Comments on: How To Choose The Best Dynamo Hub for Bicycle Touring and Bikepacking

By: wookey

wookey — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 02:25:00 +0000

Right. My wife’s Schmidt dynohub has been on her daily commuting bike for a little over 9 years now. And it was second-hand then. No trouble at all. Cambridge is not that rainy, but this is the UK so it’s seen plenty of rain over the years. My SP PD8 has only been on my commuter for 6 months but no trouble so far. I’ll tell you in 8 years time how it conmpares 🙂

By: Rod Cardoza

Rod Cardoza — Fri, 12 Jan 2018 04:01:00 +0000

In reply to Alee | CyclingAbout.com. I read elsewhere that someone's SON dynamo failed because they left it on its side in the rain while camping and the water must have run into the vent hole. Does that sound right? When water invades a hub (for one reason or another), it would seem best to be able to service it yourself instead of having to break the wheel down and ship the hub for warranty repair, no? I don't build my own wheels (yet). As such, these warranty repairs are both more expensive and time-consuming than one might assume otherwise. Servicing a hub, on the other hand, is relatively easy and cost-effective for the do-it-yourself home bike mechanic. I was lured into purchasing the SP PD-8X because if the marketing hype of how efficient the hub is, with such low drag. But that matters little if it keeps failing after exposure to a few days of rain. So I'm at the point where I'm okay with higher drag and weight for the convenience of user-serviceability, which I suspect will ultimately extend the life of the hub far beyond most non-user-serviceable dynamo hubs since Murphy's Law is bound to affect even the best weather-sealed dynamo hubs on the market. What do you think?

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 14:17:00 +0000

In reply to Rod Cardoza. Yeah, absolutely. They are the best weather-sealed dynamo hubs on the market.

By: Rod Cardoza

Rod Cardoza — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 12:54:00 +0000

Thanks for your reply. That’s very helpful. Can the SON 28 hold up fine over thousands of km in pouring rain too? I’m of the opinion that there’s no bad weather for cycling, just bad clothing. However, after the second failure of the SP PD-8X due to only a few days of riding in the rain, I have learned the hard way that there is more than bad clothing for rainy days, there are bad dynamo hubs too!

By: Rod Cardoza

Rod Cardoza — Thu, 11 Jan 2018 10:23:00 +0000

In reply to Rod Cardoza. Follow-up: The new SP-PD 8X (which came as a warranty replacement for the 2016 model that died after being exposed to a few days of rain) failed today after being exposed to about 5 days of rain. I'm done with non-user-serviceable dynamo hubs! The SP-PD 8X was a colossal waste of money and time. I need a dynamo hub that I can service after exposure to many miles in the rain. Hard to find online reviews of USER-SERVICEABLE DYNAMO HUBS. I hear Shimano dynamo hubs are user-serviceable. Any others?

By: Joseph Penner

Joseph Penner — Mon, 27 Nov 2017 04:15:00 +0000

I’ve got almost 14,000 miles on my Shutter Precision PV8, installed in 2014, which is still working great. I also have two Sanyo hubs in use. Both are working great, though I don’t think either has hit 1,000 miles yet.

By: Sylvanium

Sylvanium — Wed, 26 Jul 2017 06:13:00 +0000

In reply to Bob Sinko. If my Shimano model number deciphering is good, then what you have there is a 1.5 watt hub, not a 3 watt hub. (In shimano numbering systems: DH = Dynohub C3000 = Model Number and 1N = 1.5 Watt)

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 01:45:00 +0000

In reply to jht projects. Thanks for your impressions on the different dynamo hubs you use!

By: Alee | CyclingAbout.com

Alee | CyclingAbout.com — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 00:56:00 +0000

In reply to Ted Hannah. Thanks for the update! You'll find that USB chargers will require well over 10km/h to get a solid charge; most chargers hit 2 watts at about 15km/h.

By: jht projects

jht projects — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 01:46:00 +0000

My SONdelux is working fine after 28,000 mi (45,000km). It is on a 700c wheel, and it’s not optimal for charging devices. My city bike has a low-end Shimano dynohub. Shimano’s plug-in connector is far easier to set-up initially, and to re-fit after a flat tire, than SON’s two blade connectors. My new bike has the SON28 “connectorless.” I never turn lights off on these bikes, because the additional drag is so little. The safety of lights on always is worth it to me.