Viewing 16 posts - 1 through 16 (of 16 total)
  • dynamo hub people. Hub for just running lights on a utility bike.
  • trail_rat
    Free Member

    Building an electric Cargo bike atm.

    Want to fit a front dyno hub to power a stand light/rear light(probably a b+m topo light plus – the one with the brake light in it) and one of the lower rated b+m front lights probably a luxos or something similar (i have an IQ-x + top light+usb output and revo+redeye + usb output on my other bikes powered by front SP pd8s – which is over kill on price and lighting power)

    Will i get away with one of the much cheaper and more importantly user servicable shimano hubs ?

    scotroutes
    Full Member

    There are huge numbers of utility bikes with Shimano dynamo hubs running across the continent. I’m sure you’ll be fine 🙂

    uphillcursing
    Free Member

    Am I missing something? You are building an E-cargobike with a monsterous battery already fitted and want to use that to drive the wheel which will then power the lights?

    Overthinking this I feel.

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    trail_rat
    Free Member

    scotroutes – I have not come across many running more than what i call ” street lights” for in town use. But im not au fair with electric – I hate wiring and electrics calcs.

    I have 1 mile on a busy unlit road with no other option and then 3 miles on a country track to my house so do want a decent output of light.

    2 things missing uphillcursing – i dont want to use the bike as an E bike all the time so wont always have a battery- and is why im opting for the more expensive mid mounted motor. – and 2 i want the lights to be on always when the bikes rolling – no switching – no forgetting ( its not just for me to use)

    the batteries just for when its loaded. its a fair drag uphill back to mine with 4 panniers its just horribly inconvenient and results in me taking the car to the shops instead – and we are going to be getting rid of one of the cars so want to have alternative.

    uphillcursing
    Free Member

    I did think there might have been some logic behind the question. Got to check sometimes though.

    Hope you get sorted out.

    twisty
    Full Member

    Nowt wrong with the shimano dynamo hubs, still they are quite expensive, they are not massively heavy but you do have to carry them everywhere obviously. Unless you go for something really bespoke dynamo hubs output ~5W tops and you tend to not get continuous light, when you stop the lights dim down. The bonus with dynamo hubs is that they are always there, there is no faffing with batteries, all you need to do is switch them on when it is dark.

    Me personally, I wouldn’t go for a mid block drive for this kind of bike. I’d want a good hub motor and a controller that does regenerative braking. It wouldn’t be as fast going up hills as a mid-block but it would be able to put some energy back into the battery when coasting downhill, or rolling up to red lights which means can get more range out of a smaller battery. Plus a hub motor could double as a dynamo when cycling at night without a battery, it might require a bit of DIY faff to achieve this though as I am not sure if there is an off the shelf solution.

    Thinking about it more, with a bit of faff you could put in a system that allows the mid-block drive to be put into a dynamo mode, i.e. permanently engaged, you would need to remember to turn over the cranks when rolling down hill though.

    officerfriendly
    Free Member

    I have to ask, how do you find the IQ-X compared to the Revo? Thanks so much as i’m looking to buy a Revo! (:

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    on the road the iqx beats the revo hands down – as the beam is focused and angled like a car headlight – it shows all you need to see plus has side vision- the revo does not and beam goes everywhere.

    offroad the revo beats the iqx hands down as the light is brighter at a lower speed has a better spread for offroad trails/corners and the standlight is brighter for longer.

    My favorite part is the fact they are always on ….no switching them on for day riding – they just do.

    “Me personally, I wouldn’t go for a mid block drive for this kind of bike. I’d want a good hub motor and a controller that does regenerative braking. It wouldn’t be as fast going up hills as a mid-block but it would be able to put some energy back into the battery when coasting downhill, or rolling up to red lights which means can get more range out of a smaller battery. Plus a hub motor could double as a dynamo when cycling at night without a battery, it might require a bit of DIY faff to achieve this though as I am not sure if there is an off the shelf solution”

    So you would buy something that doesnt exist ? + hub motors suck at torques and torques is what i need for a loaded bike + and those that do have a decent output are draggy when it comes to not being powered. the drag from a mid mount is negligible by all accounts due to double freewheel mechanism.

    if i could id have a stoke monkey but at 1200 dollars without a battery thats just too much .

    twisty
    Full Member

    Yeah fair enough I am getting carried away in my thinking, it is just the idea of buying a 2nd rotor/stator when there will be another redundant rotor/stator on the bike does seem wasteful. Furthermore the thought occurs that with cargo bikes being heavier there is more potential to extend range from regenerative braking than other bikes.

    I do like to DIY electronics stuff, I keep costs down by e.g. making my own li-ion packs by taking cells from dead laptop/power tool packs – they generally have only 1 or 2 bad cells and the others a fine for a few hundred cycles at least.

    Quite a few non-electric cargo bikes come with dynamos so quite easy to test them out from shops etc. What kind of bike are you going for? I’ve tried quite a few cargo bikes and I much preferred the 2 wheel or tilting kind to the rigid tricycle kind which I found pretty tricky on steep road cambers and corners.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    id like a 2 wheel bakfiets/box bike but thats A out of budget and B wont fit onto the cycle paths through gates.

    I bought an xtracycle freeloader off lummox on here and will fit it to a thorn raven enduro i have here.

    there is one regenerative braking rear hub mounted motor but it drags, the charge generated is negligable and it overheats/burns out on hills

    As for testing them out . no one locally does them its a full on mail order job unless i go visit ben kinetics or the shop in edinburgh – but thats a 250 mile+ round trip

    Bez
    Full Member

    Short answer: any of the 3W Shimano hubs will do, but having had a failure of one of the cheap ones (3N30) I’d stick with the higher level ones (I’ve put lots of miles on XTs and a 3N72 and they’ve been faultless).

    StirlingCrispin
    Full Member

    My advice would be to think about roller brakes for that low-maintenance vibe.

    I run a DH-3R35 Dynamo Hub built by Rob at
    http://www.reallyusefulbikes.co.uk/

    🙂

    kcr
    Free Member

    I second the recommendation for the XT Shimano hub. I’ve been running one on the work bike for a while; good output and very reliable.

    tomd
    Free Member

    I have one of these on a commuting bike running a BM IQ and a rear light. Output is only 3W but it is plenty good for around town and unlit paths. Bargain price.

    https://www.rosebikes.com/article/shimano-dh-3n31-nt-hub-dynamo/aid:671399

    The only thing is I guess on the cargo bike your speed will be a bit lower so you might want something with a higher output.

    STATO
    Free Member

    Any standard 3W dynamo will suffice, even a sidewall version. The SP ones are just more efficient, i.e. slightly brighter for marginally less drag.

    I think when you can get a £15 hub dynamo that will run the lights all the time, regardless of e-battery charge, and causes negligible drag, why bother running one off you battery.

    [edit] Just stay away from 1.5W systems for now IME, a bit lighter but less availability.

    officerfriendly
    Free Member

    Thanks very much for the info re the two lights! (:

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