advice on hub dynamo's

sharm1969ca
sharm1969ca Posts: 136
edited March 2010 in Commuting chat
Am in the process in getting a surly long haul trucker on the c2w scheme. I have lights for my carrera subway but i was thinking of getting a hub dynamo for the LHT. does anyone have any experience with these sorts of lights, are they any good,expensive and so forth. Thankyou in advance.

Comments

  • WesternWay
    WesternWay Posts: 564
    The thought of a single iota of my effort going into anything other than propelling me home hurts me; now that lights are LED based even rechargeable batteries last forever. And that is why I do not have a dynamo.
  • Lycra Man
    Lycra Man Posts: 141
    I used to have a rechargeable Smart twin headlamp set up and had that go off (out of battery) a couple of times on my commute. I replaced it with a Shimano hub dynamo already built into a wheel, which I bought on eBay for £35. I bought a Busch & Muller IQ Fly light (about £60) which has a standlight function (stays on if you stop at a junction) and I normally leave it on all day. I can't detect any drag whether it is on or off. Oh and it's bright enough to ride fast on unlit country roads and lanes.

    Now I never have to worry about batteries or charging - I make may own electricity as I go.

    Lycra Man
    FCN7 - 1 for SPDs = FCN6
  • jedster
    jedster Posts: 1,717
    the drag caused by a hub dyno is utterly negligable

    The reasons I have gone the hub dyno route are for convenience - you never have to worry about recharing/replacing batteries or removing lights when you lock your bike on a rack.

    Systems can be expensive - you could easily spend £250 on a wheel built on a hub dyno and another £150 on lights. But there is no need to. I have a similar set up to Lycra Man - bought a wheel on ebay for £40-£50 and bought an B&M Cyo front and a compatible rear for about £90 together.

    J
  • snailracer
    snailracer Posts: 968
    Cheap-ish dynohub wheels:
    http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s170p1229

    Never considered a bottle dynamo? Truly zero drag when disengaged. Cheaper and lighter than a dynohubbed wheel. Same power output. Doesn't get in the way of wheel removal.
  • Interestedcp
    Interestedcp Posts: 48
    sharm1969ca wrote:
    Am in the process in getting a surly long haul trucker on the c2w scheme. I have lights for my carrera subway but i was thinking of getting a hub dynamo for the LHT. does anyone have any experience with these sorts of lights, are they any good,expensive and so forth. Thankyou in advance.

    I have been using hub dynamos for around 5 years. I swear by them now. Both my hub dynamos and lights have been extremely reliable. I have never owned a battery operated light as reliable as my old B&M Lumotec Oval.
    Hub dynamos are just so convenient; never having to worry about batteries, or whether to lug the lights with you or not, is quite wonderful.

    At the moment, the best value for money dynamo system is a Shimano hub dynamo from their "Sport" line, like 3N72, or 3N80, together with a B&M IQ Cyo light. Not exactly cheap, but IMHO worth it because of how well it works and the quality. The B&M optics in the Cyo (and other of their lights) are better than most other light solutions out there, and the light output is quite impressive too.

    --
    Regards

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