You are reading a single comment by @oat44 and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
@oat44
Finally I've made the plunge into dynamos - I thought I would share my observations.
I went for the Shimano Deore XT DH-T780 hub dynamo (the one that came pre built in a mavic road wheel from Rose, sadly no longer available) and after 6 weeks I have been very impressed. Looks-wise, it's not as slick as a SON, but its drag is barely noticeable and it gives lots of power, even at low speed. Not sure about long term durability yet obvs.
Since then, unfortunately for my bank balance, I got tempted by a new bike in the end of season sales, and my new mavic/XT wheel is sadly no longer compatible as it's for calipers and my new bike is disks. I indulgently had a new dynamo wheel built up by London Bicycle Workshop who recommended the SP 8 series instead.
It's early days with the SP, but it seems quite different to the XT. Even less drag, super tiny, and a much nicer design. But I can't help thinking at lower speeds that the XT is more potent. Has anyone else experienced this? It's not really much of a problem the vast majority of time - it's just the stroby flashing of the headlamp seems more noticeable at lower speeds and might be annoying for others (and me!).
I just wondered if others had noticed anything similar, or that maybe this is actually a good thing for the longevity of the hub.
I'm still super pleased with the new set up btw, I just was interested what the general consensus was.