Hub dynamo lighting

desweller

Did a quick search but there are not many topics on this subject.

I'm thinking of building a wheel with a hub dynamo in it as I'm convert my utility bike into a tourer. Wondered if anyone on here uses them and could give me a few pointers as there's some things I'm not sure about?

How do the lights compare to the recent crop of high output LEDs - I have a Hope Vision One at the moment, how would something like the Busch & Muller IQ Cyo stack up against that?
What are the differences between the main Shimano dynamo models?
How strong are they - will they handle some off-road use or is it roads only?

Cheers guys

Des

PeterBL

The Shimano hubs fall in two categories, those, who are labelled "sport", and the rest. You will find most of them here: http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/con ... ynamo.html

Their efficiency with lights on is almost the same, while with lights of, the "sport" models are better. Also, the better ones weigh less. Within the "sport" range (from which I would chose), there is no difference to the innards of the hubs. So just choose one appropriate for your use (disc or not, 2,4W or 3W, colour). The 80-model is lighter than the others, due to aluminium axle and possibly shell.

Regarding lights, I find this site very good: http://www.xs4all.nl/~swhs/fiets/tests/ ... ex_en.html. He also compares to some battery lights, but not the Hope Vision One. Peter White also has many useful beamshots on his site. But generally, many battery lights are symmetrical while dynamo lights are shaped with cut-off, thereby proving much more useful on road. Note, that the Cyo (non-R) basically is the same lamp as the Schmidt Edelux. The Edelux is just a tiny bit brighter due to better cooling (full aluminium housing). The Philips dynamo light looks promising, but is hard to find. Some German shops are beginning to stock it, though.

If on a budget, I would go with a DH-3N72 Shimano hub, a standard IQ Cyo headlight. The Cyo is not the best light, but can be had so much cheaper than its MRP (as low a 50€) that it is really good value. The street price of the Philips is yet to be seen.

If money where no object, you can't beat the looks of a red Schmidt Sondelux coupled with a red Edelux.

I would also add a rear light from B&M's range.

desweller

Thanks Peter

I did see the red SON on SJS Cycles' website - it's a pretty tidy looking unit!

Do you have any view on how robust these units are off-road?

Cheers

Des

MichaelW

I use the Shimano Ultegra/XT grade disc hub DH3D71.
Currently in its 3rd winter season, totally reliable and fuss free.
I have used it on tracks and trails. I saw plenty of tourists with Shimano dynohubs in Europe this summer.
All dynohubs produce 3w. The front light uses 2.7 and the rear lamp 0.3watts. Front lamp only is a bit overloaded but it doesnt damage an LED. Rear lamp only will blow.
Mine is mated to a B&M Fly which is powerful enough for any riding. The metal mounting is excellent but the lamp housing is a bit brittle. I cracked mine against the downtube when the wheel flopped to one side during a repair. I fixed the hairline crack with superglue and its OK now.

The only downside of Shimano dynohubs is routine maintenance. My LBS doesnt like to mess with them and advises to leave them be unless they cause problems. The wire connecting the non-rotating inner bits to the non-rotating external socket lies withing a slot in the non-rotating axle. Should you rotate the axle during dissassembly you will snap the wire. I dont think you can fix this easily.

There are some video or photo guides to dissassembly but not very good ones. Shimano docs are useless.

mrushton

Lot of good advice over on www.yacf.co.uk where there is a lot of dynamo usage and they'll prob.raise as many questions as answers.

The dynamo is best suited to long commutes/audaxes. I use battery lights (lumicycle) which are superb and I can charge them at work every couple of days. Drawback of the dynamo is the two spade connectors that run from the hub to the light. If you have to remove the wheel regularly it can become tiresome similarly my partners Solidlight had a locking connection which was a faff in an unlit bike shed but she couldn't leave a £200 light on the bars.

The E3 mentioned below is seriously sexy but the E3 triple is better suited to handle bar use. More discussions on the pros/cons on yacf

de_sisti

Two of my bikes use a SON28 dynamo on Mavic Open Pro rims (36H). There is also a Sondeluxversion too. The light I use is the Supernova E3 pro and the E3 tail light. The light output is very good indeed and is supplemented by the Dinotte 400L, Radbot 1000 and Exposure Maxx Enduro.

You won't be disappointed with a SON hub dynamo, the Edulex, Supernova or IQ Cyo.
Ok, this stuff isn't cheap, but I would imagine that many people on this forum don't always
go for the cheapest option. Good luck with your choice.

+1 to the above.

desweller

mrushton wrote:

Lot of good advice over on www.yacf.co.uk where there is a lot of dynamo usage and they'll prob.raise as many questions as answers.

Argh. You hit the nail on the head there!

16mm

An edelux is probably similar in output to a vision1. Mine is kind of similar to a 200L dinotte, but the beam pattern is very different. The edelux puts most of the light onto the ground, rather than upwards, so great for the road, not so good for branches.

The edelux is also really well made.

The best thing is that they never go dim towards the end of a ride, and you never need to worry about getting home before the batteries go.

I'd look at an edelux or similar plus the hope.

scottgeniusltd2005

edelux £120, shimano hub wheel (16 inches) £64, rear b&m led light £40. Output not too dissimilar to the hope vision 4 on low. very robust. and the shimano cheap hub is very very good and a third the price of a son hub. all from sjs cycles.hth.

desweller

Thanks chaps.

Shimano hub seems favourite, the consensus seems to be that they're on a par with the SON units. Will probably be going for the Edelux too, the light test thread on YACF really illuminated my decision making process!

Will let you know how it goes

Des