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For rufftuff-tourer-rigid MTB do it all 29+. (Mk1 Longitude)
Trying to keep it light-ish build but tough.
Currently has Hope tech Enduro rims but too narrow internal for rubber over 2.4”
Currently QR but would ideally want a hub with options should I change bike. Any advice appreciated thnks.
Contact Spa Cycles in Harrogate, ruffty ruffty touring specialists with a good reputation for service and wheels
I bought my dynamo wheel from spa cycles. A bit of difficulty getting it replaced under warenty but they sorted it in the end. A great range of package deals which make it good value for money ie you buy the wheel ad lights from them
Another +1 for Spa Cycles. I've had three dynamos off them, one in a full wheel build for my wife and the other two I built up myself as they couldn't get the rim I wanted for one and I wanted to build a wheel myself with the other.
My wife has the SP PD-X with a reducer sleeve to bring it down to QR sizing.
If youre not fussed about weight and want something wide, then velocity blunt rims?
Not sure a dynamo is really any more or less difficult to build than a normal hub, i managed the usual 3x lacing on mine and thats a shimano hub so bigger flanges than the other popular options.
I've had a few wheels built by Spa cycles and they have all been very good. However I had SJS cycles make my most recent one as the choice of rims available through Spa is a bit limited. The SJS wheel is also very well built.
Currently QR but would ideally want a hub with options should I change bike.
Good question! I'm sure some dynamo hubs have replaceable end caps, I'm just not sure which ones. All I know is Shimano definitely don't!!
@shermer75 - see my post above. SON do 12mm axle versions and SP do dynamo hubs for both 15mm and 12mm axles and sell reducers for QR conversions - https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s133p3776/SP-DYNAMO-PD-8X-Thru-Axle-6-Bolt I think they do it this way rather than replaceable end caps is because of the connector needing to remain in a fixed position, well I'm guessing that's why.
One other thing about Spa Cycles is that the staff can be "quirky" and your experience can depend on just who serves you! It's not that any of them are "bad" just, hmm, different.
Thanks!
One other thing about Spa Cycles is that the staff can be “quirky” and your experience can depend on just who serves you! It’s not that any of them are “bad” just, hmm, different.
I stood on a balcony behind the old shop and saw the owner* threaten** a customer who just wanted his bike back.
The rest of the guy were alright.
*I think.
**Try to lamp him but the bike was in the way.
I think future adaptability is going to be limited, 15mm hub plus qr adaptor is about as much as you'll get at present.
A few options at Hunt:
One thing not mentioned so far is what do you want the dynamo to do? Just lights or lights and charging?
If the latter then you'll need a converter unit as well and these vary in features, performance and price. They'll all have a minimum rotation speed before they'll start producing power and another speed at which they'll produce maximum power. Note I said "rotational speed" - smaller wheels rotate more often for a given ground speed and vice versa.
Most dynamos are aimed at cycle tourers so tend to be QR as that's what tourers use. MTB dynamo usage is a niche within a niche. Until road and touring bikes settle on a through axle standard, probably 12mm, and become common it's unlikely there'll be any real change in what's available.
Check out the cycle touring forums though be warned the discussions can make STW threads about tyres or wheel sizes seem positively sane!
^ thnks everyone for suggestions and further discussion. Appreciated. Looks like sticking with QR. Weirdly, this whole discussion has me looking again at my old British Eagle touring bike. Should that be the do it all tourer (w/dynohub) and the Longitude gets moved on to make way for a new modern hardtail (with no dynamo) . Oh ye gods.
One thing not mentioned so far is what do you want the dynamo to do? Just lights or lights and charging?
Good Q, and tbh so far undecided given a mixed general consensus on the efficacy and adaptability of systems available.
With regard to charging stuff - you have to be realistic in just how much power you can produce in a day's riding. That means you can't be on your phone checking social media at every opportunity, etc.
Last year in France we went touring around Brittany, using Velo Vertes which are a mixture of minor roads, canal tow-paths and farm tracks, doing around 90km per day with 6-8hrs riding. I was very roughly (electric) energy neutral. Here's what I wrote about it - http://bobwightman.blogspot.com/2018/08/itts-touring-and-powering-electronics.html
It sort of depends on your setup though. My phone will charge in about 3h from flat at 1200mA. Dynamos dont actually output 6V a.c. 0.5A, they output 0.5A at a given speed and the voltage rises untill it can achieve that*. The open circuit voltage can be 150V! If you wire several devices in series it will try and power all of them, similalry if you build a device that draws more than 3W it will power that too. So you can buy/build a charger that will charge your phone quickly, or run it as a gps, etc. You just add drag.
This is what happens when you put 6x lamps on a single dynamo.
*simplistically, there's other factors to consider such as being an inductive source its self limiting etc.
Shimano dynamo hubs are good value and work fine. There is a version for 12mm thru axle (DH-UR705-3D).
Usually best value to buy dynamo wheels from Germany and lights. eg Rose, or Action Sports, or Bike24. And probably better service than Spa or SJS.
For charging, the Igaro D2 looks like the best option, ie most efficient and most power output. But not cheap.