The Chainlink

Dynohubs. What maintenance do they require?

I am thinking of building a wheel with a dynohub. It looks like all of them (including the Schmidt dynohub) have ball bearings. What kind of maintenance do they require?

  • Do they have to be overhauled every year or so, like a conventional front hub? Is the overhaul just as straightforward as a regular hub? Or do I need an experienced bike mechanic to do this?

  • Do they require any other kind of maintenance besides overhauling the bearings? Can I do this myself?

  • The Schmidt info says you should expect 50,000 km (30,000 miles) between servicing. Given my mileage that would mean it would take e decade or more between servicing. Is that realistic?

Sorry for the many questions in one thread. Appreciate any feedback.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 31, 2012 at 10:59am

The SP dynamo with the off-switch is not worth it, according to the BQ article. Modern hubs already have very low resistance when the lights are turned off. Turning off the dynamo itself does not add much.

kiltedcelt said:

I'm kinda interested in dynamo hubs myself. I've read all the stuff on Peter White Cycles about them. There's a guy on ebay who has been selling complete front wheels built up on a Sanyo dynamo hub. He's selling them for $85 (buy it now). I inquired about whether he could sell matched sets as I hate having mismatched stuff on my bike like two different rims. He said he's looking into it since he's gotten a few inquiries recently. If I knew how to build a wheel, I'd just buy a dynamo hub in a heartbeat and just build up my own wheel around it. Alas, I don't know how to build wheels, and even at $85 it's still a bit more cost-wise than I care to pay right now. I'm going to be building a cargo bike this winter and I want it to have dynamo lighting along with my daily commuter. However, I can buy two AXA sidewall dynamos for the price of a single hub dynamo, and there's the added benefit of no drag when the lights are not engaged, although the SP hub mentioned above seems to negate that drag somehow. I posted a thread here and on bikeforums asking about sidewall dynamos. It seems that most people who can report real-life data from using one themselves (newer models), most of those folks seem to really like them and have no issues with slipping in the rain or snow when set up properly. Anyway, sidewall dynamos might be something to consider as an alternative.

Permalink Reply by Duppie on October 31, 2012 at 11:02am

From what I understand, the Supernova dynamo hubs that are for sale in the US are re-branded and SP dynamos with improved seals. But they also are close in price to the SON hubs.

http://harriscyclery.net/product/supernova-infinity-s-dynamo-hub-34...

For that kind of price, I'd rather go with the proven quality of the SON hubs and let somebody else be the guinea pig.

prof.gfr said:

Who carries the SP Dyno hubs in the US? And were they reviewed in the BQ issue?  Has anyone ridden them?

I'm curious as I've never heard of them before this posting.  I was thinking of going SON, but I'm curious about the SP now.  

Permalink Reply by Jim Freeman on October 31, 2012 at 3:35pm

I've built about a dozen wheels with Dyno hubs.  They're a little tricky to build because the hub is more or less "indexed."  If you ever have a Dyno off the bike take the time to turn the axle and you'll see what I mean.

I have a Schmitt and a couple Shimano Dynos.  I use the Shimano on my commuters and the Schmitt on my blingy touring rig.  The Schmitt is supposed to have less drag, but honestly, I would be hard pressed to tell you that I actually notice if it has more or less drag. 

I dunno about servicing them though...  My philosophy is to use them until they wear out, and the Schmitt hub has to be sent back for sure.  You have to use their proprietary tools to get it apart.  If you try to turn what looks like a locknut on it you actually break it, so don't try it.  I've seen a Shimano dyno disassembled and everyone was kind of like, "That's the end of that hub..."  I could be wrong, but I have the idea that in order to service a Shimano hub you're supposed to get a "new guts" part from Shimano that is basically everything but the hub shell. 

I love dynos...  I pretty much ride with full lights all the time. 

In one of the old BQ issues they actually set up an experiment to test the drag of various dyno hubs.  I can't be sure, but I think the difference between various dynos was unimpressive, but dyno v. non-dyno hub was a little more significant. 

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