More dynamo woe.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Just reached one of my dynamo wheels down off the shelf only to discover, it's seized solid It's an Exposure branded SP hub and although 2 years old has covered less than 400 miles, yes 400.

It's out of warranty and I have no way of proving the level of use, so do I pursue it or just put it down to experience and spend some money on a SON?

[ctznsmith]

firing off an email to ison doesn't cost you anything.

[johnnystorm]

firing off an email to ison doesn't cost you anything.

Or exposure perhaps....

I received short shrift from the German retailer I bought mine from as it was 13 months old (zero chance of a free repair). I emailed Ison apologetically and this morning got an email from Vic at SP asking for details and the serial number. Fingers crossed for a positive resolution and thumbs up to Ison.

[slarge]

I got 18 bikes to pursue a warranty replacement hub for me - they succeeded in getting a new hub, but I had to pay for the rebuild (£92 all in).

A SON hub would have been a good alternative.

If you need a wheel Stu, I bought a spare off Gari - 29er with SP hub- you are welcome to use.

[ZeroDarkBivi]

[quote=I received short shrift from the German retailer I bought mine from [/quote]

Sounds about right for German Direct Sales bandits - my experience on a few occasions anyway.

I have had a similar problem with seized hubs on wheels that have not been used for a while, both on expensive Hope hubs - I have no idea why they have a mythical reputation for durability; wouldn't touch them again.

[GregMay]

My plan is to unpack the Divide bike tonight -we shall see if the hub survived.

[Alpinum]

Get a SON and stop thinking about hubs for a while
Got one on my winter bike. It sees very, very little dirt but loads of freeze-thaw cycles. Never an issue in 3 winter seasons so far.

[johnnystorm]

SP have asked me to send the hub to Ison, once Ison confirm receipt they'll post me a new hub. Not ideal but but better than the scenario suggested by my German friends.

Big thumbs up to Ison for helping out when they didn't supply it.

[Adventurer]

Just reached one of my dynamo wheels down off the shelf only to discover, it's seized solid It's an Exposure branded SP hub and although 2 years old has covered less than 400 miles, yes 400.

It's out of warranty and I have no way of proving the level of use, so do I pursue it or just put it down to experience and spend some money on a SON?

My last one was squeeling when riding and then seized.


My SP exposure has done less than yours and has developed side play. I just don't trust SP dynamos anymore.

Even if they offered a replacement I would not put it on one of my bikes. Once I've got the funds I will get a son.

Maybe get a replacement and then sell it on.

[MuddyPete]

Always complain if something complicated and expensive fails sooner than you expect, with details of the failure mode and use it's had. It's the only way to encourage manufacturers to do proper product development and make good quality components continually. Let them know the customer is unhappy and you may vote for their competitors with your wallet.

[GregMay]

SP Dyno is still fine after the Divide - so that'd be 3 years and over 10,000km of mostly UK all season riding.

[Adventurer]

Just been for a 12 mile leisure ride with my daughter down a railway cycle path trail and my Exposure (SP) Dynamo play/movement is much worse.

I've decided to put in a warranty claim/replacement until I can get a SON Dynamo.

I'm a bit annoyed as I am going to have to pay out for yet another wheel build that should not be required at this point in the dynamos life.

https://flic.kr/p/KR3GXR

[jameso]

Always complain if something complicated and expensive fails sooner than you expect, with details of the failure mode and use it's had. It's the only way to encourage manufacturers to do proper product development and make good quality components continually. Let them know the customer is unhappy and you may vote for their competitors with your wallet.

Agreed, and all this gets back to SP's main man ; )

Oddly, my 9,000km+ hub that seemed a little loose recently now feels fine. No play at all. Wasn't the QR or anything like that. Odd/puzzled .. but it's now well over 10,000km in all sorts of weather and use (aside from heavy MTB use, but does go off-road ~25-30% of its miles) and feels fine.

[Dave Barter]

Holy thread ressurection!!

After almost exactly 2 years of loyal service the bearings on my SPPD8X went at the weekend. Clear lateral play on the front wheel.

Here's hoping Ison do the business for me as well.

[dlovett]

It's strange SP's that are more than 2 years old, seem to be pretty reliable, (I have two of them) but newer than that it's a bit hit and miss. However they do seem to be helpful in sorting them out.

I bought a SON for the most recent one as I didn't want to risk it.

[rufus748]

Mine went the day before the BB200....
I tried tightening it up a tad which resulted in excessive drag (and obviously stopped me going sub 17 hours )
I've contacted Ison who suggested I go to SP first. Fingers crossed....
2 years 4 months old.

[rufus748]

So, Ison told me to contact Exposure direct. Having emailed Exposure they've told me to contact Ison

[NewRetroTom]

rufus748

Have you tried these emails?

Vic at SP shutter.company@msa.hinet.net

Andy at Ison A.Diss@ison-distribution.com
Lloyd (managing director) Lloyd@ison-distribution.com

Could be out of date as it's a while since I got my last one replaced.

[rufus748]

I'll give them a go, thanks. Interestingly I had a long chain email from various people at Ison telling me they couldn't help and the last one from Vic Chen from SP's Facebook sight saying he'd like to help.
I've replied to him and waiting a response.

[numplumz]

Interested, how many of these SP dynamo hubs are the QR version and how many the though axle, which appear terrible.
Had huge mileage, over 15K miles, out of my QR SP hub but expect it to go pop any minute, now have a spare exclusively for epic trips.

[ScotRoutes]

I have a 15mm version and it's fine (so far)

[dlovett]

Mine are both qr and through axel.

[ianfitz]

The 4 I had were all the 15mm version...

[DoctorRad]

If anyone has an SP dynamo with bad bearings that they could let me have or borrow, I'd like to take a look at the bearing set-up and whether they could have better grease put in them when new to help with longevity. Don't mind paying postage.

[Mike]

Get rid fella. Spend ya money on a great little zebra light. No need for all that gadgetry anyhow u never have your phone on. My zebra got me through the bb200 on one battery n still has juice in her. I just carry a spare in case. Nowt to go wrong n cheaper