Dynamo hubs

Anyone know of an OTP fork that works with the SON SL contactless system?

Only ones I've seen are the 26" that Son makes. http://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/pdf/english/sl_rangeofproducts2016.pdf

If anyone is interested, I'd be willing to part with my SON 15mm Dynamo. Don't need now.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/schmidt-son-28-15-110-6-bolt-disc-dynamo-front-hub-black-anodised-prod39111/

You're leaving the #dynamolife behind?

No. Just different one. I built that one up for the cayo, no longer riding the cayo.

What's the spoke count? Can it be used with QR?

32h
And yes, using a 15mm to 9mm adaptor.

Such as.
http://www.acycles.co.uk/ritchey-front-axle-adapter-15mm-to-9mm-11799.html?utm_source=google_produit_cpc&gclid=Cj0KEQjwt763BRDZx_Xg3-Pv2cABEiQAoDfeGNDhNpGG80nTSj1dcM2hWv-_J-EsMKbwxq8rcfFJiSAaAqLO8P8HAQ

How much are you thinking?

I dunno, tbh I'm half hesitant to sell as I do like dynamo.
Think I'll keep it. Don't need the money really.
Soz. Cold feet.

Any further thoughts on this? Tossing up between this, a Sinewave Revolution and a B&M USB-Werk. Don't fancy a Luxos-U as I keep hearing bad things about their build quality...

@hamrack

Soooo... my long review of the http://d1.igaro.com/.

TLDR: Functional looks but superb performance.

Build/Looks:
Looks pretty basic, it's metal case, 2 usb ports, with some sort of black plastic coating or paint, but feels rock solid - In many ways the basic looks are a positive, much less chance of someone nicking it from your bike. Weighs almost nothing.

I think it's designed to mount on a bottle cage mount, but I found it fits perfectly under a garmin out front mount (see awful photos).

Performance:
Really really impressed by it, I was riding in the pouring rain in north wales up incredibly steep gravel climbs at only a couple of mph and it was able to charge two things at once - iphone & usb battery or iphone & usb speakers no problem, whilst the light on my supernova still being on.

Also left things (accidentally) plugged in whilst descending at 40mph+ and they continued to charge and my iphone did not explode :)

For want of a more scientific way to judge charging ability, it charged my iphone 5c about 2-3% whilst cycling quite slowly between Queens Road Peckham and Camberwell which is about a 1.5 miles.

Overall: it seems to offer better weight, more charging options and cheaper price than the other big contenders. very impressed. 5* would buy again.

2 Attachments

D1 alone is more expensive then a Luxos so what is the point?

Was my thinking.

How have you attached it to the mount? I think I am more leaning towards one of these rather than a Werk I think.

How does that work out?

d1 = £85 incl. postage
luxos = about £100 incl. postage

@mustardbeak if you look at the top picture, the gap of the garmin out front mount that I use that allows it to clamp the handlebar has enough space for the mount part of the d1, I had to file it down a couple of mm, but no problem.

Hi, I'm Andrew, the D1 is my baby, and I'm always scouting around for user posts. It's a buzz to see riders using them!

Thanks for the comments Alex, as always the D1 does exactly as it's sold to do and I'm honoured it's proving such a success for you.

A couple questions posted and here's the answers;

1. how is it so good? Spec! It's around 95% efficient, it's got over-voltage (aka over speed) protection (amazingly many don't and burn out if you hit a fast decline), huge capacitance, and an alu body (that and the epoxy filling make it bullet proof).

2. it is designed for a bottle mount and comes for a spacer for it, but you could use a cheapo bottle mount for a handlebar, or mount anywhere where there's a 5mm hole, as Alex has so done. You have to ensure rain doesn't sit in the USB ports or electrolysis will eat the gold plating on the pins, so a slight down angle at one end is required (hence down tube bottle mount is ideal).

3. It will work with any dynamo light but many of them include simple over-voltage protection (like Shimano's regulator that comes with the 72 & 80) which massively reduces efficiency. Dynamo's can produce much more than 6V and the D1 uses this for greater power output (or a second device). If a cheapo regulator shunts the voltage over 6V as heat there's no way for the D1 to utilise it.

Apologies they are a bit expensive - they are hand made (pick and place can't cram in all the bits) and take a good two hours per unit to make.

Anything else, ask away.

Best,
Andrew

Can you make it smaller? Seriously... I mean is it currently possible to make it smaller? To have something like this that fits perfectly under the stem like the Di2 junction box would be seriously cool.

Presently it's limited by the size of the USB port. I'm looking at getting the electronics side manufactured in mass to cut down on production time but it's a little way off at the moment. 50% of the internal space is took up by capacitors and the only way to reduce them is to add frequency detection to prevent on/off switching at low speed, of which the frequency differs per dynamo manufacturer!

I could make them without the fixing tab (or you could hacksaw it off). How would you affix it, tape? Those circular plastic ties Cateye use for their older lights would be ideal if I could find them.

Andrew

It looks good as it is. It's just that miniaturization is always cool... won't be long before everything is micro USB or wireless charging anyway...

I do not need this at the moment but as soon as I get even the sniff of a 'more than one-day' tour I am buying.

Really evaluating choosing yours over SineWave Revolution, my only problem is where to fix it. The bottle cage position is too far from the headset for me, so I'm thinking about other options with my current setup... and it would help to know the dimensions of the fixing tab (and position on the d1 unit). Website only says 70x15x15 that I suppose its just the unit itself. Also there are few pictures of it, can't really tell the entry position of the cable that comes from the dynamo... video could work too

Thanks!

That's pretty interesting, I'd replace my revoloution with it (if i didn't already have it). Looks like a good product.

You could do like I did, and mount it with a garmin out front mount. Or it would fit under a stem with zip ties like a di2 junction box.

the wire comes out of the middle of the long side of the box

Presently it's limited by the size of the USB port.

Mini/Micro-USB port.

Or, ideally, put the port on the end of a cable (preferably at least 20cm or so, none of these short cables) that way I can put the socket end somewhere dry (along with my phone or the cable for whatever else I'm plugging into it) rather than worrying about the external USB socket being waterproof. I tend to use a tri-bag mounted just behind the stem (USB battery pack in there, cable out to Garmin or just charging the phone inside), although I might move to a small frame pack just to give myself a bit more space.

The problem is that mini/micro USB are really flimsy - they aren't really designed for this kind of use (non of the USB connectors are).
Better to use something that has a hard connection (screw on connector, maybe like this?) and allows you to have custom cables (lengths, splitters etc). That way you can properly manage the strain on the cable, the downside is that you then have to carry that bit around. That's one thing I like about the USB-werk, you know that the connectors are definitely waterproof so you can mount it in some really unpleasant places without worrying.

On a separate note (for @acharnley), there are advantages to including a cache battery of some kind (could just be a large-ish capacitor). I know Garmin GPS units complain if you keep starting/stopping power to them. It would only need to be enough to cover demand at a traffic light or something, like the stand-light feature on most dynamo powered lights.

Not sure if the tag for @acharnley worked...

For mounting on the stem / handlebar etc, something like this;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360-Mountain-Road-Bike-Bicycle-Water-Bottle-Cage-Holder-Bracket-Handlebar-Mount-/381590459981

and remove the black piece and bolt the D1 straight on? It looks like an M5 fixing.

1. cache battery -> li-ion only last for ~500 charges which is nothing for touring or long term use and they reduce efficiency to 75% (approx), while super capacitors can't give out the amperage (charge fast, high internal resistance). I've tried both, but it's better to be ultra efficient with what is available.

2. with the Werk you still need to ensure the USB port runs down at an angle or the pins will corrode. Werk replacement cable cost needs to be factored in, plus availability if you're touring, while a USB extension cable is £0.99 and available mostly everywhere. For this reason I'm reluctant to move the USB port externally.

Regards, Andrew

Thanks for the reply. Your comments re a cache of sorts make sense, it's just a bit of a faff (but a faff common to all devices of this kind I guess).
Re the ports, you're right - but having the ports externally would allow you to reduce the size of your housing (as well as reduce the risk of breaking ports in your monolithic device). Of course, it would bring other problems in instead - now you have a different port to keep dry, and non-standard cables. At least you can use a type of port that's designed to be weatherproof.