CaptCarrot

Very similar to me.

Shimano Alfine DH-S500 hub dynamo
B&M Lumotec IQ Cyo R
B&M Toplight Line Plus

No complaints what-so-ever - and that Cyo is better than any battery lights I have used.

unterhausen

Have my H27 built up, but the frame for it isn't finished so I can't ride it and I don't have a light yet either. It is really notchy off the bike, I'm sure it will be fine on the bike.

CaptCarrot

so is the alfine, once it is on you'll never know (except maybe when you are walking the bike)

dscheidt

If you've got the wheel I think you do, the sanyo is much nicer. Mine's got a bit of annoying vibration at about 15 or 16 mph, but other than that, I don't notice it all.

It's worth pointing out that the notchiness is just perception. There's extra energy required to turn the magnets past each other (remember that like poles repel each other), but you get much of that energy back once you've crossed the point where the magnets are repelling each other the way you want to turn the hub. Humans are good at perceiving the increased force, not so good at the reduced force.

unterhausen

That's true about the notchiness. No way to really tell how efficient the hubs are just from how they feel spinning by hand. It's a bit of a pain while truing a wheel though. I have two of the better shimano hubs, the 3N72 and 3N80 and they seem to spin better. The cheap shimano I have is a DH 3N-30

DAME

So...wheel was built and delivered just prior to Christmas. I've commuted about 1 week on it (~80 miles) and rode two fairly long weekend rides (40 and55 miles). My thoughts thus far:

1. The notchy feel you get spinning the hub out of the box is of no concern when on the bike

2. I installed new tires (Schwable marathon cross) when I installed the H27hub. I can tell there has been a slight drop in my mph on long rides as a result (however, I was still able to average around 17 mph for my long rides),but can't see any appreciable difference in time during my weekly commute. I'll chock up the reduced speed (negligible), to rolling resistance and the hub combined.

3. I absolutely LOVE having a dynamo hub and light combo. During the week of commuting to/from work, I never had to worry about lights not working. The light output from the B&M is phenomenal! Hands down the best light I have seen or used.

4. I have never used a high end dynamo hub before, but I can tell you theH27 (in my opinion) is definitely worth it....and for only $37!!

dscheidt

Yeah, that's the true. I'm building a new bike, and just built the front wheel for it, around a Shimano alfine hub (needed a disk brake hub, so the sanyo wasn't an option). It was much easier, because the shimano spins so much nicer. (It was also a much rounder rim, and the wheel practically built itself.)

FunkyStickman

I basically used an off-the-shelf 12V MR16 bulb meant for indoor track lighting. It puts out around 350 lumens (more or less), and I really like the beam pattern. It's bright enough in the center to be mistaken for a motorcycle, but has enough width to still pick up street signs and things on the side of the road.

In use the bulb does get warm, but remember it was designed to be used in a stationary lighting fixture. I have it in a steel foglight enclosure mounted over the front wheel (you can see it on the bike in my signature) and after riding for a few hours, it's a little warm, but apparently the wind cools it off enough that it's not an issue.

More info can be found on my setup in the "Total Geekiness" thread. They're on batteries in those pics, but the output is the same with the dynohub.

TimmyT 

DAME, that looks great. Congrats on getting it assembled.

FunkyStickman, Thanks. I like Shirley. Nice bike. Thanks for the help. I will try to assemble one of these lights. I'm impressed at the beam.

FlatAndWindy

Anyone want to share where they are buying the H27? I'm waiting to hear back from my LBS but online there only seem to be a few sellers (Peter White @ $50).

unterhausen

I bought mine through my LBS and they got it from Peter White. I get a 15% discount from my lbs for my sweet personality and good nature

krome

I sold one of my Sanyo H27s to a friend who went on a 1000 mile tour (give or take). He was powering a Supernova Pro with it, with the Supernova tail light. He had absolutely no troubles with the hub or lights. The hub was brand new when I sold it to him.

It's a shame the price has bumped up to $50, but it is still a good value. I should have hoarded a few when they were $36.

I'm hearing good things also about the Shutter Precision PV-8. It will be awhile before I get another dyno, I'm pretty much set for the moment.

FunkyStickman

LongLeaf bicycles also sells them...
https://www.longleafbicycles.com/prod...anyo-dynohubs/

DAME

I hate to bring up a dead post, but wanted to give an update on the hub. I've put about 5500 miles on the bike through all sorts of weather (snow, rain, grime and grit) and all types of surfaces. I have completed several long rides close to home, one short tour (C&O), single track riding, and many commutes.

The hub has preformed beyond my expectation. I don't see any wear from visual inspections and it turns as easily as it did our of the box. I still can't believe the cost of this hub vs other dynamo hubs.

I did upgrade from a bike planet turbo flash to a B&M Toplight for a rear light. Another great product from a great company. If you are thinking about switching to a dynamo set-up, get this rear light.

unterhausen

no problem bringing up a thread like this.

My Sanyo and the one on my daughter's bike have gotten a workout. Mine is on the wheels with my studded tires on them, so it saw a pretty nasty environment all winter with no issues.

DiegoFrogs

I recently bought a wheel built with the hub from e-bay for $95 shipped, and I'm happy with the wheel and the hub. I haven't purchased any lights for it yet, though, but I am riding on the wheel with no troubles!

AZORCH

I followed this thread when it first started without chiming in. Just last year I put in around 9,000 miles on the Sanyo hub that I built up in 2011. It's worked flawlessly for me in all that time. Around mile 50 of yesterday's 66 mile ride I suddenly noticed some profound vibrations in my fork and handlebars. Initially thinking it was simply rough pavement, I ignored it. However, the buzz in my palms continued when I hit the smoother tarmac. I turned off my lights (it had been raining earlier) and the buzz went away. On the bike stand this morning, my front wheel has a lot less "free spin" with the lights powered on than powered off... my sense is that there is a great deal more resistance than there has been. I'm hoping the hub isn't shot, but considering the number of miles I've put on it since early 2011 I'm not going to be terribly surprised. Just curious if anyone else has experienced anything similar with the Sanyo hub.

unterhausen

I would suspect the light before the hub.

AZORCH

Thanks, I'll check that out. Clearly, my forte is not the electrical end of things, so I really appreciate that insight.

DiegoFrogs

I recently "finished" my setup on a 1977 Centurion Pro Tour.



I bought a wheel that was $95 shipped from e-bay, which was actually my first e-bay purchase ever. Weird enough, although the hub looks exactly like the Sanyo H-27, the hub actually says "NH-H27 6V-3W SK" and the graphics are a bit different than those I've seen on other internet photographs. It specifically doesn't say "Sanyo" anywhere. The wheel was built with some no-name, yet nice, double-wall rim without eyelets. The spokes had very high tension, and I needed to reduce the tension on two spokes by about a half turn to bring it up to my standards.

The lights I got are the Busch & Muller Lumotec IQ Cyo silver colored Senso R Plus front and the B&M 4D Lite Plus rear.

In that way in which, my mother would say, I "march to the beat of a different drummer," I decided to mount the stuff to my 1977 Centurion Pro Tour. It has brazed-on centerpull brakes and the fork crown has a phillips screw tapped into the rear, and no hole in the front. This makes mounting difficult, but I replaced the shorter 12 mm M6x1.0mm bolt on the Dia Compe brakes with a longer 25 mm bolt and used some nuts and lockwashers to hold the headlight on the bolt. It wasn't trivial, but it holds the light securely.

I had read that the tail light shouldn't be mounted on plastic fenders, but I didn't hesitate to drill two holes to mount the light and one for the wire into my white Planet Bike Cascadia fenders. The fender seems at least as stable as it was before the modification.

I'm impressed with the hub, despite my concern about whether it's genuine or not. I wish I had done this years ago.

Eventually I'll successfully fish the cable thought the fork and maybe figure out a better way to take it to the fender. but so far I'm happy. It has only been a day or so, though.

PlanoFuji

One of my favorite magazines, Bicycle Quarterly, has a article a while ago where they actually measured (as opposed to subjective reviews) a number of dynamo hubs, including the Sanyo. Their results indicated that the Sanyo was in the same ball park as the all of the other dynamo hubs in terms of additional pedaling effort when the lights are on. The only difference was when riding with the lights were off, where the Sanyo was much worse. That said, even the Sanyo only added a small amount (< 10 watts) of additional power required versus a normal hub.

Their conclusion, and one I would agree with if their data is correct, is that for most riders in urban areas the Sanyo would make a very good cost effective choice. The additional resistance would only make a difference to someone wanting to ride very fast or long distances. And neither of those conditions are ones that scream 'budget'.

After recently switching over to dynamo lighting, I am amazed as to why anyone would choose any other system.

As to you light choice, I would suggest you consider the B&M IQ Fly RT. It is a about the same price, but I think is a better light for general urban cyclists. It has daytime running lights that work even in the daytime (making use of the fact that with the Sanyo you might as well use the generated electricity). I have one on my general utility bike and leave it on Senso mode. Street light when its dark and running lights in the daytime.

DiegoFrogs

It was my first try at a system, so I'm willing to admit that I probably could've done it differently. I figure I can keep all these parts and try other setups in the future with new stuff, too.

Part of what sealed this headlight in my mind was that it's attractive, which mattered to me, and it doesn't look too out of place on a 36 year old bike.

belacqua

Azorch: did you figure out what was going on? I just started running a Sanyo / Dosun U1 combo on my FG and on the shakedown ride there seemed to be MUCH more vibration and drag than my Alfine/U1 combo on my commuter.

AZORCH

I did not. It seems to have gone away completely - but consider that the past few months have been summer riding with very limited use of the lights. As the days get shorter, I'll be paying close attention to whether or not this issue returns.

belacqua

Just rode it to work and it feels smoother than last night, but still draggier than the Alfine.