Shimano dynohub

Paul Boyd said:

I've just had a look through some of the 79K+ posts on here, and it
seems someone can help me, somewhere!

I recokon there's more than 79K posts here. I've made 3400 odd, according to
Google:

http://groups.google.com/group/uk.rec.cycling/search?group=uk.rec.cycling&q=ambrose+nankivell&qt_g=1&searchnow=Search+this+group

Quoted message said:

Where does a current Nexus hub fit with old Deore LX, quality wise? Is
this a serious downgrade, or not?

You can get dynamo hubs with Ultegra bearings as well. My bike has a Nexus
one on the front which works well, as a hub...

Quoted message said:

What sort of speeds do these dynohubs start to generate full power?

but I've yet to connect it up <sigh>.

Quoted message said:

Parts of my commute have to be about walking pace, and I need full
lighting at that speed.

It'll be as good as the rear mounted sidewall one, though.

Is the full lighting at walking pace to see your way on an offroad path? If
so, you may need more brightness, depending on your eyes.

--
Ambrose

Paul Boyd said:

Where does a current Nexus hub fit with old Deore LX, quality wise? Is
this a serious downgrade, or not?

This article may answer some of your questions:
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/VBQgenerator.pdf

Although it doesn't mention a Deore LX hub, it compares most of the hubs
that are currently available. The main disadvantages of the NX32 seems
to be relatively high drag when the lights are switched off.

Quoted message said:

What sort of speeds do these dynohubs start to generate full power?

I have a 3N70 dynamo hub with a B&M D'lumotec Topal front lamp and B&M
4D-Lite Plus rear. The front lamp produces plenty of light as I wobble
slowly up hills, loaded up with shopping.

Bob

Paul Boyd said:

Hello all

<munch>

Quoted message said:

What sort of speeds do these dynohubs start to generate full power?
Parts of my commute have to be about walking pace, and I need full
lighting at that speed. I'm using a B&M Lumotec Plus lamp on the front,
and an AXA 3-LED lamp with battery cut-in at the rear.

http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/dynotest.html

Might be of some help.

On 09/01/2006 18:31, Ambrose Nankivell said,

Quoted message said:

I reckon there's more than 79K posts here.

That's all my ISP had on their server!

Quoted message said:

Is the full lighting at walking pace to see your way on an offroad path?

Mainly on a segregated (ha!!) cycle path through a housing estate,
negotiating kids and unlit cyclists coming in the other direction on
their right, whilst still being able to see all the broken glass and
debris, and to be seen!

On 09/01/2006 18:37, Bob Johnstone said,

Quoted message said:

http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/VBQgenerator.pdf

On 09/01/2006 18:38, Tosspot said,

Quoted message said:

http://www.myra-simon.com/bike/dynotest.html

Thank you both - that NX-32 seems to be a very draggy hub. Higher than
a certain speed, turning the lights ON actually reduces the drag. It
seems as if it will be OK for shopping bikes, but not more general
riding, so I think I'll be re-thinking that particular hub. The DN70
does look worth more than a second look.

Thanks again, chaps.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

I have one for sale on eBay, if you are interested:
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7210618703

"Paul Boyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Thank you both - that NX-32 seems to be a very draggy hub. Higher than a
certain speed, turning the lights ON actually reduces the drag. It seems
as if it will be OK for shopping bikes, but not more general riding, so I
think I'll be re-thinking that particular hub.

Not the case at all IME.

I had an NX-10 for several years on my general purpose bike (*) - that is
the predecessor to the NX-30, and I think is the most draggy shimano hub out
there. In real life the losses mentioned don't amount to anything
significant - certainly nothing compared to a sidewall dynamo which was what
I had before.

I now use a SON, mostly because I've got more money than sense. You'll note
from the tests that with the light on, the SON has a pretty similar
resistance to the shimano, and the shimano has that resistance both on and
off. Well, I can't really tell if my lights are on or not by feel - they are
that good. (I couldn't tell with the shimano either). So I reckon you won't
notice the extra drag the shimano one gives.

(or is reported to give. I reckon they're better than Mr SON's tests say, ie
the resistance when off isn't as much as he says.)

(* used for a 10.5 mile each-way commute)

The bit which worried me more is your requirement for lighting at walking
pace. My front lamp is essentially out at walking pace - ie 4mph or less. It
gives some light at 8mph, which is as slow as I get to on a 1:8 hill - but I
don't really need light at that speed. If the path required me to go less
than 10mph, I would go elsewhere.

cheers,
clive

On Mon, 09 Jan 2006 17:53:26 +0000, Paul Boyd <[email hidden]>
said in <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

My rear dynamo (no, they're not obsolete!) is about to fail, noisily,
and the front hub bearings are knackered. I was considering buying a
Shimano Nexus (NX-32) dynohub to sort both problems together.

I was warned of the NX-32 and managed to find an old-stock NX30. The
NX30 is excellent,. the SON is (of course) better.

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
(often downhill) yesterday.

MartinM said:

Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
(often downhill) yesterday.

My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but once you
are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
(often downhill) yesterday.

My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but once you
are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

Hmm, not convinced; for the amount of night riding I expect to do a
good selection of LED lights might be better. Would really like a
Li-ion battery for my Smart.

MartinM said:

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
(often downhill) yesterday.

My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but once you
are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

Hmm, not convinced; for the amount of night riding I expect to do a
good selection of LED lights might be better. Would really like a
Li-ion battery for my Smart.

I can' speak for Shimanos as I have not used one. But really with a SON
you can't tell. I was sceptical when making my choice, but I have no
regrets. I like night riding, I feel much happier with this set up than
I did with battery lights. I don't worry about it getting dark and if
my batteries are going to last for my journey.

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

MSeries said:

MartinM wrote:
> Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
> were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
> felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
> that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
> light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
> (often downhill) yesterday.

My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but once you
are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

Hmm, not convinced; for the amount of night riding I expect to do a
good selection of LED lights might be better. Would really like a
Li-ion battery for my Smart.

I can' speak for Shimanos as I have not used one. But really with a SON
you can't tell. I was sceptical when making my choice, but I have no
regrets. I like night riding, I feel much happier with this set up than
I did with battery lights. I don't worry about it getting dark and if
my batteries are going to last for my journey.

Just had an email back from sjs; they want £95 to build a Shimano
wheel with an open pro rim (which is not a replacement for an MA3
AFAIK). Still not convinced. I would keep the old wheel for summer use
anyway. I could always rig up an extension lead to yours ;-)

MartinM said:

MSeries said:

MartinM said:

MSeries wrote:
> MartinM wrote:
> > Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
> > were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
> > felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
> > that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
> > light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
> > (often downhill) yesterday.
>
> My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but onceyou
> are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
> noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
> the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

Hmm, not convinced; for the amount of night riding I expect to do a
good selection of LED lights might be better. Would really like a
Li-ion battery for my Smart.

I can' speak for Shimanos as I have not used one. But really with a SON
you can't tell. I was sceptical when making my choice, but I have no
regrets. I like night riding, I feel much happier with this set up than
I did with battery lights. I don't worry about it getting dark and if
my batteries are going to last for my journey.

Just had an email back from sjs; they want £95 to build a Shimano
wheel with an open pro rim (which is not a replacement for an MA3
AFAIK). Still not convinced. I would keep the old wheel for summer use
anyway. I could always rig up an extension lead to yours ;-)

Just ride behind/along side me, thats what the others do !!! I have a
secondary lamp too, I could extend the wires and mount it on your
handlebar.

These things are not cheap, I bought all the parts from different
sources and got a local shop to build the wheel. It allowed me to
spread the cost over a couple of months and I have faith in the wheel
builder here in Leeds. It seems like a lot of money for a wheel and
lights when you already have a wheel. The Lumotec is better than any
front lamp I have used before, even better than the 2.4w halogen I used
to have since the voltage remains high, no batteries to fade. That same
lamp is now my secondary (with 3w bulb) or primary on my fixed and with
the SON is better than it used to be since the voltage is always high.

I never used to pay much for batteries, I had a source of free/very
cheap ones anyway but I am glad I don't have to worry about them going
flat or carrying spares or disposing of them or maufacture of new ones.

In article <[email hidden]>,

MSeries () said:

MartinM said:

Having sent back my hub as it was a. too wide b. felt like the bearings
were SNAFU'd , I tried spinning the front wheel of an Nx32 last night,
felt quite stiff. Not sure If I want to ride 100's of km losing all
that energy, especially in daylight. My jury is still out on the ideal
light, but I know it's not the poxy CatEye which died several times
(often downhill) yesterday.

My SON does not feel like a regular hub when spun by hand, but once you
are cycing the tiny amount of resistence they say is there can not be
noticed even with lights on. The magnetic forces both repel and attract
the rotor so one spinning their repelling effect is cancelled out.

I did make this observation to MartinM on Sunday; my chum Mr Sheen and I
were once fiddling with a SON-equipped wheel in BikeFix and it felt
/terrible/. Mr Sheen opined, in fact, that it did not generate
electricity at all, merely that the resistance in the thing caused it to
glow red-hot. Since so many people are happy SON users, however, I
would imagine that, as MSeries notes, this is not apparent once
underway.

Soon I /will/ have my Lightspin/B&M DLumotec Topal Plus setup both
properly aligned AND securely, er, secured, and then I SHALL RULE THE
WORLD! More lights! More!! MORE!!!

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
External Transparent Wall Inspection Operative.

Dave Larrington said:

Soon I /will/ have my Lightspin/B&M DLumotec Topal Plus setup both
properly aligned AND securely, er, secured, and then I SHALL RULE THE
WORLD! More lights! More!! MORE!!!

Lightspins are lovely. I regret somewhat not replacing mine (n.b. when I put
in the insurance claim, the bloke at the allegedly specialist bike
replacement company said that they had to look up to see if there really
were dynamoes that expensive. They only offered a B & M one, so I spent it
on upgrading to hub gears instead.)

But still, I do have a Nexus ready to wire up.
--
Ambrose

On 09/01/2006 22:01, Just zis Guy, you know? said,

Quoted message said:

I was warned of the NX-32 and managed to find an old-stock NX30. The
NX30 is excellent,. the SON is (of course) better.

Hi Guy

A familiar name on an unfamiliar group! I've also now steered clear of
the NX32.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On 09/01/2006 21:16, Clive George said,

Quoted message said:

The bit which worried me more is your requirement for lighting at
walking pace.

As mentioned in an earlier post, and another reason crossed my mind
tonight. Part of the cycle path I use crosses the entrance and exit of
a garage forecourt, with drop kerbs to road level. Catch is, the drop
kerbs don't drop far enough, so I have to go slowly over the edge, but
need lights on full so I can be seen when cars suddenly pull away from
the pumps fogetting to put their own lights on. Guess who had a close
shave tonight?????

Anyway, thanks to the advice on here, I've bought a wheel with a Shimano
3N70 dynohub from St. John Street Cycles.

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 18:47:34 +0000, Paul Boyd <[email hidden]>
said in <[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

A familiar name on an unfamiliar group! I've also now steered clear of
the NX32.

Now all you need is the SON et lumière - SON dynamo and dual SON E6
lights :-)

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

MartinM said:

Hmm, not convinced; for the amount of night riding I expect to do a
good selection of LED lights might be better. Would really like a
Li-ion battery for my Smart.

I find the Lumotec oval gives plenty enough light for my needs, though I
have been thinking that a couple of LED lights would be useful for
back-up/supplementary lighting - I find that the beam of the Lumotec is
slightly too narrow and I have to occasionally adjust the position of
the lamp so the beam is thrown exactly where I want it to be. A LED
pointing straight down on the area immediately in front of the wheel
would be handy for avoiding potholes.

I'm still determined to get a SON, despite the LBS letting me down by
taking two months to tell me they can't get one...

And I'm intending to pair it up with a Solidlights 1203D, but I won't
order that until I've got the wheel built - I can carry on using the
Lumotec at first, in any case.

d.