Originally Posted by
GamblerGORD53
OR you can get the BEST round the world brakes .... SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake. The pads are good forever apparently. Mine now has near 20,000 miles, on DYAD rims. Changed the RS bearing at 17,000 miles. The cable hasn't been changed in 3 years / 8,000 miles. I did 4200 miles in SE Asia on a 120 lb beast. My fork did break 3 times, so it now has a tandem one. A disc fork would likely do. Taking the brake off to clean is an easy no-brain service, just need to watch the brake-arm / plug alignment.
Also, my front drum brake held the fort on downhills without the stupid rear rim brake that got frozen muddied up and became USELESS. ONLY drum brakes require NO fiddling adjustments.
I have the specs of the Sturmey Archer non-drum dynamos on my spreadsheet and didn't look any further since they are 6v/2.4w when the standard seems to be 5v/3w. The Sturmey Archer HDS73.TBSS.AA2 however has the 70mm drum brake and 6v/3w dynamo rolled into one. I've also found it very cheap ($120).
My hesitation in changing my plan, however, are:
- There aren't many reviews of the hub.
- The weight is 1.2kg where the SP hub is .39kg (I'm no gram counter, but that's major).
- The one review that sticks out is the guy whose 90mm version torqued his fork.
I would love to hear more about your experiences.