pwdeegan

it's now available in Germany and shipping internationally (not sure if Peter White is shipping these yet; his site still says "November").

the new SON looks rather like the Sondelux, but apparently has the innards of the original SON 28. it also supports ISO Discs in the new form factor (the Sondelux only supported Shimano centerlock; the SON28-original did support ISO discs). the new SON28 is apparently lighter than the original with the same power output for 700c wheel speeds.

i've seen prices from EU around €240 for 32-hole ISO disc versions, €200 for non-disc versions.

unterhausen

that's nice. I have the parts to build myself a fork for the SL version, but I haven't gotten around to buying the hub yet

pwdeegan

Just received and installed it on my bike. A review forthcoming once I actually have real-use miles on it. First impressions: pure finesse. No notchy-ness in stand or short rides around the block (speed at 3-10mph).

More importantly, pix. If the pix don't load, just use the links to the public Picasa album.
test install: [link here]


3/4 view: [link here]


connection-side view: [link here]


ISO disc-side view (no rotor installed): [link here]

pwdeegan

second initial review afte two nights of riding (30 miles each, mixed city and unlighted MUP).

Well, the hub lights the Edelux just as you would expect. And since this isn't a review about a light that's been on the market for some years, suffice it to say that it's very nice and lights up the road very brightly (but doesn't light up street signs high off the ground as well due to its shaped beam).

The hub has imperceptible drag and no notchiness (as described by some reviewers). This is at any speed. In a side by side test with the built wheel it replaced (Salsa 29er Race, Shimano XT disc hub, Avid 2G 160mm rotor) my hands could not tell a difference in weight. The digital scale pegged the difference between the two wheels at 52g (1.76oz)---i.e., the SON wheel weighs 52g more. Practically speaking this is not practically speaking; it's meaningless for me.

Meaningful brightness occurs predictably at about 3.5mph (slower speeds produce noticeable if still useable flicker; @3.5mph flicker is fast; at 4.4mpg there is no noticeable flicker and the light is usably strong). At slow cruise 12mph the light scares traffic. At 18-20mph the light scares traffic even further away. Throughout all of this the hub is not noticeable.

So that's a good short-term review: hub generates electricity, and you can't tell it's there. None of this is really unexpected news. Like a cop at a scene: Nothing to see here, move along, move along...

fietsbob

Got a Bike Friday, pocket llama, they used a centerlock to 6 bolt adapter,
[QBP] on the deluxe 20, Avid BB7 160 discs ..
It works just fine. so not being ISO, it's pretty much a non issue.

pwdeegan

you know fietsbob, i think it's not far off to say that my new Son28 is basically your SonDelux without the adapter. maybe there's some difference inside; i can't tell. but yeah, add an adapter and there you have it!

wandt

I don't know about the SONdelux, but the SON28 is awesome!

unterhausen

looks like Peter White has the old ones on clearance

pwdeegan

and it looks like Peter White has the new SON28 in stock, too (US$285–350).
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt-ordering.asp

In my case, the hub and light continue to perform flawlessly. I've added about 200mi of night riding since I've installed it. I'd say previous to this, using my battery headlamp, my night riding miles for the same period would be closer to 50mi, so it definitely makes it easier to ride at night. Now to keep warm and dry---the typical autumn/winter riding snafus.