Dynamo Hubs

[Boab]

The planning for n + 1 continues, and I'd like it to have a dynamo front hub. Never having had such a thing, I've no idea which ones are good and which ones should be avoided. As I haven't decided what n + 1 actually is yet, I'm looking for recommendations for Boost 110mm, or Fat Bike 150mm hubs to stick on my spreadsheets. So which brand(s) should I be looking at?

Any recommendations for things I should get along with a front dynamo hub, USB charger, USB top cap, front and rear lights, etc, also welcome.

[Bearbonesnorm]

SON will likely be high on the wishlist but quite spendy.

My experience with SP* (rebranded as Exposure in my case) was pretty poor, although the customer service direct from SP was top-notch. That left me in a position where I didn't want to use SP and couldn't justify SON ... Shimano was my answer. I've a few now and even the cheap ones remain faultless. Perhaps not the lightest or prettiest but neither of those things matter much on a dark Dec night

I've settled on K-lite for everything else.

*others have had much greater success, to the point that it leaves me feeling that buying an SP is akin to a lottery. My experience was a few years ago - maybe things have changed but I've not bothered to re-investigate.

[sean_iow]

SON is the best. With those spacings it might have to be SON, I don't think Shimano make bolt through hubs, SP make a 100x15 but I don't know about a 110 version.

Since I bought my SON I've not needed to know much about the dynamo market, I just take the bike out of the shed and as soon as I start riding the lights come on

[Lazarus]

SHimano if QR price if nothing else-
My SP has been fine in use but its only at 1000km- prhaps I ont the lottery as they dont have a great rep [ and its an exposure rebranded one].

For Boost your choices will be limited [ I think i would get a 100mm and use a spacer kit. -mainly because its what i did but i have different sized forks so had to

Son are the best and therefore unsurprisingly the dearest

Dont forgert to factor in the lights and the USB as,if quality they wont be cheap .

I use a Sinewave Beacon so its a combined light and USB but that was £350 ish iirc - this has the advantage of being able to charge a battery and use the light on constant power which IMHO is esential for off road as you will slow for a technical feature and at ths point your light levels will dimish and often significantly
Road Jameso is your man and I forget what German light he recomends.
If buying new you will be doing well to get change out of £500 for a full set up and could easily get to £1000.

[lune ranger]

I got a SON for a transcontinental tour nearly 20years ago.
It did 16,000 km straight off in it’s first 10 months and many thousands more since. It’s been submerged, frozen and baked. It’s been airplane baggage. It’s been built into a number of wheels. Recently it’s been on my commuter bike parked outside without cover for 12 hours a day 3 days a week for the last 4 years. It still makes electricity. The (original) bearings are still fine.

[woodsmith]

some food for thought here: https://www.cyclingabout.com/best-dynam ... kepacking/

[jameso]

Will a plus/fat bike get much useful charge from a dynamo often enough, enough to justify the cost/weight vs a battery pack you can take when needed? ime they're great at road and gravel speeds but light output on anything that really count as MTB terrain can be low and charging time is high at 6-8mph. I've not used the Exposure dynamo light though, I think that uses a cache battery so would be better off-road.

[PaulB2]

Shimano have made bolt through hubs for a year or two now - ur-708 is 15mm x 100, ur-705 is 12mmx100. I don’t think they do boost ones though

[woodsmith]

Will a plus/fat bike get much useful charge from a dynamo often enough, enough to justify the cost/weight vs a battery pack you can take when needed? ime they're great at road and gravel speeds but light output on anything that really count as MTB terrain can be low and charging time is high at 6-8mph. I've not used the Exposure dynamo light though, I think that uses a cache battery so would be better off-road.

This was my concern too. Knowing the average speeds I acheive when touring and plus the fact I almost never be riding at night I felt a power bank was the best solution for me.

[Lazarus]

I think the light cache battery is more to give you some light when stationary in traffic than actually to ride with - probably ok at walking speed but i would not want to ride with mine in that mode - not a revo

EDIT: re the sow speeds I dont hink i woudl use mine in winter for a MTB multi dayer as i dont think I woud be going fast enough to make it count and would probably just take two battery packs
I do they thin they are superb for road/commuting and touring though.

[benp1]

My cargo bike has dynamo lights front and rear. It's a cheap set up but works great when riding. But slow rides (loaded with stuff and/or kids uphill) the light flickers. Could be rectified with a different light or dynamo maybe. But it's highlighted that with my slow MTB speeds, a battery powered light is better. Plus, is it powerful enough downhill?

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've not used the Exposure dynamo light though, I think that uses a cache battery so would be better off-road.

Just about all dynamo lights feature a capacitor but as Jon says, that's more about providing a stand-light than providing (useful) power when moving slowly. I think the Beacon is different in this regard as it does feature an integral battery. Not all lights are the same though and some are better at providing useful light at lower speeds.

I found the K-lite much better than the Exposure in the low speed lighting department, which I partly put down to it having a smaller capacity capacitor meaning than current goes to the light much earlier / sooner.

I'm a big fan of dynamo lighting but rarely bother with dynamo charging these days. Too much faff generally and I'm not a heavy power user, so that faff isn't easily justified.

[pistonbroke]

Bear in mind that riding in UK conditions will kill all wheel bearings, some sooner than others. This was the main driver behind me going for a Shimano hub as it uses rebuildable and adjustable cup and cone bearings. You really don't want to be debuilding a wheel and sending it away for new bearings, irrespectively of warranty or just wear and tear. My Shimano has been going for 10 years with occasional adjusting and greasing.
I'm also a great fan of Kemo charger/rectifier boxes which are a fraction of the cost of the fashionable ones and require next to no ability to wire up. Their only drawback is the box of tricks is the size of a matchbox and needs to be found a home rather than the stem cap options. Mine sits on the headtube so I can easily switch between lights and usb charging.

[Boab]

Well...
That certainly gives me a lot to think about, looks like it can get very spendy, very quickly.

[fatbikephil]

Having now rebuilt an SP hub I'll stick with them I think. In fact I'm contemplating a 150 one for the Jones. That said the Shimanos do look good and whilst they too are "not rebuildable at home" they actually are.

[lune ranger]

With reference to how much power you can produce MTB bikepacking my experience is fairly good given the obvious limitations of 29+ wheels and slow speeds.
One example would be BB200 2018. During the day I kept an iPhone 5 with a really old battery at 100% charge whilst recording Strava and taking photos. When night fell I flipped a switch installed on my bars that changed from feeding the power to an Igaro charger to supplying my Exposure Revo/Redeye light combination.
On multi day trips where I’ve found using the Igaro charger and a single 5000mAh power bank I can keep iPhone, Edge computer, and lighting going for 5 days without rationing use.
I could just use an extra power bank and ditch the dynamo, but I find it quite satisfying to generate some of my own power. I also find it reassuring to have dynamo lighting and have no concerns about batteries running out.
If I were to replace my Revo I would certainly buy a Sinewave Beacon, the ability to supplement dynamo power with a battery pack to achieve consistent light output despite speed looks great. As it happens I use a Joystick to supplement the Revo and find no problems in use.

[jameso]

Having now rebuilt an SP hub

As in, opened up and replaced bearings or rebuilt the wheel?

[fatbikephil]

Having now rebuilt an SP hub

As in, opened up and replaced bearings or rebuilt the wheel?

Replaced both bearings:- viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14444&start=675 near the bottom of the page. Re-assembly on the next page.

[dlovett]

I have Two SP Hubs in standard 26" and standard 700c wheel sets. the 700c one is approx 10 years old and the 26" one about five. They have had a lot of mile put on them and zero issues. Bearings are original and still work as is they were new. I've never touched them maintenance wise apart from regularly cleaning the outsides of them.

I have an Alpkit Love Mud one on my standard 650b wheel set and it has been flawless as above for the last 3 years.

On my 26+ fat 150 wheel set I have a SON 28 which is about 4 years old. It has also been flawless, but it additionally seems to produce slightly more power at a lower speed. It is also a work of art to look at and many people have commented on it over the years.

I went with the SOM as I really wanted the extra reliability that their reputation has, but in all honesty, I cannot fault either SP or Alpkit. Also in those days there were very limited hubs in a fat 150 size.

If it's for a dream build and money isn't an option I would say get the SON as it does produce a bit more power and looks so much nicer, but if budget is to be considered then I would go with the Alpkit one as their warranty and customer service is second to none.

[Boab]

If it's for a dream build and money isn't an option I would say get the SON as it does produce a bit more power and looks so much nicer, but if budget is to be considered then I would go with the Alpkit one as their warranty and customer service is second to none.

The answer to that, is it depends... If I got for the Sonder Frontier, then it's not a dream build, but if I get an Ice Cream Truck, then it's verging on it. According to the article linked in one of the posts above, the Exposure and AlpKit hubs, are just rebranded SP ones. The graphs would also confirm what you say about more power at lower speeds from the SON.

The answer to a lot of questions on here, seems to be, ask Shona & Rich at Keep Pedalling. Their website states:

We also use Shimano dynamo hubs, which we’d normally recommend for city bikes.

It's interesting that Decathlon are spec'ing a Shimano Deore XT dynamo hub on the Riverside Touring 920 Adventure Trekking Bike. Given how much testing they done on it, and where that testing has been, it must be a pretty decent hub; it's certainly quite tempting at about a third of the price of a SON.

[ScotRoutes]

I have two dynamo hubs.

An SP (branded Exposure) which is several years old and hasn't proved to be problematic.

An XT which is now 2 years old and, similarly, has proved reliable.

As regards power output, I've never done any formal testing but my Revo lamp will light up with just a couple of spins of the XT wheel (say when checking for pad clearance) whereas it seems to need a bit more welly with the SP/Exposure wheel.

[jameso]

Replaced both bearings:- viewtopic.php?f=7&t=14444&start=675 near the bottom of the page. Re-assembly on the next page.

Good work, missed that. Thanks. I have an old worn one here that was a sample from SP. Did reasonable mileage. Might have a go at it one weekend if I have all the tools needed.

[jameso]

According to the article linked in one of the posts above, the Exposure and AlpKit hubs, are just rebranded SP ones.

I thought Alpkit got theirs from someone else. Not 100% sure though. I have one from the factory who I thought made them and I thought it's subtly smoother than the SP it replaced. It has now done approx the same mileage as the 2 SPs I had before. Having said that, SP don't sit around and their hubs are said to have evolved/improved in the durability stakes since some of the earlier hubs had issues.

[sean_iow]

When I contacted SP a few years back about getting new bearings in mine they said they had stopped making hubs for third parties so if that was the case unless Exposure had a huge stock to get through they would no longer be the SP hubs.

The Alpkit ones were never SP as far a I know, they are a different shape.

[Lazarus]

Good work, missed that. Thanks. I have an old worn one here that was a sample from SP. Did reasonable mileage. Might have a go at it one weekend if I have all the tools needed

yes Bookmarked that - we may disagree slightly on what an easy repair is though

I thought Alpkit got theirs from someone else.

Pretty sure they were just rebranded and they were JTEK - not 100 % certain