Front dynohub for bikepacking...

[intheways]

Hey Everyone,

I'm fairly new to the site, but have done a lot of riding and some touring.  I'm looking to combine the two exactly as most of you have.  Being right outside of Seattle, a lot of
my riding is road and my intended tours range from pavement to gravel to some singletrack (50/35/15).  I'm currently riding a Soma Doublecross DC and it can take up to about 40c tires.

I'm  curious as to the prospect of using a dynamo-powered headlight on singletrack. I haven't heard of anyone doing it, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible.  Curious as to whether anyone here has experience with such a setup?

Thanks

[phil_rad]

I'm using a Supernova E-3 Tripple light with a Shimano dynamo hub, works great! Plenty of light for single track.

[intheways]

Thanks for the reply!  Do have it mounted on a suspensions fork or rigid?

[Slim]

I was just reading a light test in one of the german magazines and they had that light on there as well and liked it, I was just going to post it up here!

[phil_rad]

It's on a suspension fork.

Thanks for the reply!  Do have it mounted on a suspensions fork or rigid?

[intheways]

It's on a suspension fork.

Thanks for the reply.  Do you have the light on the bars?  I'm just curious whether or not the vibrations will mess with the hub and/or light.

Thanks

[bmike-vt]

Thanks for the reply.  Do you have the light on the bars?  I'm just curious whether or not the vibrations will mess with the hub and/or light.

Thanks

I use a dyno for my ld rando rig - but I ride a ton of nasty gravel / dirt here in VT.
Light is on my fork, and bike is rigid ti with steel fork. Light is an Schmidt Edelux rather than Supernova.

No issue with vibration from me... but I'm not doing 2' drops, etc. Several riding friends ride steel bikes, lights on forks, same nasty roads (and they are more adventurous than I) - and have had no issues.
If I moved this to a MTB I'd do a bar or stem mount, to get the light up just a bit higher, and to keep it from getting snagged on branches / etc.

Schmidt makes a disc specific SON.
I was running one on my road rig - sad that when the core was replaced under warranty (water issues) I opted for a new non-disc version - would have loved to swap wheels with my new SS 29r build.

[intheways]

Thanks for the info.  I have a Alfine generator on mine with a B&M Cyo on order.  I'm just trying to get some info on whether or not his stuff is up to task.

[phil_rad]

Thanks for the reply.  Do you have the light on the bars?  I'm just curious whether or not the vibrations will mess with the hub and/or light.

Thanks

I've got the light mounted to my bars. Like I've said before the thing is awsome! Well worth the extra $$ IMO.
Phil

[DoctorRad]

I was interested in this myself, thanks for the input. Since the dynamo is there all the time, I was wondering about the possibility of providing power for charging devices (or even USB charged lights). A quick Google turned up this, which looks like a wonderfully simple way of doing just that:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3059684&postcount=6

Those Supernova Triple lights look very nice, but I'm sure there must be a cheaper DIY solution...!

[bmike-vt]

I was interested in this myself, thanks for the input. Since the dynamo is there all the time, I was wondering about the possibility of providing power for charging devices (or even USB charged lights). A quick Google turned up this, which looks like a wonderfully simple way of doing just that:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3059684&postcount=6

Those Supernova Triple lights look very nice, but I'm sure there must be a cheaper DIY solution...!

As I posted in another thread:


There are new options for charging batteries / lights / GPS / iPhones coming online.
You can charge AA batteries with the 'ride and charge':
http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp#ridecharge

You can also get 'The Plug':
http://www.tout-terrain.de/2/products/components/the-plug/h-bar.html?start=2

Or the eWerk:
http://bumm.de/index-e.html?docu/361e.htm

[DoctorRad]

You can also get 'The Plug':
http://www.tout-terrain.de/2/products/components/the-plug/h-bar.html?start=2

While that looks like an excellent solution, a three-figure price tag is IMHO simply ridiculous for the amount of hardware this must take.

This looks like a much more economical ready-made or DIY solution to the one I posted earlier:

http://www.rad-uk.com/bicycle-usb-charger/

[bmike-vt]

While that looks like an excellent solution, a three-figure price tag is IMHO simply ridiculous for the amount of hardware this must take.

This looks like a much more economical ready-made or DIY solution to the one I posted earlier:

http://www.rad-uk.com/bicycle-usb-charger/

Sure.
The eWerk and the ride and charge are cheaper, and that item you listed looks good as well... its not really tested though - seems to work with certain phones for sure, but there appears no claim of it being tested, etc. I'd rather trust my electronics to B+M or others...

Or, I could acquire tools, spend a week learning to read circuits, soldering, destroying 'cheap' parts from online discount bins... and maybe have something that works. Then I could seal it all in epoxy, or maybe buy some more tools, learn to mill out aluminum or plastic, turn something on the lathe, and have a professional looking, weathertight (waterproof) electronic gizmo for my bike.

My time is worth $$ too... as much as I like the DIY approach, some things I'd rather leave to pros.

But YMMV.

[stevage]

Hmm, what an interesting but expensive thread. It turns out (after asking Peter White) my LBS is the local distributor for Schmidt, so I went and asked them about the cost of a dynohub setup:

$450 for Schmidt SON 20R with disk mount
$200 to get that built into a new wheel (they said no point rebuilding my current front wheel, an Alex ACE-19)
$300 for a "good" light (80 lux?), $500 for a "great" one (140 lux?)

Prices in AUD (approx $0.91 USD). Yes, these prices are expensive compared to importing directly from the US or UK.

I think I'll pass on the dynohub for the near future.

[scuppy]

My scmidt was way less than that in Aus. Check cheeky monkey.
Building your own wheel is a skill worth learning, it's not that hard it just takes patience.
140 lux for $500 is a complete joke. Buy a housing and MR11 from cutter for less and get 500+ lux, depending on how many LED's you use.
Your light will be as bright as it can be without cars complaining.

[rad-uk]

I have noticed you have posted about our Dynamo USB Charger. Just to let you know, we are now selling these for £10 each, including postage and packaging. We have successfully tested them on numerous rides, to charge GPS devices, Phones, MP3 players, and PowerMonkeys. We have also posted information on how to make them yourself, including circuit diagram and components used.

If you have any questions about our charger, reply here or email us, and we will be happy to help you.

Our website:
http://www.rad-uk.com/bicycle-usb-charger-shop/