Dynamo front wheel

[RJ]

My 3N DH70 is still going strong after 4 (or 5?) years of year-round all-weather commuting.

[CommuteTooFar]

My DH-3D30 (bottom of the range) need the bearings replaced.  I am building a new wheel because it does not seem worth the fuss over such a cheap hub. Cost me £25. The whole  wheel was under £50.  I will reuse the rim.

[Andrij]

I remembered that I have a Shimano HB-C050-D sitting around unused.  I know it's a few years old (5?) and probably a bit draggy, but I'll probably have it built into the new front wheel for my main commuting bike.  Considering the bike is heavy, has front suspension (low end, but not dirt cheap, forks) and fat tyres, I don't think a little extra drag will make much of a difference.  I'll just think of it as extra training.
 

[Polar Bear]

Well, I haven't purchased a wheel yet.   In fact, I'm unlikely to now.

I can buy a T660 for 60 euros from Bike24 and, with the XT 36 hole rear and the pair of A719 rims in the workshop, the package will be sent to Harry for him to turn into dream hoops.   

I'm now looking at the Cyo lights at Bike24...

[interested]

I got this comment when I enquired about getting a wheel with the N80 instead of the N72 recently:

"The N80 is only 70 grammes lighter but much more expensive."

Is the N80 worth the extra for other reasons?

The 3N80, T-660, 3N72, Alfine S501 etc, are all identical when it comes to power generation since they all share the same alu-rotor. So the main difference between them are weight, color and whether they support disc brakes or not.
I believe that the 3N80 is actually lighter than the 490g Shimano's homepage says. The 490g was the projected target weight, but it the actual production models became lighter than that. (around 480g give and take).
For weight weenies 70 grams for 15 euros may be worth it and is actually a cheap way to shave so much weight off the bike compared to handlebars and other components. Also it looks very good and race-like on a bike with drop bars. It does however have an alu-axel instead of steel and the flanges are thinner than the other models, so in theory in isn't so strong. I bought a 3N80 as soon as the stores got it, and It has given me zero problems in all that time despite touring and carrying heavy loads so it isn't fragile either.

--
Regards