Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => The Knowledge => Topic started by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 01:13:29 pm

Title: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 01:13:29 pm

I currently have a two dynamo wheels each with a DH-T8000-3D hub. They work well and I'm pretty happy with them.

I found myself looking at the SON website, and pondering the idea of an upgrade to a SONDelux hub, at least for my main summer wheel.

Would I actually notice any difference ? I know it has a different connector to the lego brick thing that the shimano uses. Do adaptors between the two exist?

J
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Kim on 17 January, 2021, 01:14:52 pm
Would I actually notice any difference ?

Not while riding the bike.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 17 January, 2021, 02:34:57 pm
I've got an SON on one bike and an SP on another. Spinning the wheel by hand, there seems to be no resistance from the SON and a little from the SP. But while riding, no drag is noticeable from either, nor is any difference in light output.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Bolt on 17 January, 2021, 03:39:35 pm
Here's an interesting article that looks at the latest in rim dynamos  https://www.cyclingabout.com/rim-dynamos-can-now-generate-more-power-than-hub-dynamos/ (https://www.cyclingabout.com/rim-dynamos-can-now-generate-more-power-than-hub-dynamos/)
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Zed43 on 17 January, 2021, 05:58:18 pm
I'm with Kim on this one, and I own three SONs  ;D
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: quixoticgeek on 17 January, 2021, 06:00:38 pm

Thank you all, you've just saved me about €400...

Thanks

J
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 17 January, 2021, 06:03:33 pm
Yup, we have two Schmidts but the rest are Shimanos due to cost/ benefit.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Polar Bear on 17 January, 2021, 06:26:15 pm
When I started on the journey of dynamos there were two widely available hub options and a few sidewall options.  Testing at the time showed that the hubs were streets ahead of the bottles and that SON hubs were measurably superior to the Shimano hubs albeit they were significantly more expensive.  Aesthetics, if that mattered also favoured the SON with the Shimano looking like something that your geeky friend had cobbled together in their shed.*

Anyway, I chose SON and have never regretted it.  Equally I know lifelong Shimano hub users who are equally happy and I know folk who have a SON on their "best" bike and Shimano on the pub/shopping/commuting hack.

I have ridden with Shimano users in the dark and there doesn't seem to be any issues where it most matters - light output when required.

* Just my opinion you understand.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Kim on 17 January, 2021, 06:39:22 pm
I know it has a different connector to the lego brick thing that the shimano uses. Do adaptors between the two exist?

This is a more interesting question, though.  I know it's trivial to go the other way, as all you need is a lego-brick connected to a pair of male spade connectors by a short bit of wire.  I also know that the Shimano connector will appear to mate with the spade terminals on a SON and might even manage to make some kind of electrical connection, but since they're both expecting the spring to be in the other part of the connector, it isn't a reliable one.

I *think* the SP lego brick is compatible with the Shimano one, but for reasons of wheel size, I haven't actually tested it.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 17 January, 2021, 06:43:21 pm
This listing
https://brilliantbikes.co.uk/-brompton-hub-dynamo-lighting/393-brompton-hub-dynamo-shimano-tab-connector.html
would imply that SP and Shimano lego brick connectors are identical or at least similar enough to be compatible.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Kim on 17 January, 2021, 06:44:12 pm
Aesthetics, if that mattered also favoured the SON with the Shimano looking like something that your geeky friend had cobbled together in their shed.

I think this can go either way, depending on model:  The SON Delux is undeniably good looking.  The DH-3N80 isn't bad.  Most of the SP hubs look okay, though not quite as elegant as the SON Delux.  The Alfine hubs look respectable enough.  The SON 28 looks like a tin of baked beans from the 1960s that rogerzilla's found in a cupboard and had at with the Brasso.  Low-end Shimano hubs look like a Fisher-Price plastic tin of baked beans, but like all Fisher-Price products, they're pleasingly good value.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Hot Flatus on 17 January, 2021, 06:46:23 pm
SP & Shimano connectors are interchangeable, I think. I'm pretty sure I've used a Shimano one on my SP.

For OP, there is another recent thread on dynohubs. My experience of Son, Shimano, SP is that the SON failed after a couple of years, had to be sent back to Germany. Then a bit after a minor collision bent the spade terminals so it needs to go back to Germany. I'm not going to bother.  The Shimano has been faultless. The SP is bearing up extremely well in its 4th year of all weather use. I can't put my finger on why, but it is my favorite.
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Lightning Phil on 17 January, 2021, 07:08:36 pm
Might be of interest

https://www.cyclingabout.com/dynamo-hub-power-drag-testing-schmidt-son-shutter-precision-shimano/
Title: Re: Dynamo Upgrade?
Post by: Polar Bear on 17 January, 2021, 08:16:31 pm
This listing
https://brilliantbikes.co.uk/-brompton-hub-dynamo-lighting/393-brompton-hub-dynamo-shimano-tab-connector.html
would imply that SP and Shimano lego brick connectors are identical or at least similar enough to be compatible.

I did a front wheel build with an SP for a friend and inexplicably he used a Shimano connector instead of the SP one provided but it works equally well.