Planning to Buy Dynamo Front Wheel
 

Hey all,

I've just hit some fitness goals which mean I finally get to buy a dynamo wheel and lighting setup (hooray!). I've done a great deal of research on dynamo hubs on the market as well as shops that would be willing to build the wheel for me. (I don't want the first wheel I build to be so valuable... I'd prefer a pro to do it.)

Here's my problem: My current touring bike uses cantilever brakes, but I don't plan to keep it forever. I may want to use mechanical disc brakes in the future. Is it possible to have the wheel built with a disc-ready hub AND a brake-ready rim? If not, well, end of story-- I guess I'm sticking with rim brakes for a long time coming. On the other hand, if it is possible, are there any downsides?

Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Should not be an issue. What hub do you have in mind?

Yes, you can Buy a Hub with Disc Mounts, and not fit the disc and have a Rim with a Brake track.

I have 2 Bikes with Disc Hubs and V/ cantilever Brake bosses ..

One I left the Hub minus the disc , ( there is a slight dish for the 100mm wide axle to have clearance for the disc mount & caliper as done in the Hub design)

the other, It came with The disc Brakes and Left the brake Bosses Vacant. Both rims have Brake tracks .

you can seek out Low cost machine built 1, a distributor cubicle wheel building boiler room built 2 ,
or 3 have your local shop assemble the parts you picked out.

Steps towards retail, having increasing costs..

You can certainly use a disc brake hub with a rim brake wheel. Shutter Precision (SP) hubs are available in both versions, and the dish on the rotor side is minimal.
I built a SP disc hub into a wheel for use with rim brakes for a guy who proceeded to do a tour in excess of 6,000 km on it. He reported no issues, and I did not expect there would be any.

According to my spreadsheet (all my bike purchases are mulled over in spreadsheets... :(), I'm looking at a Shutter Precision PD-8 as it has fairly comparable performance to the Schmidt SON28 at 50-60% the price. Those savings will likely go towards the purchase of a B&M Luxos U so as to negate the need for an external USB charger.

Thanks for the insight. I'm leaning toward option 2 (for cost) or option 3 (for quality, relationship), but I need to find the right shop. Most of the shops around me are either chain (Performance Bike) or very roadie/tri focused. The few transportation/touring focused places are boutique in nature and have very high prices as a result.

I, in fact, am looking at an SP hub with spoke/rim focus on strength for touring load and personal weight. (My fitness goal was to drop 10% body fat and I'm 3 months ahead of schedule. I was at 230 lbs. before and I'm just below 200 lbs. now.) For me, speed is a distant second to reliability.

I have an SP hub (hand built wheel). No issues. No discernible difference from non dyno wheels.

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.

Peter White can Build and Ship Schmidt Hub wheels , He is also the importing Distributor,

Here is a seller in My State, of the SP Hubs, (Only stock 32 hole)

they Build wheels ... Id go 3 cross .. *

https://www.universalcycles.com/comp...er%20Precision, so pick a rim from their stocklist and ask them to ship you a finished wheel I like the centerlock for touring bikes becayse it lets you remove the disc when you carton up the bike to fly to go touring.

No Sales tax in Oregon..

NB: There are covers for the centerlock splines, In the interim, when not fitting a Disc.

*[32 hole 3X is how my SON Disc 20" rim wheels are on my Bike Friday]


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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:

1. There aren't many reviews of the hub.
2. The weight is 1.2kg where the SP hub is .39kg (I'm no gram counter, but that's major).
3. The one review that sticks out is the guy whose 90mm version torqued his fork.

I would love to hear more about your experiences.

They both come in 6V3W. It's a mystery why anybody would still sell or want 2.4W.
You didn't figure your other brake's weight. I used 2.3/2.0 WH13 spokes. NO chance of failure.
I know I am almost alone using the drum brake, WTH. Millions of Dutch bike users can't be wrong, IMO. I have read of Surly hubs crapping out at mere 12,000 miles. I have already outlasted a pocketful of rim pads. I figure the drum brake is FREE with the dyno, already at 1/3 a SON hub.

My original tour worthy fork was said to be the strongest by the builder. I had my doubts from the start and sure enough it wobbled badly from the minute I loaded up and got on, in Saigon. It did have a lot of weight hanging on the front handlebar/ head tube. It snapped near the top, same each time. Just shows how beefy the drum brake is. SJS cycles has all the SA hub kinds and all parts. I got the new one at R+E cycles, Seattle.

They don't make an arm collar for a tandem fork though. I went DIY crazy and made my own and besides that wrapped a 3" CF band underneath. I've been too busy to try it out at full load, but I do day centuries at 68lbs anyway. Weight weenies need not apply, ha. I have no time for fiddling or worries away from home. I have 2 rear IGH wheels. They say disc rotors get frying hot in a hurry too. My hybrid has them.

I think my front wheel is 7.1 lbs with Marathon Plus 36c and the Rolhoff is 7.8 lbs. SA 5w about the same.

I have a SA X-FDD (HDS73T w/70mm, 6.0V 3w) on my commuting bike. After 9,000 + miles, still working great. I did have to replace one of the cartridge bearings this year, though. It is heavier than other hubs but remember that your brake components will add some weight.

Do you have a reference for the fork torquing? Yes there is a reaction arm that attaches to the fork, but it is long enough so most forks should not have a problem. My 45 year old steel fork handles it fine. Disk brakes with their shorter torque arm, are more likely to mess up a fork.

Drum brakes are easy to modulate, reliable, long wearing, and great in wet conditions. Not very sporty but just the thing for utilitarian cycling.

What he said....

I had Sturmey front drum/dyno and rear Shimano roller brake and converted to rim brakes this spring. I lost confidence in the front fork, under heavy braking a standard road fork flexes beyond my comfort level (it's moving back over an 1").

With the documentation of failed forks with front drum on the web I looked into buying a stronger front fork but the cost and weight penalty caused me to give it up.

I sold off the drum/roller wheelset (700C rims, SA dyno/drum and Nexus 8 speed IGH) and bought the Alfine 3W dyno hub at it's new price ($66) along with an Alfine 11 speed hub. Lighter weight, no fork worries, higher power and no out-of-pocket, it works for me.

The Sturmey dyno is rated at 3W and that's all it's good for. Some of the newer lights and USB charging dongles take advantage of the Shimano/SON/SP hub's ability to deliver as much as 6W~8W, the Sturmey dyno is unable to keep up.

When I changed to a dual pivot caliper brakeset and Shimano disc dyno I cut ~3lbs off my bike and I don't have to worry about my front fork.

Some day I might convert to discs on my upright bar commuter bike, in the meantime I'm using my older frame with disc ready hubs.

My Drum brake fork for my old Stumpy MTB is a (used) Tange, Sloping fork crown, Blades of Chromoly ,

When I got It I was told of its 'problems', which was blade Alignment , That was wrestled back into shape ,
with some difficulty , because of the Blade strength.. been fine since 89.

I dont tend to slam the brakes on , riding on black ice.. my S-A drum brakes are on the winter studded tire Bike.


Newest SON delux tailor the output to lower drag but still are sufficient for LED lights.
the Classic & 28 retains the output all you phone chargers seek..

The big difference is bearing life, with bearing replacement on both requiring spoke removal with a front wheel rebuild. If you don't build your own wheels you could spend twice as much for the SP in the first year or two.

Shutter Precision claims a 20,000km bearing life, and people report failures in 10,000 miles.

Schmidt claims 50,000km and people get more.

Whatever you buy, import it directly from Germany with starbike.com and bike-discount.de good sources.

When I bought my setup this year (SON28 / Edelux ii / B&M Line Plus / USB-Werk) the Luxos U was $103 from starbike versus $219 from Peter White.

Here's the link to the torqued fork: The Smut Pedaller: Braking... Bad: Part 1

He was using the 90mm drum version.

It's funny that you mention Starbike. Everywhere I've searched for the B&M Luxos U quotes $200+, but then I stumbled across Starbike. I couldn't believe the price and wrote it off as a scam site. But you say it's legit?

Might be a Mild 1017 [Hi-Ten] steel Fork on that old Raleigh.

You're confused, thicker steel tubing resists flex better than thinner and it makes no difference cromo vs 1020. Cromo can be thinner because it has higher Youngs Modulas of Elasticity and is less likely the fracture due to thickness.

Bottom line, 1020 fork flexes less than cromo because it's thicker. Cromo fork is not better than 1020 in forks used with SA drum brakes, it's worse....

The Goal Is reasonable safety .. so more cheap steel gets that when Less Higher stringth steel will cost More

since that Fork is Not Yours , Mine Or the guy who went on his opinion confirming search,

Its Just another inconclusive Hamster wheel exercise.

the bending the Offset Will work harden the steel a Bit.

SJSC Wont sell A Disc brake Raked fork just a straight one

The Germans at Tout Terrain rake their disc forks , their better fork oversized the left Blade ..



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Yes, Starbike is legitimate. I bought my SON28/Edelux ii/B&M Line Plus/miscellaneous bits from them. bike-discount.de is too - I bought a B&M Ixon IQ Premium and charger from them.

$200+ is what you pay a US retailer, selling a niche product, after buying it from a distributor with their markup.

$100 and change is what you pay Starbike in Germany, selling a product which is legally required on all bikes weighing under 22 pounds, with a shorter distribution network. Also note that their website quotes prices including VAT which Americans and other non-EU residents don't pay.

The only down side is that it could one week or two to arrive, and that using the warranty would probably require mailing your parts to Germany. Instructions were included with my order for that.

Thanks, it was an interesting read. Sounds like that fork had a few other issues (including a previous collision) that may have been factors. My fork is original to my 1972 Raleigh Super Course and have no indications that the fork is likely to be damaged by the reaction arm.

Whatever you decide on, you will love your dyno lights

Nice thing about S-A drum brakes is how smooth they are to modulate.

In comparison to Disc front Brakes ..