London-Edinburgh-London 2013: The thread

[MacB]

Another vote for the SON here, though I haven't even got one yet, it's on my shopping list. I'm actually looking at the 20R.

 

[Amanda P]

I accidentally bought on Ebay a 20" wheel with a narrow dynamo hub, built to fit a Dahon folder. When I put it up for sale again, someone contacted me about it who turned out to be an old school friend whom I hadn't see in 20 years. He had a Dahon folder, but had bought a SON 20R wheel which wouldn't fit it.

We did a mutually beneficial deal. How lucky was that?

And back on topic...

 

[Ashaman42]

Flip side? Technically, I suppose it must add some drag, and it is notchy at very low speeds.

By notchy do you mean that at low speeds the light doesn't stay on constant (ie flickers) or that you can feel a notchiness through the wheel?

And is a very low speed 1mph, or 3mph or...?

Ta for the mini-review btw, not intending to sound negative

 

[arallsopp]

By notchy do you mean that at low speeds the light doesn't stay on constant (ie flickers) or that you can feel a notchiness through the wheel?

And is a very low speed 1mph, or 3mph or...?

Sorry Ashaman, what I meant was that if you hold the wheel in your hand and spin it, you can feel it resist where the magnets are. You can (sort of) feel this when you're going real slow, but its only in the very last milliseconds before the stop, or if you're trundling backwards / pushing the bike without weight on it.

I use a SON20 on a 24" wheel, and can't keep the 'bent upright at speeds below full brightness. I'd estimate 3mph for full power to the cyo. It does flicker for the first second when you pull away from a standstill, but this is only between the standlight (half bright) and main beam (full). Strobe is just on the edge of detection really, and only visible if you're close tailing a silver car.

 

[Ashaman42]

Ah, all makes sense.

Would having a dynamo wheel and a normal wheel (for times when I'll only be riding in daylight) work? I assume the cables unplug somewhere near the hub and a ziptie would stop the cable ends getting in the spokes.

I could google this but as I'm posting, how long does your standlight last assuming you've been riding a reasonable enogh time to allow it to charge?

 

[arallsopp]

Would having a dynamo wheel and a normal wheel (for times when I'll only be riding in daylight) work? How long does your standlight last assuming you've been riding a reasonable enogh time to allow it to charge?

Yep. The hub plumbs in with two spade connectors, so you could easily swap it out. Both my bikes came with standard wheels, and I had SON replacements built for this purpose. In practice, the SON creates so little drag, I've never bothered to put the originals back on, and recently stole the tube from one of them

The weight (for a disc braked wheel) is pretty negligible.

Standlight at front runs for about 4 mins, after about 2 mins of riding.
Rear does a touch more.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Ah, all makes sense.

Would having a dynamo wheel and a normal wheel (for times when I'll only be riding in daylight) work? I assume the cables unplug somewhere near the hub and a ziptie would stop the cable ends getting in the spokes.

I did that when commuting in London but once I'd put the dynohub wheel on I never got around to putting the normal one back on. Next bike (thank you cyclescheme etc.,) hand built wheels so getting a dynohub from the off.

I could google this but as I'm posting, how long does your standlight last assuming you've been riding a reasonable enogh time to allow it to charge?

about 5 mins iirc. It's an LED and a capacitor I think so it doesn't guzzle

 

[arallsopp]

(Worth mentioning that the standlight is more of a 'be seen' than a 'see by' light. This makes a difference if you're trying to patch your bike up in the dark, and drop your bag of zipties. Its still plenty bright, but a bicycle is a lot harder to wave around than a torch.)

 

[Ashaman42]

Well one of my current lights is a torch and I'd have that either on the bars or in a pannier as a backup so should be ok on that front.

Really rather tempted by a dynohub, and as we're coming in to spring I've got a nice amount of time to research and save up some pennies

 

[Arch]

(Worth mentioning that the standlight is more of a 'be seen' than a 'see by' light. This makes a difference if you're trying to patch your bike up in the dark, and drop your bag of zipties. Its still plenty bright, but a bicycle is a lot harder to wave around than a torch.)

Well, let's hope we don't all have to rebuild our bike with zipties eh?

Zipties, and gaffer tape. It's all the tools you need.

 

[arallsopp]

If they'd only make them with wider ratchets, I could forego the need to string a klunky and heavy chain up and down the bike too

 

[PalmerSperry]

Well, let's hope we don't all have to rebuild our bike with zipties eh?

Is that not an essential part of the LEL experience then?

Zipties, and gaffer tape. It's all the tools you need.

Alas, there are some bicycle faults which are beyond the restorative powers of even those great works. (Not my bike, nor my website BTW merely a blog I occassionally glance at.)

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Zipties, and gaffer tape. It's all the tools you need.

I'd add WD40/GT85 and a bottle opener

 

[arallsopp]

Is that not an essential part of the LEL experience then?

Alas, there are some bicycle faults which are beyond the restorative powers of even those great works.

Gaffer tape, and (like GrumpyGreg says) a squirt of GT85 to stop the ends squeaking.

 

[Tynan]

with a dynamo power is 'free', since you're riding anyway.

erm ...

you can't point to one as a big thing and another as a small thing, suspect the hub arrangment will use fractionally more juice with the wiring and all

both piss all I suggest