Do dynamo hubs such as the SON28 make any noticeable noise? I just watch a video with one in it, and I could here a bit of a humming sound.

I've never noticed any noise with mine. I also can't tell by riding whether the light is on or off in the daytime, the drag is pretty minimal and I just don't notice the difference.

Silent.

If my PD-8 makes noise I can't hear it, in all fairness my hearing isn't the best.

Yep, basically silent. I sometimes think I can feel a very faint buzz. I also cannot tell a difference when the light is on or off.

The tire makes more sounds rolling on the road surfaces

Yes they make noise. Can you notice it? I have no idea.

Some people have complained of a faint vibration at certain speeds, possibly from a resonance in the frame from the armature going past the magnets, but I have never noticed that on my bike. The comments that I have seen on that was that it was felt on the hands, but I have never seen reference to a noise from it.

When you first get your new dynohub, it is common to think that the bearings are adjusted wrong because by hand it is hard to turn the axle. But that is a function of the magnets, once the wheel is installed it rotates fine. So, do NOT attempt to adjust any bearings.

Schmidt uses deep groove radial contact sealed bearings they have no Adjustment ..





2 son classics , a delux, & an New XS ... no problem . (1 dead Shimano, No juice output).

No noticeable noise from my Shimano, Sanyo, or Shutter Precision. The Sanyo has a noticeable vibration.

No , they are silent for all intents and purposes.

<insert tangent here>

Not taking issue with TiMSN, just using that statement to setup my experience...

If there is any appreciable resistance felt with a SON28 then something is definitely wrong. I don't have experience with any other manufacturers hubs. Turning the wheel very slowly with it off the ground you get a slight bump.bump.bump sensation, nothing even remotely "hard". That is why I take claims that folks can feel the drag with a huge amount of skepicism. If you (not even going to use the word spin) turn the wheel slowly you can in fact feel it, if you put the bike on the ground and slowly roll it fwd you can't. I ain't buying the argument that people can add their weight to the bike and pedal and feel it then.

As far as the harmonic being translated to the bike through the fork, I think its possible but not probable as the amplification would have to be massive given the small input amplitude and the fact that it would be hard to hold speed precisely at that "magic number" to keep frequency stable long enough for it to develop.

</end tangent>

Pretty sure they are referring to holding the wheel by hand as opposed to "in the forks" which I'm gathering your talking about.

Also there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of riders feeling vibration through the handlebars with the installation of a dynamo hub so I'd suggest being open minded to its credence.
Good that its not your experience as it tends to be looked upon negatively.

My Moulton APB (now sold) offered up said vibration with the installation of a Sondelux, but only at certain road speed which I curtailed with an unconscious adjustment of cadence or gearing.

My Surly Ogre has a Son28 but I notice neither noise nor vibration through the handlebars like I did the Moulton.

Happy spinning

If you edited your profile to say which state/city or town you lived in, forum members might be inclined to offer you the opportunity to see with your own eyes and/or ears bikes with dynohub setups to help make up your mind with a purchase decision.

In answer to the thread question: No.

As to the vibration: Occasionally, I have felt it but haven't taken too much notice of it.

The noisiest power generator I have had was an S6 sidewall dynamo. It wasn't long before I ditched it and upgraded to a SON back in 2003, both because of the S6's noise, and its unreliability in wet riding (as in slip on the tyre sidewall, and I didn't like the idea of wearing out the sidewall with the metal brush roller).

Fair point

I have two SON 28, older and newer model and two SP PD8 hubs. They are silent as far as I can tell. The wind noise is by far louder.

I sure think I experienced a bit of mechanical resonance on my setup, I was coasting down a smallish hill and was going over a rough patch of pavement, not bad just rough the front fork started to get a shimmy that steadily increased until I tapped the brake a couple of times then everything smoothed out. The shimmy started on the rough patch and continued for another 30 yards or so on smooth concrete so I'm pretty sure I wasn't confusing vibrations due to the rough concrete with mechanical resonance. This happened over a stretch of 50 yards or so. Improbable, yes, but definitely possible.

I have two Shimano dynamo hubs. When the hub is charging I can feel a faint buzz when velocity picks up such as when you are going down a hill but it is negligible and quickly forgotten. I have ridden all day with the dynamo charging USB devices and have absolutely forgotten it was charging. So, in general answer to you question, there is obviously a difference between a dynamo hub and regular hub but for all practical purposes you will not detect any difference when you are riding.

I have that, too, with my Shutter Precision. At normal speeds there's nothing, but at high speeds there's a slight buzz and accompanying vibration.

Yes I was. Thank you.

A bearing on a regular cone and cup wheel can feel notchy when too tight, I have read of people buying a new dynohub wheel and the axle felt like that by hand, so they try to loosen the bearings to fix it. But that notchy feeling is normal with a dynohub and trying to do anything can break internal wires. I was just trying to make the point, don't do anything to the axle or bearings and put it on the bike the way you receive it.

Yeah you can feel the notchy resistance if you free spin by hand, but I never notice when riding (shimano). I also read a review of dynamo hubs that suggested greater resistance with no light (no load) than with load (primarily at speed I think). Kinda counter intuitive but I don't care.

I have a cheap Sanyo that makes no noise. If I spin the wheel I can feel the resistance and a little vibration, but when I am riding I don;t notice it at all.

Same thing with my Shimano and Schmidt hubs. The frequency is low enough that I can't hear the vibration (usually between 15-18 mph), even over the road noise from my slick tires.

I've also run lights for hours (in daylight) and never noticed it. After I switched the lights off, I couldn't tell a difference.