Shimano Dynamo hub experience and recommendation?
 

Anyone use a Shimano Dynamo front hub? I am looking into using one to build up some wheels and info on them is as clear as mud.

I want a 36h hub that is about $100 or less and well made. If possible, black would be ideal. Also- its for rim brakes.

Shimano only lists 1 Dynamo hub on their website for rim brakes, but there are a slew of Shimano Dynamo hubs for sale, so it really isnt clear what the difference is between most of them. So if you use one or have used one, please let me know some thoughts.


Options I am considering-

3N70, 3N71, 3N72
Shimano’s website has a 3N70 picture in the 3N71 description, so maybe these are the same? The OLD on their site is listed as 110. That cant be correct, right? http://bike.shimano.com/content/sac-...1/dh-3n71.html
Harris Cyclery claims the 3N72 is an Ultegra level hub and has less resistance than the 3N71. Not much info to go on.
Anyone have one of these 3 hubs?

DH-T660 which is apparently a Deore LX hub. It isnt on Shimano’s website.

DH-S501 which is the Alfine model. It is disc compatible, but works for rim brakes, and is black.



Anyone have one of the above?

I have 3d72 model. They all work well. The "d" designation means disc brake compatible -- all are rim brake compatible. Do search and you can find studies showing efficiency. You can get XT level dynamo hubs,

Shimano Custom Made A319 with Hub Dynamo DHT780 front | Wheel 28" Front Shop

Shimano Hub Dynamo DH-T785 Centerlock 32 h black | Front Hub Shop

but unlikely to be much different from 3d72 or the LX version. Look around and you can find some for less than $50 shipped from outside the US. Good value.

I have the alfine on my salsa Fargo. It has powered my luxos u and top light line plus brake light for 12000 miles so far. I always either have the lights on or I'm charging a battery, so it's always working and still works great. It does feel a little rough now, bearings I guess,but it's only perceptible with the wheel off the bike in your hand. With the rough off-road heavy loaded touring I've put this thing through, I'm more than pleased with its durability. I think it's an excellent value and I'm replacing it with a deore xt trekking Dynamo.

I think all the Shimano hubs are pretty much of a muchness, the main difference is in the seals and bearings and weight (but not much, maybe 60g or so). Next wheels I build with a dynamo hub, in about 20 years when the Shimano one wears out, I wouldn't mind trying the SP Dynamo ones. Very light and about the same price as Shimano with lower drag when switched off.

i have two wheels that I built with the 3n-72 hub and they both perform flawlessly. I paid probably $100 per hub. One is on a commuter bike that i have ridden daily for the last five years and the other is on my touring bike which i have taken on numerous multi-day trips. I haven't yet needed to re-pack the bearings but when I do there are instructions I have seen online so one does not damage connections, etc.

I've yet to met anyone sorry they made the investment of a dyno-hub system.
I started with a Sturmey Archer GH6 which was vintage though new old stock found forgotten in a bikeshop storage area.
Years later I bought an Edelux and was happy to find that the GH6 would spark it up, maybe not to full power output, but way in excess of what my previous headlight would do.
A Son28 now powers my system combined with a E-werk with cache battery to charge my Edge 800 and cell phone.
If budget was an issue, I'd happily go back to the vintage GH6 as I am a believer in good lights and good brakes.
A much superior Shimano unit should offer many years of great service.

I have a couple years on a narrow 74 axle 28 hole Shimano - Brompton wheel, my only Issue is the plug..

It is less secure than the 2 spade fittings used by the German SON ..

& I have ridden off unlit , then had to stop and push the plug down to regain contact.

the plug is common to all shimano hubs..

Just in case you are not familiar with a characteristic of dynohubs, their bearings always feel too tight because you are actually feeling the magnets pulling on each other in the hub when you turn it by hand slowly. If you already knew that, sorry I wasted your time.

The wire connector plug is only a few bucks, maybe you just need a new one.

If anybody reading this has an SP hub, SP also can use the Shimano wire connector plug.

No the plug is fine, unchanged from brand new , it is just a soft-slip fit into the hub . not very Firmly held .

I have never had any loss of continuity from my Schmidt hub ..

perhaps a wire gage thicker would tighten up the fit..

I could have this wrong, but I thought 70 vs. 71 vs 72 were basically incremental upgrades over the years. Minor changes, enough to merit a number change, but pretty much the same. Might be wrong about that though. It certainly isn't made very clear when they use one part number and a different photo.

Anyway, I have the disc version of one or two of those. I think one is a 70 and one a 72, but I'm not sure. I have no problem with either of them, but neither is hooked up to a dynamo light at the moment. But one of them remains my daily commuting tire with no issues. When they have been hooked to a light, they also had no issues. If I paid attention when turning on the light, I could feel the slightest increase in drag, but it was only noticeable at that moment and then became imperceptible to me.

Also, when I got my hubs, I found that I could buy them as a complete wheel for not much more than buying the hub alone. But in both cases I had to go with the disc brake version. Not an issue because there's no reason you can't use the disc brake version with a rim brake (as long as you have the right rim), and it ended up being handy when I switched one of my wheels over to a bike fitted with disc brakes.

I recently set up two bikes with Shimano dynamo hubs and Luxos U lights.

I built the DH-3N80 into a 650b rim for my Rivendell, and I bought a pre-built wheelset with the DH-T780 for my KOM.

They're both great.

The T780 rolls really easily, with almost no perceptible drag with the light off.

I can feel a little drag on the 3N80, but I've gotten used to it.


According to testing and reviews, Shimano hubs are a little heavier and have a little more drag than SP or SON hubs. I went with the shimano hubs anyway since they were the cheapest.

Thanks all for some experience and observations.
It confirms what ive been thinking...which is that im overthinking.

Since it appears the difference in current hubs is negligible, ill probably pick up either the Deore XT T660 or the 3N72, seeing as how both have a steel axle instead of aluminum.

I have a couple of different dyno hubs. The Shimano are pretty decent, never had problems out of them. Never had problems out of my 40 year old Sturmey-Archer GH-6 either. One thing to note is that just because Shimano shows it on their website doesn't mean it is available. I had to order a roller brake compatible Shimano dyno hub from the NL, because it was not stocked by US distributors, even though it was on the Shimano USA site. The generator internals are all the same, the differences are in the bearings, seals and axles. All of them will work with rim brakes. Pick the one with the features that work for you.

Aaron :)

I've been using the dh-t660 for about 8K miles in all sorts of weather and all sorts of terrain ( road, MUP, gravel, dirt, etc. ) and haven't had any issues that would make me think twice about getting on again. The only slightly annoying thing is that I get a distinct vibration at around 16-18 MPH, but according to a Google search that's common.

I've been running a 3N72 (or is it 3N80) for three years now. Nothing to report, it just works (boring is good, in this case!).

I would note that a dyno hub doesn't do much for me when touring. Commuting, yes, it gets a daily workout for 5 months a year. Randonneuring, 2-4 times a year. But I can only remember one tunnel I've used dyno lights in while touring. I prefer to tour during daylight.

I don't think Shimano makes the LX or Ultegra level dynamo anymore or is at least not available to the U.S. market. However the Alfine is just fine from what I have heard but from my research is a touch heavier than others like SON and SP.

I can ask on the Shimano S-Tec forum and see if they still make the Ultegra or LX level dynamos but I have my doubts. I think Alfine just took those over and is sort of the top quality in Dynamo.

Need to get one of the fancy pants adapters to recharge your eelectronic deevices! Put that puppy to use! :D

Aaron :)

Or an Axa headlight with the built in USB outlet. With a battery pack to take the charge during the day.

I recently had a dyno wheel built with an SP-PV-8 hub, using a B&M Luxos U light. I am very satisfied with the wheel and hub. It's relatively light-weight and low resistance compared to the Shimano hubs. However, I am disappointed with Luxos light, which has a very uneven and streaky beam, with dark and light stripes. I would not recommend the Luxos for that reason.

Haven't seen that one yet. Haven't really been in the market for one either. :P

Aaron :)

Is this the one you are referring to?

Very nice, but a bit spendy, still tempted though.

the USB part can be left off . and buy further down the range, to just have Light..

Get a separate USB converter , but then you have to figure out where to put it..



There are a couple that go where your top cap goes .. wiring goes thru the fork steerer..

I suspect you are talking about the AXA Luxx 70 Plus that I recently bought and have posted a few comments on recent threads here. It has been around for a few years, but I might be the first one to mention it on this touring board.

It has also been mentioned before on the board for Electrics and Lighting.

http://www.bikeforums.net/electronic...ternative.html

Photo of mine.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=483066

I bought it from Bike24 in Germany.

Bike24 - AXA Luxx70 Plus Steady Front Light

Their shipping charge is about twenty Euros, so not cheap. But, if you want to have a light and a USB charger, it is one of the best prices for both in one package that I could find. AXA makes a smaller one too, but it is not much cheaper. I think the B&M Luxos U is the only competitor to it. The B&M costs more if ordered from Germany or from Peter White.

Some on the internet have commented that they do not like the AXA beam pattern, and I think that the designer of the reflector should have worked a little harder to reduce hot spots. The AXA at higher speed puts out a pretty narrow beam, not a lot of light to the sides or close up. That works for me and is similar to (but weaker than) the beam patterns on my old motorcycles, so I am used to a beam pattern like that. At lower speeds some close up LEDs also light up for better close in lighting. If you are interested in buying, I suggest you do some google searches to see what others are saying about the beam patterns for both the AXA and the B&M before you buy. The beam patterns are quite different for those two.

The AXA comes in several varieties, I bought the plus version with the USB, hub version (as opposed to sidewall version) but I did not get the version that has an automatic sensor to sense when it is dark out.

There are many differences between the AXA and teh B&M Luxos U. The AXA does not maintain any power to the USB port when you stop. The AXA does not have a switch on the handlebar. Some have complained that the AXA will lose aim when you hit a bump but that has not been a problem for me.

The mount on the AXA is all plastic and can't be bent if you need to aim it slightly to one side. The mounting on my fork crown is slightly off to one side, I had to use those weird angle adjusting washers from a brake pad so that I could move it a bit to one side to get it to aim properly.

The AXA I felt could have used better waterproofing on the USB port. There is a small circuit board with the USB port on it, the plastic mount around it does not have any waterproofing from what I could see. I put some electrical tape over the seam where the two plastic parts meet to form the light mount. On a different forum someone had commented that they put a plastic bag over the whole light and USB port when they plug a USB cord into it in the rain, that might be a sensible precaution.

In USA there really are poor choices for lights and USB chargers for dynohubs, since so few people buy dynohubs here. If anyone knows of any other light/dynohub combinations in one package, please list them too, as I am unaware of any others.

I used to use the B&M Oval LED Lumotec (discontinued model) light and considered adding a SineWave Revolution USB charger but instead chose the AXA option for cost reasons along with a desire to upgrade my light to a higher power LED.

If anyone is interested in just a USB charger, from my research I thought that the Sinewave Revolution appeared to be one of the best out there. The overvoltage protection and waterproofing on it sounded very impressive to me and if I did not get a light and USB combination I would have gotten the Sinewave.

If you order from Bike24, you might want to look at other stuff on their site too. That have a lot of stuff you can't buy in USA. I also put a nice Vaude helmet rain cover, a Lowe Alpine compression stuff sack, and a few other items on my order since the shipping cost for additional items ranges from zero to nil. Also, you might want to consider a dynamo powered tail light too.

I do not use a dynamo powered tail light, but I think all these lights support the wiring for it. The AXA had wires for a tail light that I tried to bundle up under the mount, I did not want to cut them off since I might buy a tail light later.