Dynamo hub boost conversion

[virage vitesse]

Hi everyone, I've got a non-boost SON dynamo hub, 15 x 100. Does anybody know if you can use a boost conversion kit with one of these to use in a boost fork?
It would make my dynamo wheel twice as useful but not sure if this provides a stable enough fixing to safely use the dynamo.
Cheers for any feedback.

[alpamayo]

Yes I believe you can with this wolf tooth conversion. You have to re-dish your wheel so you can’t swap between boost and non boost, so it’s a permanent change.
https://www.wolftoothcomponents.com/collections/wheels-and-hubs/products/boostinator

[virage vitesse]

Thanks for that alpamayo. I had seen those kits, but my query was more specifically around whether this will work/ is advisable for dynamo hubs.

[alpamayo]

I see no reason a dynamo would be any different than any other hub, but you could ask Wolf Tooth and they might know if it works with a SON.

[dream4est]

There is no boostinator kit available for the SON hub. The link above  clearly shows that 10 models are available and none fit the SON dynamo hub.

[alpamayo]

MRP and problem solvers also make similar products. MRP, at least, doesn’t require a re-dish. Problem Solvers does not list specific hub compatibility kits like WT and MRP. Just because they make them specifically for certain brands of hub doesn’t mean one of them may not work on a SON, and I think it’d be worth asking the manufacturer if they’ve tried it. Problem Solvers also may have some idea whether this would work on a SON. To me it might even be worth the $25 to try it out as long as you’re ok with a re-dish.

[dream4est]

Mrp says no on any hub just like wolftooth. Problem solvers claims their spacers work with "all" front 15×100 front hubs 6 bolt only. However until someone actually experiments to see if the hub spacers match the hub bearing interface on the SON, assuming the kit fits a hub is pure speculation. Front hub failures are not anything to mess with. Have a qualified shop examine any conversion IMO that is not specifically designed for a certain hub.


https://www.mrpbike.com/better-boost-adapter-kits/

[phillip]

So very timely for this.  I will be experimenting with this conversion since I have to replace rims on my gravel bike. 

here is my plan:
1. SP PD-8X 15x100 dynamo
2. Use a 15 to 12 reducing sleeve (mtb tools product) for my 12x100 fork for use of the dynamo.
3. Use the booster kit (problem solvers product), remove the reducing sleeve and place on my 15x110 mountain bike fork.  Adjust caliper as needed.
4. 29er rims, that will be built for this swapping.  Swapping will occur only sporadically but I want versatility.

I'll let you know if I carry out the plan and its results.  I'm not done doing my research.

[phillip]

One other thing.  KT hubs has a hub with the conversion stuff needed included.  But I have found no reviews on the reliability of those hubs, and no responses yet from KT on price.  So, staying with a known product.

https://www.cyclingabout.com/best-dynamo-hub-bicycle-touring-bikepacking/

http://www.kttw-hub.com/pro.php?m=d&pid=336&cid=2&f=2

[Salubrious]

They make 30 amp-hour batteries for less than $30 that are lighter than a hub and are recharged by solar or mini USB. They are the size of an iPhone. One of those without a recharge can keep your GPS, cell, lights and GoPro going for a week no worries. They are waterproof, have dual USB outputs, a built-in light and charge indicator. In two weeks of riding, I never saw it get even down to 75% of full charge, despite recharging my GPS every day.

The main thing though is that they weigh less and have less drag. I can't sort out why anyone would want an alternator hub anymore.

[bikeny]

They make 30 amp-hour batteries for less than $30 that are lighter than a hub and are recharged by solar or mini USB. They are the size of an iPhone. One of those without a recharge can keep your GPS, cell, lights and GoPro going for a week no worries. They are waterproof, have dual USB outputs, a built-in light and charge indicator. In two weeks of riding, I never saw it get even down to 75% of full charge, despite recharging my GPS every day.

The main thing though is that they weigh less and have less drag. I can't sort out why anyone would want an alternator hub anymore.

The main reason to use a dynamo hub is for lighting while riding at night. If you had to recharge a battery powered light light every day after riding at night, your 30 amp-hour battery would be drained very quickly.

[Salubrious]

I've done exactly that. But a lot depends on what time of year and where you are. For example, in Banff at the Grand Depart of the Tour Divide Race, it really doesn't get dark until about 10:PM so if riding at night, you don't need the light on all that long. Being a bit older, I like my sleep so it seems prudent to me to have found a place to crash by about midnight or so. My battery has held up fine under that condition- but I do manage to get to a town every couple of days so it gets a recharge. I don't know of a race that pushes much harder than that- at least not in the US.

If you follow the TDR one thing that you commonly hear about is hub failure. 2700 miles of dust, rain, mud and whatnot seems to be harder on dyno hubs as opposed to regular hubs.

[bikeny]

I've done exactly that. But a lot depends on what time of year and where you are. For example, in Banff at the Grand Depart of the Tour Divide Race, it really doesn't get dark until about 10:PM so if riding at night, you don't need the light on all that long. Being a bit older, I like my sleep so it seems prudent to me to have found a place to crash by about midnight or so. My battery has held up fine under that condition- but I do manage to get to a town every couple of days so it gets a recharge. I don't know of a race that pushes much harder than that- at least not in the US.

If you follow the TDR one thing that you commonly hear about is hub failure. 2700 miles of dust, rain, mud and whatnot seems to be harder on dyno hubs as opposed to regular hubs.

I guess it depends on what you are trying to accomplish. If you are trying to be competitive in a race like the Tour Divide, you are only sleeping for 3-5 hours a night, requiring lights at night and in the morning. And you are only stopping in towns long enough to stuff your face and resupply. I don't think a cache battery is going to get you through without a dynamo to charge stuff. The other option is to choose devices with replaceable batteries and buy more along the way. Most racers seem to do that with their Spot trackers and Garmin Etreks.

[Salubrious]

I've read a number of accounts of people finishing the TDR; all of the top finishers stayed at a hotel sooner or later. The Cordilleria is a good thing; the latest is out now:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/christopher-bennett/the-cordillera-volume-10/paperback/product-23948842.html

You can push yourself and only do 3 hours a night but that has a way of catching up with you over 2700 miles. In the meantime, the battery does catch a charge just sitting outside. I can leave mine by a window at my house and it charges up.

If you are doing a shorter race, its nearly a non-issue. if only 1200 km or the like there won't be any need to recharge it at all.

Battery capacity techniques improve about 2% a year, just like computer power. About 3-4 years ago it got to the point that it made dyno hubs nearly obsolete. Last year and this, it cinched it. You have to do things differently of course- carry a USB charger with dual outputs for example, but in total one is really challenged to kill one of these things. I carry a smaller battery cache just in case, but I've never used it. The battery in my light can go about 18 hours in low; it has 4 settings and so I can run it as long as I need and generally don't need to recharge until about a week or so into the race.

The batteries for a Spot have to be lithium ion and a set of those are good in a Spot for over 2 weeks. My Garmin Edge only takes an hour to recharge so its so light on the main battery that I expect I can recharge it from stone dead about 20 times. I'll hit an AC outlet in the US long before that.