Dynohub vibrations

[phantasmagoriana]

I've noticed that my dynohub starts vibrating when I'm going above about 25mph. Has anyone else had this with a dynohub? I'm not sure whether it's something I should be concerned about...

[Polar Bear]

I notice a high resonance vibration with my SON hubs when I'm really moving.   For me this usually means when I'm going downhill.   

I don't notice any handling issues and the hubs have been doing this since I got them - one is now ten years old.

[Kim]

The Shimano hub on my Dawes has a resonance at about 8mph that I sometimes feel.  Never noticed it with the SON, but that's fairly well decoupled from the rest of the bike.

I did test-ride a bike at a LBS recently where the hub dynamo was making hideous buzzing noises at anything above walking speed, but that seemed to have play in the bearing too.

[tatanab]

My Shimano DH72 has a slight resonance that can be felt through the bars at about 22 mph.  Certainly nothing to bother me.

[Tigerbiten]

If you want resonate sounds try a Schlumpf HSD in overdrive and a Rohloff in 7th gear.
That combo really whines when I'm on my big chainring ......... 

[Goldcrank]

That's good to know. I thought my guard was rubbing... but only sometimes.

[Crumbling Nick]

Both my Shimano hubs (3N80 & T660-3N) have vibrations with the lights on. Speed is about 15-20 mph.

I hadn't noticed anything with lights off. That was before the local roads deteriorated. The badly patched holes recently overlaid by tar & very coarse chip resurfacing would now suppress anything from the dynamo hubs.

OTOH, it's obvious if you build a wheel on a dynohub, that the hub is a source of vibration. It's just possible that vibration could be aggravated by slack hub or head bearings. They're easy to check. If they're OK, I'd be inclined to continue riding/check for other problems.

[woollypigs]

Hmm, I only felt a very slight vibration when I was going very slow, and the first time I used my SON. You can still feel it, when lifting the wheel and spin it slowly, but I don't feel it any more as I got used to it. I have never felt anything at high speed, up to ~50 mph both fully loaded, with trailer and unloaded.

[Templogin]

Where should one lubricates one's SON dynohub?

[Pickled Onion]

Only on the thread of the skewer.

The bearings are sealed and good for at least 50,000 km. Do not grease the skewer as there is a danger of blocking the pressure compensation breather hole.

[Templogin]

Thanks a lot PO.  I thought as much.

[aidan.f]

The bearings are sealed and good for at least 50,000 km. Do not grease the skewer as there is a danger of blocking the pressure compensation breather hole.

Older ones will not have one, don't know exactly when the mod was introduced. You can see the breather if you look down the axle. I sent one back,for repair the bearings had got water inside, the axle was replaced.

[Pickled Onion]

The bearings are sealed and good for at least 50,000 km. Do not grease the skewer as there is a danger of blocking the pressure compensation breather hole.

Older ones will not have one, don't know exactly when the mod was introduced. You can see the breather if you look down the axle. I sent one back,for repair the bearings had got water inside, the axle was replaced.

Good point, it was 2002 according to their website:

Then in 2002 we solved the problem: ever since a smart pressure compensation system is integrated in all SONs and retrofitted into all repairs.