Rim dynamo curious for bike packing.

I have 2 bikes I use for my trips, one has a std 100mm QR fork with a dynamo hub, the other is a 135mm Jones hub so there's only a standard body SON with axle extenders that loses the wide flanged hub advantages. The Velogical looks good, I'm not sure how it'd cope with the dings in the rim, the mount is sprung so I guess it'd be ok. It's not cheap but being removable and the ability to fit to other bikes is great - there's times when a power pack is an easy solution given the choice I'd want a dynamo on most of the rides. Plus it's under 100g and meets StVZO spec.

I'd be slightly concerned about its ability to withstand the sort of muck and mud I often experience off-road. I'd certainly be carrying a spare o-ring.

@jameso - that's the same as in the OPs link.

I probably do 10 hours riding at an average speed of 8mph when I’m off road. Roughly what power would that give me? Enough to charge a phone? Maybe 2000-3000 mah?

Do they work much better on road with higher speeds and off road with lower speeds not so well?

That's the main problem with dynamos off-road, their output tends to be good at 20kph or more but it depends on the hub. On tricky ground off-road when you need the light output to be high the system can be lacking power unless you use a cache battery in between the dynamo and light, something like a K-Lite system.

I have SON Delux and Taiwanese dynamo hubs on my drop bar bikes and they work fine for road or gravel riding, for a slower off-road trip I think I'd need a USB converter and a back-up battery in line to smooth things out and if the ride didn't have many miles on gravel tracks or lanes I might end up using power faster than I can generate it (GPS, lights, phone etc)

@jameso – that’s the same as in the OPs link. 

It is isn't it.. edited

Looks good although will it reach across the clearance on an mtb? That look like a road frame

I also have a MSC solar panel, which is superb. Worth considering

It was this article that got me interested in them.

https://www.cyclingabout.com/rim-dynamos-can-now-generate-more-power-than-hub-dynamos/#:~:text=The%20Velogical%20rim%20dynamo%20with,a%20more%20modest%2010%25%20gain.

https://bearbonesbikepacking.blogspot.com/2017/11/velogical-dynamo-first-look.html?m=1

Having trouble editing above post.... Just to say it's an old review but worth a look. I haven't got one , but was considering them over a hub dynamo just for charging as I don't normally intend to ride into through the night, but health has stopped plans for anything more than overnighters where a power bank is not than enough and not usually needed.

Thanks @longdog for the link. I can't seem to find any long term reviews or follow ups to this initial thoughts review.

BearbonesnormNovember 17, 2017 at 11:42 PM
It can Nobby. As you say, it just needs a regulator such as a Sinewave, Cycle2Charge or similar and it'll supply a 5V DC supply to whatever you like.

Can someone explain to me what full set up you need with one of these if you want to charge for example a 5000 mah cache battery that will then charge a phone and a wahoo.

Links to things I need to buy are appreciated.

I've seen the stem, top cap interfaced batteries and outputs which I like but my fork is a trek 1120 carbon fork with aluminium steerer and has a star nut fitted so does that mean I can't use that set up?

I feel out of my depth and on a steep learning curve!

Thanks

All these reasons and costs are why I ended up sticking with my power bank 😂

But also interested as I still hope to make use of something like that one day...

I like the idea of being able to disable it if I don’t need power or I’m going slow up a hill.

In practice, for a dynamo hub, you don't notice the additional drag, whether it's powering something or not.

From memory when I looked at those little bottle dynamis a while ago they make quite an annoying loud whining noise. There were a few videos on youtube about them.

They would also be crap offroad if there was any mud.

They would also be crap offroad if there was any mud.

I guess if your bike packing and not going for koms you navigate around the worst mud pools to a certain degree.

That’s the main problem with dynamos off-road, their output tends to be good at 20kph or more but it depends on the hub. On tricky ground off-road when you need the light output to be high the system can be lacking power unless you use a cache battery in between the dynamo and light, something like a K-Lite system.

I think they do different versions according to the bear Jones review. Red being sport, silver middle and blue for slower speeds.

When I've looked into this before, I've given up on trying to charge from a dynamo, it's so faffy! Great for lights, an expensive faff for charging.
If it helps, it may be worth considering:
Nitecore power banks, which are much lighter:
https://www.nitecore.co.uk/products/nitecore-nb10000-gen-2-power-bank.html
Turning the screen brightness down on your phone (this saves much more battery than airplane mode)
Taking less photos (I know, far from ideal! But I have had to resort to this before)

There are other rim dynamos.

I used to run a B&M bottle dynamo on my commuter but that ran with the wheel on the tyre wall.

It used to work quite well but was not as tidy as the rim one.

You could also change the rubber wheel for a wire brush for more traction. I don't know how well it would work off road bur it was generally quite reliable.

Hubs don’t slip. My bottle AXAs were good in the dry but challenging when things got moist. I ran them of both tyre and rim but slipping was always a challenge. I’d expect the same or worse off road. Get a hub.  

If it is to charge your phone so you can use it to take photos then why not buy a compact camera? Battery on that will last weeks.

If it is to charge your phone so you can use it to take photos then why not buy a compact camera? Battery on that will last weeks

I get the logic here but I would never use it. My photos upload to my Google account.

Tbh, I just like the idea of being self reliant.

It would be cheaper to buy a couple of the carbon fibre batteries linked above but where would the fun be in that. Sometimes it's nice to experiment and try new things out.

The research, the chatting, the shopping etc. Then the testing and hoping it's not a complete failure. 🤣

How long are your bikepacking trips? I did the whole of PBP this year on a 20000mah battery powering an Exposure strada, garmin edge 830 and my phone.

Re charging I did read abut someone (maybe on here?) Who had problems with "incompatible power banks" and the charging killing them.

I can't imagine any rim dynamo working in the wet or in the mud.

Haven't tried that from the OP but tried all the tyre-driven dynamos (including a Lightspin, Axa etc) before giving up and buying hub dynamo wheels.
Hub dynamos just work.

I’m very tempted by the Pedalcell rim dynamo:

https://ghyllside.co.uk/accessories/8127-pedalcell-bicycle-usb-charger-.html

Spendy, but an all in one easy to use solution. Would definitely have helped on my recent bikepacking trip, I was using campsites just so I could charge my batteries which felt limiting.

Re charging I did read abut someone (maybe on here?) Who had problems with “incompatible power banks” and the charging killing them.

Some power packs don't allow pass through -charge and discharge simultaneously.

Also extended over voltage kills dynamo/usb rectifier systems.

I've quite a few of them including 2* cycle 2charge and igaro D2 and D4 . Now on the d5 ( fair play to the chap for standing behind his product) and wanting a sine wave beacon to try out.

Top tip. If doing extended downhills(nothing in this country is going to worry it) at high speed. Always have load on your usb charger.

That upcoming igaro C1 light looks interesting as an alternative to the sine wave beacon.

Been chatting with their support team. This was their reply regarding off road bike packing speeds charging a phone, wahoo efc.

Hi,

I'm worried that you'll need a lot of energy and riding at a slow speed will not produce much.

Our system need to run at around 20km/h to be able to have on the USB output 0,5A/5V.

I'm sorry but I have to say our system will not suit your requirements.

Regards,

Julien Bazoge

--

VELOGICAL - engineering GmbH

Energy Solutions for Cyclists

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D-51065 Köln-Mülheim

Germany

www.velogical.eu

team@velogical.eu

M +49 (0)177 78 20 849

Geschäftszeiten / Business hours:

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Termine nach Absprache / Appointment on request

https://www.velogical-engineering.com/velo-on-board-power/product-information/?lang=en

I know you have already said no to a camera but I think your practical choices and probably cheaper are either a new phone or a camera. 

The camera could be WiFi enabled and load up to Google easy enough.

Assuming emergency contact is important keeping the phone for just that is IMO more sensible and you may get better photos with a camera. 

I’m very tempted by the Pedalcell rim dynamo

Looks like PedalCell are closing up shop - https://pedalcell.com/blogs/blog/company-shut-down