After all the praise on here decided to see for myself.
SP hub and B&M lights (Cyo Senso Premium/Selectra Plus).

Er, yeah, that works.
😀

The beam is well focused – like having a small car headlight.
Wide enough to fully illuminate verges but still has plenty of reach for fast stuff.
80 Lux seems plenty.

The ‘Senso’ bit means it emphasises the 4 little LED’s under the main beam during the day when you need to be seen, then gives more power to the main beam at night when you need to see.
Despite my Luddite reservations it works perfectly.
😐

If the hub lasts, I’ll do the MTB.
You have to send it off for new bearings though, a business opportunity for someone UK based surely?

Pub bike already has it’s cards marked – Shimano or Alpkit hub?
The latter do look a bit SP’ish.

And thanks to everyone who evangelised about dynamos.

I have seen the light.

Don’t have any experience with SP dynamo hubs but I’ve a Schmidt SON that’s been solid for several years now. I’ve heard of people with the SP hub on MTBs having bearing problems but they’ve been fixed by SP.

For commuting they just make sense, the biggest (and only real) downside is the cost.

It was an upgrade offered by the builders.
£130, I think?
Lights, hub and fitting.

Daft not to have a go at that price.

Interesting, I’m putting together a bike to end all bikes( in my head at the mo) and was pondering a dynamo.

Should say that my Schmidt dynamo is in its second wheel after an incident with a gate with the first 😳

Pub bike get a £20 shimano or even a sidewall dynamo, no need for anything more.

If weight is not a significant factor I would choose a decent Shimano dynohub every time, simply because my XTs and 3N72 have been faultless (I’ve now also got an SP but only just started using it). However I did have a 3N30 fail after six months of commuting, which means I now avoid the cheaper ones. But a mid/high end Shimano from a German shop should set you back the same or a bit less than an Alpkit.

But yeah, if it’s a proper pub bike then a bottle will do.

I’ve got a SP8X together with B+M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos U Senso lamp. Will be using it on Tuscany Trails, the main point is that it has a USB charging lead built in.