Just finished a long tour and realised I was the only one i saw using a dynamo hub, which surprised me.
I run mine for lights, but I’ve also got a USB converter for phone charging if needed. It’s an absolute lock for me: lights are always on which is good for safety, no batteries to charge or forget, and if I need to keep charge on my phone, I can. Go through a tunnel, get caught riding late, lights are on.
So I’m curious, is there a reason most people aren’t running one? Cost, weight or just not aware of their value?
by yokobarron
35 Comments
Dynamos are still pretty spendy, especially with lights and charger and such. It’s not abnormal to drop >$600 or so on a setup. For some people, that’s half of your entire touring bike! Portable USB battery banks are cheap and plentiful these days.
You won’t catch me without a dynamo, but I’m still pretty hard pressed to convert people for the above reasons
Electricity is scary, and wheel-building is scarier.
While Roaming secluded areas for long, it’s really helpful…
Mechanical disadvantage, hard to fix if it gets messed up, battery banks exist, riding in dark conditions is relatively limited and when they present themselves a normal bike light is fine.
What are you using for USB converter and to switch between light/converter? Thinking about that for my next bike.
Also: It’s more popular in ultracycling where people ride through the night and have no time for charging lights. For touring I guess you don’t want to night ride if possible and if you have to a small clip on light is enough
As others have said. They are expensive. People also freak about weight. By the time you build up your bike and decide that a dynamo would be a good idea you have to pay to rebuild wheel and buy extremely expensive lights. Most people don’t bike at night or winter so they don’t understand the joy of lights that just work. I have 4 bikes. All have Dynamos. Just that would be worth more than I am willing to calculate.
A battery would last me all day and barely break a sweat.
Expensive, another potential failure point, not really needed if you avoid riding at night and have a means to recharge cell phone, GPS, blinkers, etc. along the way. Even most people running a dynamo don’t have the additional equipment required to charge electronics from the dynamo and some people have alternative methods of doing this like a solar panel on top of their gear. There’s also the additional drag introduced by a dynamo and the fact that they aren’t as smooth. There are plenty of pros and cons, it’s not like it’s all free energy with zero negatives.
I run an XT dynamo on my 520, currently, but didn’t have one for the first twenty years of its life. I use it more for night time commuter duty than I do for actual touring. On tour I can take a couple of battery packs and find places to charge along the way.
(edit) typos
Can’t edit , but have ridden about 10000 kms with my current Dynamo setup and have not had a single issue and forget it’s even doing its thing most of the time.
I have
– KT dynamo hub
– Front: Supernova E3 Pure 3
– Rear: E3 Tail light 2
But these are pretty old now , maybe even better / cheaper options out there.
It’s an interesting tradeoff between a dynamo and a big-ish USB power bank. When you can buy a pack that can recharge all my devices a few times over (like 20Ah / 20,000 mAh) for around US$50, unless you’re planning on being away from power for awhile it may be easier to just recharge devices when needed. Plus, the hub pictured appears to only output 3W @ 6V, which isn’t a lot for powering devices. I’m tempted to put one on my around town / touring bike just so I don’t have to think about lights, but if I were going on a tour I’d still end up carrying the power bank too.
One reason is it’s hard to retrofit and wheels are expensive.
Another reason is lights are kind of flaky and have changed a bit in recent years so I don’t love the idea of a flavor of wiring harness being tightly coupled to the bike mechanicals.
The integration of them is done poorly. Wires, flickering light, heavy, and an eyesore.
I just finished building my front wheel with a Son 28. Because of the territories where I am going to use this travel bike, I don’t think lights are very necessary, but charging a GPS and a phone are essential for me.
well I do. as you said also for USB charging.. also there is the German project Forumslader which makes a really good USB charging device (and 12V support if needed for lights etc)
Genuine question: are there really many (any) places left where you can’t get power every 2nd or 3rd day? And in such places I can’t imagine you need much power as you are probably just following a single track with very few crossings an likely no signal…
I’ve thought about it many times but never committed.
Oh I do, for several years already.
A Shimano XT dynamo hub in combination with front/rear lights and an USB-charger.
Works like a charm.
I’ve got multiple bikes and I can’t afford to equip them all with a dynamo wheel but I can move my handlebar LED lights to any bike.
If I had just one bike I would consider a dynamo but there would be instances when I would like to ride my bike without the weight and drag penalty like if I’m riding on dirt trails during the day.
Edit: forgot which sub I was in – my comment was regarding my reasons, not related to touring specifically, sorry!
They get sold on the idea of A New Frameset With Disc Brakes being essential even though a 70 year old frameset with new freehub/dynamo hubs laced to Velocity Cliffies squeezed by Swiss/Kool pad loaded centerpulls would be just as good in the wet and better in the dark or locked up in a high theft area.
They’re expensive, especially so when coupled with their associated lights–and a dedicated wheel build–compared to off-the-shelf battery powered LEDs.
I’ve had two Schmidt SON hubs for, oh, twenty years, and they’re fantastic coupled with old Supernova LEDs. But we should acknowledge the leaps and bounds made in bright, efficient LEDs and L-Ion battery development, to the point they’re a compelling alternative to dynamo powered lighting, especially once up-front cost is figured in.
When state-of-the-art bike lighting was halogen, and batteries were re-chargeable Ni-Ca or NiMH, dynamos were more compelling. Not so much anymore.
Ive heard stories about the dynamos breaking while riding…that’s an expensive fix while on tour. Ive seen some riders using them on the tour divide but only for lights as they ride as fast as possible and at night. If your on a tarmac tour and have access to plug in while in a town having lunch I’d bring an Anker 160w wall charger to charge up your power bricks so you can charge up your devices when you get to camp. Some front lights have pass thru charging so you can charge your phone or head unit while riding. As for head units, id use one that has solar charging capabilities to lengthen the time between charges.
Mine is great for lights, less good for keeping anything charged. If I was doing long days on ashphalt and nice gravel perhaps it would get me a few more amps, but most of the time I am off road/single track so I don’t get a lot of charge out of it, and I have to run a power bank to keep the light on.
The first Hub dynamo bike I bought was our acoustic cargo bike. It is absolutely fantastic, and makes the day to day use so much easier. Cheap dynamos can make the bike feel sluggish, but our SON hub dynamo is pretty good and for <250 Euro quite reasonable. Any future bike will have a hub dynamo.
I do use dynamo, and I’ve met others who do. You’re not the only one.
Though I’ve been repeatedly cautioned away from SP Dynamo’s due to a high rate of bearing failure. Literally, only SP.
I don’t want any additional resistance.
I’m considering buying a new front wheel with a dynamo, I’m really tired of needing to think about charging my lights. It feels so stupid that many bikes, especially gravel bikes don’t have them from the factory.
With led lights and power banks, I don’t see the point, and 2/5w of extra lag are noticeable, for me.
A small flexible panel would charge without effort, or a power socket at stops.
Most bikes don’t have them as standard and most tourers don’t need lights
I’ve only had to ride in the dark once, and tunnels a couple of times ,and always had battery packs.
My new bike does have a dynamo , mainly so I can charge phone as I ride, and it was an expensive add-on but I thought I’d try it out. Not used it yet.
I think they are decidedly more popular in Europe than USA.
I did, but it is not a panacea. It did power lights, albeit not very bright lights. It did power a battery that could charge via usb, but if my phone was fixing to die, it might not be enough.
rather spend the money on the trip
I don’t know, but it must be an American thing. All the bikepackers I see have SON or the cheapie Shimano ones that get the job done. Most all of the used Surlys and such have SON hubs.
I’d rather power bank and solar if I’m totally off-grid. Can use it on any bike, or any sport.
In Japan
These are almost standard now on most consumer bicycles due to front light laws. And they make so much sense.
Price and effort. Building up a good touring wheel around a dynamo hub costs nearly a grand (before we talk lights). I could get a set of carbon wheels for that price.
Meanwhile, I could buy a giant USB battery pack for $50.
I looked into this. Too expensive, not that much power, and I could easily recharge on a battery pack