SlickCycles

Hi forum,

Looking to do a dynamo build for my surly disc trucker. Been researching the Schmidt, which looks all around great, but is pretty steep. My LBS recommended the SP Dynamo SD8 or PD8 and stated its not much of a difference in the wheel drag. plus its half the price. Any reviews on the SDs? or are the Schmidt's really worth the extra arm or leg.

Using the bike as a daily city commuter and occasional tourer. Looking to also set up w Supernova Headlights & Taillights and e-werk battery.

fietsbob

I have a couple Schmidts , and a Shimano dynohub, The electrical contacts , spade lugs,
is Much Better, more secure , on the German Made Dynohub. I use an eDelux and B&M lights

Lowest cost? You can get pre-made up wheels with the Shimano .. Shutter is out of Asia too. the connector is similar.

SON Hubs are Air Tight, there is a pressure equalization vent in the inside of the hollow axle.

SlickCycles

Thank you. Yes I have heard some great things about SONs. The price point is where the heartache is.

I know you get what you pay for so im looking for a functional middle ground

fietsbob

Shimano Alfine? the output is all 3w, 6v. You can save money on B&M lights instead of Supernova too

SlickCycles

Rodger that! Thank you

Mr IGH

Forget Schimdt, totally over-priced and the vent has caused issues on some folk's bikes in extreme conditions. SP is OK but unproven. The advantage the Schimdt and SP offer over Shimano is slightly better efficiency and less reliability for higher cost. I own both the SP and a couple Shimanos, I plan to stay with Shimano on my touring/commuter wheelsets.

Supernova lights are expensive and their shaped beamed dyno light isn't really up to market standards. The B&M seems to be the best headlamp solution these days, esp since the Phillips SafeRide is no longer available in the dyno driven model

Here's a great website for dynos and dyno lighting, :
Bicycle lighting, mostly powered via dynamo, and USB power from dynamo

IK_biker

Never used Schmidt, but have a bike with Alfine and another with SP.
Both Alfine and SP are at around 2,000 miles.
Both perform great, electrically.
Drag-wise, I do not feel a difference.
I am aware of the claimed and the theoretical differences.
Longevity and durability - no idea, way too early to tell.
Schmidt, in my limited opinion are the Cadillacs, and as such - overpriced by definition.

Roll the dice, buddy.....

Oh, and if you buy SP - buy from EU, nice exchange rates nowadays to US $, and also pricing (no VAT).

rifraf

I have 2 Son28's and very happy with them, one on my bike and one on my Extrawheel trailer.
My second choice would have been Shutter Precision which are getting a good reputation.
They also have a good warranty compared to most of the competition.
Their weight, finish and different model options bring them closer to Sons standard than the others and the price is very competitive.
Saying that, if on a very tight budget, a vintage Sturmey Archer is what I started with and it did a great job of powering my Edelux headlight.
I might have stuck with the Sturmey had I not also wanted to charge varies items via my e-werk/cache battery combo

MichaelW

Shimano high end models are fine for hard commuting use. The one and only downside is difficulty of bearing maintenance. Few shops will crack them open for fear of severing the connecting metal ribbon.
My DH-3N72 has been in use everyday for 5 years.

Rowan

Just tell me, what experience do you have with the SON dynohub?

Mr IGH

Too funny, fanbois gotta love, no matter what the cost...What actual knowledge do you have about dyno hubs beyond a lighter wallet?

Tourist in MSN

Bought an SP PV-8 in April 2013, been trouble free and very happy with it. Do not have any experience with the SON.

The Shimano electrical connector is the same as SP, I have three forks with wiring zip tied to the fork blade, so the easily available connector was an unexpected pleasant surprise after I bought the hub. This way I can easily move the wheel from one bike to another, or if I switch forks on one bike, already have the wiring installed on the other fork.

I have heard that the axle is Aluminum on the SP, not steel. That concerned me a bit at first but after I saw some internet postings about people using the SP for long distance mountain bike races I stopped worrying about a weak axle. Here is an example of the postings I saw.
2014 Colorado Trail Race Gear - Bikepackers Magazine

I used the SP for 100 miles on the White Rim trail in Canyonlands and for a couple thousand other miles that were less intense. I feel no perceptible drag.

I am not familiar with the Supernova equipment.

I have decided I wanted to be able to charge things with a USB port. I made several attempts with a soldering iron to make a USB charger to connect to my SP hub and finally gave up trying and decided to buy one. I considered buying the Sinewave Revolution (competitor with the ewerk) to use with my existing DLumotec light. You might want to research the Sinewave Revolution, it has some impressive specifications.

Also considered replacing my existing light with one with a USB port built in, looked at two different lights, (1) the B&M Luxos U and (2) the AXA Luxx 70 Plus (the plus model has a USB charger port). I ordered the AXA from Germany less than a week ago, it has not arrived yet. I saw some comments on light patterns from the B&M Luxos and the AXA Luxx, I decided to roll the dice on the AXA.

I don't know if you saw this or not, it is a good discussion of both the SON and SP, and others.
https://www.ctc.org.uk/file/public/fe...ub-dynamos.pdf

clasher

I've been using the highest level shimano ones for a few years, the DH-3N80 is supposed to have "ultegra level" bearings and it's also got an aluminum axle. There is an LX dynamo that is almost the same (cutouts, etc) but it has a steel axle. I saw the LX one on ebay for 72$ it seems like the best value right now, I almost snagged one even though I don't need it. The 36 hole versions of the shimano dynohubs aren't as common but usually available online from Europe. I haven't used a SON hub yet but I'm not fast enough to care about a few% efficiency. Peter White's site has some detailed information on both the SON and Shimano hubs, check his site out. I love my B&M lights, been using them on rando and commuting bikes for a few years and they seem like the best value when compared to the more expensive lights.

fietsbob

Remember: the cost of wages & benefits, in Germany is higher than China, either TW or PRC.

that is part of the price differential ..


you can demand a Pay Raise ..

rifraf

Lets not forget the Schmidts 5 year warranty when looking at price.
Last I looked, SP had two years and Shimano one.

Tim_Iowa

I just set up two bikes with Shimano dynamo hubs and B&M Luxos U lights. Bike-discount.de has them for less than half of US retail, so I did two for one!

I bought a Shimano DH-3N80 36-hole and built it into a 650b wheel for my Rivendell.
I bought a pre-built wheelset for my 26er bike (Schwinn KOM), with the Shimano XT T780 dynamo hub. As clasher mentioned, it's the same as the 3N80 but with a bigger, steel axle.

The Shimano hubs are pretty light and work great. They have a little drag, but as these are my first dynamo wheels I can't compare to SP or SON. Online pundits seem to think the Shimanos have a little more drag than the others, but I'm ok with them. Especially for the price! The 3N80 was only $60, the 26er dynamo wheels were $171, and the Luxos U was only $105.

Wressen

I had Shimano LX dynamo it was very nice. Only reason I bought a SP dynamo was because I bought a new bike with disc brakes, and the SP dynamo was the about the same price on sale. You won't notice any difference from a higher end shimano and SON/SP dynamos. But I have to say that the SP and SON dynamos look a lot nicer than shimano dynamos. The SON and SP is a lot smaller and can be had in a lot of colors.

Shimano also doesn't have any 6 bolt disc dynamo(at least when I bought my SP), so I would have had to spend some money on a centerlock adapter.

SlickCycles

Whew a lot of great info and more research ahead (while I save up a few bucks). Most likely going to lean towards the SP - B&M set up with the e-werk.

Wressen

It´s a lot cheaper to buy a lamp that has built in USB charging. I went with the Axa Luxx 70 plus. The cheapest option if you want USB charging.

rifraf

Are you here to troll or positively contribute?
I ask cause its not clear from your post.

If your happy with your Shimano, good for you.
I hope you get a long life out of it, but knocking others for their choices suggests more about you than any products benefits or deficits.
As for the name calling........ nuff said

rifraf

Good to hear your getting great results from you Shimano.

Another couple of good Euro sites for bike parts are:

starbike.com
bike24.de

I've used both to great effect.

Others I've heard good things about include:

hibike.com
Wheel Hub Dynamo on sale at XXcycle - en

One blokes research and opinions on bicycle lighting:

Bicycle lighting, mostly powered via dynamo, and USB power from dynamo

and I'm sure many of the American/Canadians might be familiar with the pages at:

Lighting systems

Rowan

Quit being a jerk and answer the question.

SlickCycles

Great info!

Hangtownmatt

Are you aware the SP is not user serviceable? When the bearings need service, or anything else goes wrong, the wheel must be torn down and the hub shipped to the manufacturer. This info can be fund in the SP FAQ.

Matt