View Single Post
Old 07-26-21, 09:31 AM
  #41  
Tourist in MSN
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 11,118

Bikes: 1961 Ideor, 1966 Perfekt 3 Speed AB Hub, 1994 Bridgestone MB-6, 2006 Airnimal Joey, 2009 Thorn Sherpa, 2013 Thorn Nomad MkII, 2015 VO Pass Hunter, 2017 Lynskey Backroad, 2017 Raleigh Gran Prix, 1980s Bianchi Mixte on a trainer. Others are now gone.

Mentioned: 47 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3426 Post(s)
Liked 1,441 Times in 1,122 Posts
Originally Posted by himespau
Yeah, I wonder if that's a hub-specific difference. Do some have less friction. And is it better to use the shimano with wiring that allows you to charge your garmin during the daytime if it's going to be putting out the drag no matter what.
Originally Posted by unterhausen
Shimano hubs aren't particularly efficient on or off. If you want to charge something, you're better off with an SP or SoN. It seems like test results differ on which of those is better. Everybody gets about the same answer with SoN, some people measure the SP as being more efficient. I have come to the conclusion that I should buy SoN. For one thing, the price difference is less between disc through axle. But I use my dynohubs long enough that $100 isn't worth worrying about. OTOH, Shimano hubs seem to come my way for very little money, that's why I have so many of them.
I think the consensus is that Son is best, SP PV series is close behind, Shimano after them.

That said, there have been many models of Shimanos over the years, some much better than others. And I am leaving out some of the rare ones like Panasonic.

This is almost a decade old, but it has some good comparisons of the models available at that time. This link is a google translate link:
https://translate.google.com/transla...00242,15700248

I do not read German, if you do, this link may be better for you:
https://fahrradzukunft.de/14/neue-nabendynamos-im-test

While a lot has changed in the world of LED lighting and USB chargers since that was published, the hubs have changed very little. That comparison was one of the pieces that I looked at before I bought my first dynohub in early 2013. I bought an SP PV8 at that time. I could not find a seller in USA, I ordered one from Asia on Ebay so I might have one of the first SP hubs in USA.

This being the rando forum, I suspect most dynohub users here are only using the hub for lighting, with some also using it for battery charging. Realistically from a cost standpoint it would make more sense to carry a powerbank for your GPS than use a USB charger off of your hub.

I primarily bought the hubs for bike touring where I use it for charging every battery I have, camera, phone, GPS, headlamp (for my head in the campsite), batter taillight flashers, etc. When I tour on my S&S coupled bike, the disassembly and re-assembly of the bike at each end of the trip is enough of a hassle that I do not use dyno powered lighting on it when touring, the dynohub is only for battery charging on that bike. If I need a headlamp on the bike, I have a small one that is powered by USB cable, plug that into my powerbank.

Initially I did not plan to have a dynohub on my rando bike, but when I bought a cheap Shimano hub from the charity four years ago, that Shimano hub went on my light touring bike and the SP hub was moved from that touring bike to the rando bike. Earlier this year I finally got around to wiring a fender mounted taillight on the rando bike.
Tourist in MSN is online now