Front Dynamo Hub for Road Bike

[mjr]

I'm assuming that doesn't include the lighting rig, you'll need to budget an additional £100 or so for a decent front/rear light and the wiring.

Lights have come on leaps and bounds. A good rear LED light is about £15 and good-enough-for-countryside headlights start from about £25... although the exchange rate changes since June may have increased it a bit. Wiring is fairly cheap.

 

[Fab Foodie]

@kimble runs both SON and Shimano and has much to say on the subject which IIRC amounts to there is bugger all real work differences between the two. There's lots on Yacf and I'm hoping she can guide you there!

Again IIRC THE Shimano DN3H80 is quite comparable to the SON and has Ultegra quality bearings for a long life.

I have a SON and B&M Luxos light and it's fab. Just hop on and ride. Kimble also recommends another light option.

 

[steveindenmark]

I have been having discussions with Sam at Spa Cycles and he has suggested Rigida Chrina rims with a SON 28 dynamo.

I want a mix of dynamo and battery as it is pitch black on my commute for 20km. The last 200m has street lights, otherwise there is nothing the way of lighting. I have just ordered 2 B&M IQ premium battery lights and will them to a Top peak bar extender.

I still want a dynamo light as well.

 

[DrLex]

The other boon from a dyno is the ability to charge garmins/mobile telephones during daylight running; a front light with a USB port is cheaper and less faff than a standard light & separate charging device.

 

[mjr]

The other boon from a dyno is the ability to charge garmins/mobile telephones during daylight running; a front light with a USB port is cheaper and less faff than a standard light & separate charging device.

If you do that, either ensure that your device can cope with start/stop/fluctuating power input (some phones have an annoying tendency to switch the screen on each start/stop, for example), else use the dynamo to charge up a cheap battery pack and use that to charge devices. It'll lose about a third of the power IIRC with all the conversions and so on, but the power supply is cheap, isn't it?

 

[psmiffy]

Ive got a Son 28 and a Ixon LED - wicked - was brilliant in all ways last night when I rode into Basle in the dark

 

[MichaelW2]

I have been using an Ultegra-grade Shimano dynohub, the one with disk brake spline, for quite a few years. It is reliable and runs well. All dynohubs produce the same amount of electrical power. Some are a tad moren efficient than others. Shimano ones are fine.
The only drawback to Shimano dynohubs is the servicing. They have a copper ribbon to transmit electricity along a slot in the axle. If you sever this ribbon, it is really hard to repair. Has anyone ever taken their Shimano dynohub apart ? How easy was it to handle the ribbon ?

 

[mjr]

The only drawback to Shimano dynohubs is the servicing. They have a copper ribbon to transmit electricity along a slot in the axle. If you sever this ribbon, it is really hard to repair. Has anyone ever taken their Shimano dynohub apart ? How easy was it to handle the ribbon ?

http://www.bikeforums.net/commuting/600498-servicing-shimano-dynohub-bearings.html says the rotor side bearings are non-servicable... but I think on some models, they are at least replaceable without basically buying a whole new innard.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/buggered-my-shimano-dynohub.67933/ is an earlier thread here where someone took their hub apart. As you can tell from the link wording, it didn't go well.

I'm quite glad some lovely person gave me a SA dynohub. I'm a bit worried about the Shimano one needing repair eventually.