Lumotec IQ Fly N Plus + Shimano DH-3D71 FTW!
 

This past weekend I just installed a Lumotec IQ Fly N Plus headlight along with a new front wheel equipped with a Shimano DH-3D71 dynamo hub on my Xtracycle. I am really impressed with the results!

The light gave way more than adequate light to see the road a good 75 feet in front of me, and lit up both sides of the two lane street I rode on. It was truly almost like being in a car or on a motorcycle. Totally safe & adequate in my opinion. I also found the headlight is bright enough to be seen in daylight, sort of like daytime running light brightness.

For comparison's sake, my wife's Breezer has an NX-30 dynamo hub with a Lumotec Oval senso plus halogen headlight. The light output of the IQ Fly is much better than the Oval, and the drag on the 3D71 is perceptibly less than the NX-30.

Just hope this helps anyone shopping for these. I'm not affiliated with Busch & Muller or anyone who sells them, just very satisfied with my purchase after a good few months of doing research and making decisions on the subject.

Where did you score your new wheel from? How much? 32 or 36 hole?:D

Harris Cyclery built it, used a Sun Rhyno Lite Rim. 32h. Their prices are slightly higher than some other places I looked, but they had both the rim and hub in stock, so I just bit the bullet.

Do you know where I can find a pair of 36 holers? Harris seems to only have 32holers only advertised. :( I have a pair of Raleigh Twenties and I'm considering modern genhubs for them both. The catch is I'm doing it on 36hole rims

I think the 36-hole is vapourware.

No it's not.
http://cgi.ebay.de/SHIMANO-Nabendyna...QQcmdZViewItem

The latest DH-3N80
http://cgi.ebay.de/Shimano-Sportnabe...QQcmdZViewItem

I've got a HB-NX70 on the MTB. 36 spokes. Disc version.

Where did you find that? How is the drag compared to 3D7X series? I saw those hubs on eBay a week ago, I was outbid at the last minute.

Found it at the LBS. I went in wanting a 71 but they had the 70 in stock.

Dunno about drag because its on the MTB which is just for fun riding. I expect its somewhat more than the 71. Im running 4leds off it... super bright.

Amazingly the LBS also had a fully built 3n71 shimano wheel for the roadbike in stock too (probably off a giant CRX). Seemed like a good idea at the time, I can swap back in my lighter bontrager wheel, but I never bother.


Sirrus St Kilda cycles are the aussie schmidt importers and they have 36 hole with and without disc listed. They are great to deal with and ship internationally.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/shimano3n70.asp

Now in stock , the new Shimano DH-3N70 dynohub. It has lower drag than the NX-30, higher quality bearings (comparable to Ultegra hubs), reduced weight, and is available in both 32 and 36 hole drillings.

Just a bump to this thread .... I just installed the same dynamo hub and light (well, actually mine was the senso plus model IQ Fly). I too can't be more pleased with the results.

Headlight is bright, fairly focused with enough spill to see, but cut-off at top to keep from blinding drivers/others .... more than enough to light my way on dark stretches of the road or bike trail ....

Seno light means no on-off -- it senses when it gets dark, and it comes on. I think it is ultra-sensitive, as it stays on in situations where I would have thought it would have turned off. But no matter -- it's not like the hub is slowing me down (if you haven't tried a bike with one, you'd be hard-pressed to feel the hub) and it's not like I'm burning out the bulbs (the LEDs will last for thousands of hours). So I just think of it as a safety light that comes on a little early ............

Another neat thing is that the light strobes at speeds of less than 4mph (it comes on solid at 4+). So if you were walking your bike across an intersection, the LED strobe-flashes ... I thought that was a cool thing.

Love the setup and never having to think about charging batteries or someone stealing the light off the bike ......... pricey, since you have to re-spoke your wheel (or get a new one with the hub), but to me it was worth the investment ....

AP

i was wondering about building a hub dynamo wheel and getting a decent front light like you guys have been talking about. I'm in the UK and SJS cycles are selling the Shimano DH3N70B but with no switch? Where would i get one separately? Are they quite expensive?

Thanks

Sam

I am not sure, but I think you can either buy a switch (and an unswitched light), or purchase a light that has a switch, or like me, purchase a light that has a "sensor" that will turn on anytime it gets dark.

I just ordered a wheel built with a 32 hole Sun CR-18 rim with hub dynamo from Peter White last week - I was told they were out of the NX-30 and the dh3n71 hubs. They did, however, have the Shimano dh3n72 hub in stock. From the few things I can find online about it, it is about 100 grams lighter than the 71, no mention about rolling resistance. Hopefully in a week or two I will be riding with no cares in the world.
I bought the IQ fly plus at Harris a couple of weeks ago to run with my B&M Dymnotech 6 sidewall dynamo. I had hoped that they would have replacement roller wheels in stock - but they and Peter White are out - they expect more in a couple of weeks. I am currently running the IQ flu with the sidewall dynamo using the wire roller and I agree it is a very big improvement over the Ovaltech 2.4W halogen I was using before.