Do people run Dynamo wheels on their mtb permanently? As in I am in the process of building up a Dynamo wheel and wincing a bit at the expense involved for what will be a spare wheel. Then I thought that I could just leave the Dynamo wheel on all the time – so I wouldn’t need a new rim just the hub and light(probably spokes too unless really lucky)…I’m not a racer and not too concerned about a tiny bit of drag tbh…just interested in the longevity of these things in horrible conditions experienced by UK mtbers…

My Exposure / SP hub is supposed to be good for 10,000 miles before service so keeping as a main shouldn’t be a problem.
They are staple choice for long distance riders so if they get people round the world, through the tour devide etc I think you’ll be just fine.

I have mine on my 29+ wheelset which is what I use most of the time anyways. If not riding those I’ll be riding the fat wheels which will be getting a dynamo thrown in as soon as cash allows!

Just leave mine on all the time (SP 15mm version). No issues in the riding, its just a hub. Not sure about logevity as it was new beginning of the year and not done a lot of miles, but not found any reports to suggest otherwise.

I’ve got a SP PD8 hub which I use on my singlespeed all the time. The bearings had developed a fair bit of play after about a year of use, which is not great, but not much worse than a lot of other hubs I have tried.

Unfortunately you can’t just pop the cartridge bearings out and whack some new ones in.

You can get the hub replaced with a reconditioned one by sending it back to the importer (Ison) for £25. Unfortunately this involves dismantling your wheel and rebuilding which will cost you a fair bit of time (if you build your own wheels) or money (if you don’t).

Can only speak for my own experience, but mine’s been used constantly as my only front wheel since 2013 (Exposure branded SP hub). No issues to report so far.

6000 miles on mine so far.

I’ve had a SON hub for more than 8 years on my all year round off road commuter. No idea how many miles it’s done but it’s never been touched in that time, the only hub that’s needed even less attention than the Rohloff at the other end.

Depends how gnar you are I guess

Plenty of bikepackers and ITTers will be using dynamo front wheels. They’ll be doing more riding/distance than most MTBers