 2012 9:15 am

Interesting video, thanks for posting. There seems to be a large "black spot" with that light, is it just a matter of adjusting the aim of the light or a "feature" of the light?

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Crawf » Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:48 am

Ross wrote:There seems to be a large "black spot" with that light, is it just a matter of adjusting the aim of the light or a "feature" of the light?
Which black spot do you mean?

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Baalzamon » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:09 pm

Ross wrote:Interesting video, thanks for posting. There seems to be a large "black spot" with that light, is it just a matter of adjusting the aim of the light or a "feature" of the light?
Yeah my E3 triple is way different to that. I wouldn't be confident riding at speed with that light and I would have to slow down vs e3 triple, ayups or dinottes which I'm considering for my trike.
Dynamo option for my trike is an absurd price...
380 euro for Son xs-m hub then build up wheel, so talking over $500 for that. I have lights so no biggie, but I have to change to disc brakes and :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
Saw the price finally for a mirrored pair of disc brakes... $690 :shock:
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:33 pm

That is the E3 with terraflux lens (German road-legal antidazzle). I think that the Go Pro Hero camera is missing a lot in the low light conditions. Here is another photo of the beam of that light.

Image



More restricted than the beam of the E3 Pro symetrical that I use with a clear horizon, but brighter where it matters. I would have no concerns about riding with that light at night.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby Crawf » Tue Jun 12, 2012 6:56 pm

The footage doesn't do it justice, as mentioned its a specifically designed commuter lens that's very 'oncoming' friendly. I prefer it over my ayups.
At 300 lumens, it makes you wonder what all those magic shines are doing with their 900 lumens... well going everywhere I guess

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby MattyK » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:45 pm

Crawf wrote:The footage doesn't do it justice, as mentioned its a specifically designed commuter lens that's very 'oncoming' friendly. I prefer it over my ayups.
At 300 lumens, it makes you wonder what all those magic shines are doing with their 900 lumens... well going everywhere I guess
900 lumens is theoretical fairy-land. Integrating spheres measure them at more like 550 lumen out the front. Approximately 30-40% of which would be wasted lighting up the sky rather than the road (though this does have the benefit of exposing overhead branches etc).
I'm not a fan of how narrow those beams are though, seems to make navigating corners a daunting task.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:14 pm

MattyK wrote:I'm not a fan of how narrow those beams are though, seems to make navigating corners a daunting task.
It's not!

I'm assuming you are talking about road riding here, not bends on a MTB trail. Bike paths are fine, road corners are no worries. There is enough additional light spill sideways outside the main beam to see what's happening.
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby MattyK » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:53 am

Fair enough, I've only ever used a very weak shaped-beam light. But ~1:55 in the video above looks tricky, and I have some tighter, darker turns than that on my daily commute.

Spill outside the main beam needs to be proportionately bright with the main beam, otherwise your eyes will be adapted to the brightest patch.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby find_bruce » Thu Jun 14, 2012 11:54 am

MattyK wrote:Fair enough, I've only ever used a very weak shaped-beam light. But ~1:55 in the video above looks tricky, and I have some tighter, darker turns than that on my daily commute.

Spill outside the main beam needs to be proportionately bright with the main beam, otherwise your eyes will be adapted to the brightest patch.
Same issue for me - I have a winding unlit bike path with ninja peds. I have a wide angle lens on my magicshine which reduces the wasted vertical light and increases the spread, but it is still not enough to see around corners.

The only solution I have found is to wear a helmet mounted light. It would probably work just as well with the dynamo lights.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby il padrone » Thu Jun 14, 2012 5:49 pm

MattyK wrote:Fair enough, I've only ever used a very weak shaped-beam light. But ~1:55 in the video above looks tricky, and I have some tighter, darker turns than that on my daily commute.

Spill outside the main beam needs to be proportionately bright with the main beam, otherwise your eyes will be adapted to the brightest patch.
As has been stated, the Hero camera has quite poor performance in low light. Take this on board.

For a clearer comparison here is the IQ Cyo that I am very happy to use on any bike paths (and roads of course). It has very good spill laterally

Image


Compared to the Supernova E3 Pro assymetrical again (photographed at same exposure ratings) I woud describe the E3 Pro as brighter with equally good or better lateral spill.

Image


You need to stop jumping at shadows I think :wink:
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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby just4tehhalibut » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:23 am

il padrone wrote:You need to stop jumping at shadows I think
Got a few dyno hubbed bikes and all with B&M IQ Cyo headlights of various sorts, went out and bought a small helmet light for the winding descents where the furry shadows tend to jump out at you. A focussed beam that picks up street signs 1.2km away while lighting up the intended path immediately ahead is brilliant except for when that path winds at speed and furry critters abound. Have had a few near run ins.

As a bonus, if you leave the helmet light mounted but turned off in daylight drivers seem to act as if you've got helmet cam.

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Re: Dyno Hubs which are the best

Postby c781941 » Mon Jun 18, 2012 11:21 am

Folks

Thank you all for your input and I will read them all and evaluate which is best for my bent pursuits....

Cheers

Ray

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