Author Topic: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes  (Read 3574 times)

Kim

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Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #25 on: 07 January, 2021, 07:41:03 pm »
Their being an unusual size does matter if it's your first encounter with spade connectors and being generally a bit ham-fisted and unused to the ways of the wire, you damage the female spade. No problem, Maplins is just down the road. Those ones look right. Get them home and, oh, they're 0.1mm too small. Cos standards.

Can confirm that it's equally annoying when you have a several of little plastic drawers containing spade connectors in assorted other sizes.

Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #26 on: 08 January, 2021, 05:48:57 pm »
isn't whittling a few thou off parts like male spade connectors exactly what swiss files were invented for....??

BTW the world of rim dynamos is not stood still; it may be of more interest to those who want to charge gadgets than 'merely' have lights, but this is interesting;

https://www.cyclingabout.com/rim-dynamos-can-now-generate-more-power-than-hub-dynamos/

cheers

Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #27 on: 08 January, 2021, 10:42:00 pm »
Interesting article Brucey, thanks.

rogerzilla

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Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #28 on: 15 January, 2021, 08:49:01 pm »
I've had all of them.  The Shimano DH-3N80 is my favourite but only available NOS now. The original SON 28 was fine, but is and was ludicrously expensive.  I found less lights-off drag with the Shimano (once the bearings were properly adjusted).  I have an SP SV-9 on the Raleigh Twenty.  It is cute but the flanges are a bit narrowly-spaced for a bigger wheel.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #29 on: 15 January, 2021, 11:10:55 pm »
I've had all of them.  The Shimano DH-3N80 is my favourite but only available NOS now. The original SON 28 was fine, but is and was ludicrously expensive.  I found less lights-off drag with the Shimano (once the bearings were properly adjusted).  I have an SP SV-9 on the Raleigh Twenty.  It is cute but the flanges are a bit narrowly-spaced for a bigger wheel.

this is quite an old graph now (from shortly after the SONdelux was introduced I think)



I've seen other tests in which the DH-3N80 shows differently vs the SON models and I think this is because the bearings in the DH-3N80 were not correctly adjusted or lubricated. I have often had to back off the factory setting by about 1/4 turn on a shimano hub, which must mean the bearings are grinding themselves into oblivion otherwise. IIRC DH-3N80 has double lip seals which will drag noticeably  if they are new and badly lubricated.

The other notable feature of the graph above is that the performance of the DH-3N30 model differs primarily from that of the other hubs in relation to the lights off drag.  Again I suspect this is largely because of the bearings and mainly to do with how they are adjusted/lubricated.   In terms of additional power in for electricity out, it is pretty much as good as any of the others.

cheers

Re: Dynamo hubs for rim brakes
« Reply #30 on: 17 January, 2021, 02:22:07 pm »
I have an ancient son from the days of solidlights and predating other decent hub dynamos.  Never had an issue with it, for some reason the spade connectors have caused me no more problem than tubeless tyres.  Second hand son deluxe hub also faultless and son on the SPM which I got second hand.  If I were buying new I think bang for buck the son is maybe overpriced, but it’s not spade connectors that would be my issue.
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