The Chainlink

Is the drag from a Dynohub noticeable?

The wheels on my touring bike are wearing out and about to need replacement. I'd been considering adding a dyno light system to this bike for a while, so now seems like the time to do it. However since most of the miles on this bike are daylight miles, I don't want to add much full time drag for the sake of lighting. My question is, how noticeable is the drag from a dyno system when the lights are off? For a bike that is primarily ridden during the day but occasionally ridden on very dark roads/trails, am I better off with a good battery light system or a dyno system?

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 6, 2012 at 8:42pm

Good point ilter.  I'm running my headlight on the left side and the hub wiring on the right.  It's just a little bit more wire to get there.   

Some forks are pretty hollow and it is possible to get the wire up the fork tubes and across the crown if there are vent/drip holes up there too like on the bottom.  But I just wound the wire up one leg and down the other.  Not an issue and the wire is pretty light. 

Permalink Reply by David P. on August 6, 2012 at 10:11pm

I have two Shimano DH-3N72 dynohubs - one on my 700c SS and another on my 650b everyday bike. If the hub is adjusted properly, you really won't notice any drag unless you're moving quite slowly and you're paying attention, or you're spinning the wheel by hand. My 700c wheel was nicely adjusted when I got it, and I cannot tell any difference from the regular wheel that it replaced. My 650b wheel had a rather tight hub, and I could feel a not-too-much-but-definitely-there drag until I loosened the hub bearings a little bit. There is a vibration around 17-18mph (mostly on the 650b, with large-low-pressure tires) but it is no biggie. I love, love haivng dynamo lighting - I am not very good about remembering to keep batteries charged (bicycle lights, phones, etc.) and it is great to never have to think about it. Plus you can have really good lighting (I have a Supernova E3 triple on one bike, an B&M IQ Cyo on the other) without sucking down battery charge like a Russian drinking vodka. The Shimano plug is easy to plug in and out when you need to remove the wheel.

David

Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 7, 2012 at 8:08am

Can I change the subject a bit?

How about maintenance of dynohubs? How often do you need to maintain it (adjust/re-grease/etc.)? Is the maintenance more difficult than an average loose ball bearing hub?

I am a little lazy (well actually quite a lot lazy), and I started moving to sealed bearing hubs because they don't require any maintenance. Is there a dyno hub that has sealed bearings?

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