pistonbroke wrote:FWIW my advice is before you start with the technicalities of dynamo, charger, usb outputs, lights etc, you need to take a step back and consider the type of riding you do. It boils down to how fast the front hub is spinning, not necessarily average speed. ...
I have a spare couple of dynamos on the shelf (warranty and out-of-warranty replacements) and could've built up a front wheel for my MTB. However, once I factor in rim, spokes and light, it's just not worth compared to £25 for another 18650-battery-powered Cree off eBay, not for the few times a year I ride it at night. It's worth answering the question of yourself whether, on balance, it's going to deliver what you need and whether it's worth it. £2-300 on a wheel build will buy you a LOT of battery light!
My road bike is a different story, as audax takes me out and about in the spooky hours quite frequently.
gairym wrote:
Use: .....long gravel roads for days on end.
Requirements: Lights for all night silliness every now and then..... lights for a couple of hours as I ride into the night.
For me the dyno is all about the lights (similar to ScotRoutes) so it's the fact that the lights work for as long as you ride that swings it. That's not just multi-day but even on a day to day basis. When I get home, no matter how late, I put the bike in the shed. In the morning it's ready to go and the lights are on as soon as I start peddling. I don't use mine to charge anything else so I leave my lights on all the time, gives (perceived) additional safety on the road sections.
I don't need to remember to charge my lights and I never have to think about remaining run time. I also use a helmet might (Joystick) but I don't have to worry about the settings and run time. If it runs out of battery then my dyno light is still on anyway.
I'd say go for it, the wheel size and type of riding both tick the right boxes. You're right that the advantage of SON Cinq5 setup over a Shimano Kemo one is definitely one of diminishing returns. If you were talking about doing the TMB on your fatbike using one I'd definitely say no. Have a look at KLite, they seem to outperform Revos at lower speed for a similar price.
I've got a few dynamo hubs Gairy and at present, they're all Shimano. I lost faith in SP, don't have deep enough pockets for SON and Shimano bearings are kind of user serviceable.
I mainly use mine to power lights but will sometimes connect it to a battery pack during the day ... My 'power requirements' tend to be low compared to most, so really I just do it because it seems a shame not to. Over a day, it'll charge things quite nicely but that's a decent day with ups, downs and flats. As others have said, a dynamo will do little in the way of charging at climbing pace, so on shorter / hilly rides it may seem pointless.
I'm still playing with the Velogical dynamo too. The bonus is no wheel build and virtually zero drag. I don't think it's perfect but is certainly a viable alternative to a hub - especially if lights rather than charging are the priority.
Is it for you? Don't know, I think you're perhaps situated right in the middle and whilst it would work, so would battery lights and pack for less money and faff.
sean_iow wrote:
For me the dyno is all about the lights (similar to ScotRoutes) so it's the fact that the lights work for as long as you ride that swings it. That's not just multi-day but even on a day to day basis. When I get home, no matter how late, I put the bike in the shed. In the morning it's ready to go and the lights are on as soon as I start peddling. I don't use mine to charge anything else so I leave my lights on all the time, gives (perceived) additional safety on the road sections.
I don't need to remember to charge my lights and I never have to think about remaining run time. I also use a helmet might (Joystick) but I don't have to worry about the settings and run time. If it runs out of battery then my dyno light is still on anyway.
I'm undoubtedly a bit of a worrier when it comes to lights - especially if there are roads involved. It's always niggling me that the battery will fail, I haven't charge it enough, or it's been charged so many times that it's barely holding a charge any more. The dynamo takes all that away (yes - I know the dynamo or light could still fail). Being able to run a rear light off it too (I use a Revo) is a bonus. My new (Shimano) dynamo will be on a set of wide 650 rims for a gravel/road plus option. I reckon speeds will be high enough for it to be a decent solution.
gairym wrote:After a morning of reading, researching and weighing up options I think I've reached the state of 'dynamo nonsensical information overload' in record time.
This happens every time I look into it.
I get reinvigorated by the idea of a dynamo setup, start asking around, feel like I'm making progress and then BOOM! conflicting information, confusing advice, escalating costs and before I know it I'm right back to thinking that simply buying a couple of AA batteries every couple of days from a corner shop is massively appealing.
I'm not ready to give up yet but it's quite a ball-ache!
Personally I have 2 anker 18000 mah Anker Powerbanks. Just 1 of them on a 2 day trip means I'm not really ever concerned abour running out of power for my Wahoo nor phone and I also use it to top up my backup 1300mah nitecore light if needed (but take 2 spare 18650 batteries too)...
Unless you're needing lots of power (again from the thread it seems we wont generate enough power to generate a micro power station ) over a week or so. Maybe caredul planning of light expenditure and phone usage, might just cut it...
At this particular juncture I have (yet again) decided against 'going dynamo'!
Let's see what happens next time I'm tempted but at this point I now feel that I know enough to know it's not necessary for me and my needs (though it'd be handy in certain situations and for certain trips for sure!).
At this particular juncture I have (yet again) decided against 'going dynamo'!
Let's see what happens next time I'm tempted but at this point I now feel that I know enough to know it's not necessary for me and my needs (though it'd be handy in certain situations and for certain trips for sure!).
Me too, I think.... All this advice has been very useful though and still want to build a wheel, but don't need another 'standard' front wheel
At this particular juncture I have (yet again) decided against 'going dynamo'!
Let's see what happens next time I'm tempted but at this point I now feel that I know enough to know it's not necessary for me and my needs (though it'd be handy in certain situations and for certain trips for sure!).
Me too, I think.... All this advice has been very useful though and still want to build a wheel, but don't need another 'standard' front wheel
Me three. We shall revisit this again in the future but for the moment lets find a powerbank that tops my 18000 Anker (actually 20000 but probably 16000 usable power so I described as halfway)... Maybe Anker have a 25000 availble by now that'll be smaller and lighter than the 20000 and last 2 phone charges extra...
) over a week or so. Maybe caredul planning of light expenditure and phone usage, might just cut it...
