Are there any? Or do they all have to be sent back to the manufacturer fir new bearings because of the ‘exacting calibration when re-assembling’ (to quote an SP review..)

I have had many thousands of miles of use out my current Shimano XT dynamo hub but unfortunately it looks like I have managed to pit the bearing races, so right now I quite fancy trying one with cartridge bearings so that would never be an issue!

SP and Schmidt (SON) are non-user serviceable, I’m not sure about Shimano. Those are the three main manufacturers, I think a lot of the smaller “manufacturers” are rebadged SP models.

Shimano I think you can replace one side easily the other is not so easy / not possible but you can also adjust bearings like all shimano hubs

NO other one can have any replacements IIRC

I think investing in SON is worth it if you do a lot of miles and value having a dyno hub. User-servicable = Shimano and as always, do it 1x a year min as preventative maintenance. Ideal world option imo would be a SON spec with XTR/Record level cup and cone bearings.

I was googling this when I bought mine.

With a bit of effort the SP hub comes appart and the disc side bearing can be replaced, but the dynamo is glued in on the other side so cant be accessed.

The older SON were more serviceable but needed a splined tool to unscrew it. Couldn’t find anyone who’d tried the new one.

Dynamo hub overhaul

Helpful guide to disassembling a Shimano dynamo.

I think you can replace the whole rotor assembly, which might work if the cups are ok.

Shimano and as always, do it 1x a year min as preventative maintenance

With the most important service being the one you do BEFORE using it, as like most Shimano hubs they come supplied with barely enough grease and almost without exception, adjusted too tight from the factory.

It’s that combination that kills them early, if you add or re-fill with decent grease and adjust the preload properly before using them then they last so much longer and don’t immediately start eating themselves from day one.

As others have said above, both SON and SP ave to go back to base to be serviced. The UK distributor for SP offers a service/swap for about £30 which is pretty reasonable, I think the SON service is more expensive and requires going back to Germany, but the longevity of SON is reportedly much greater than SP.

I’ve got an SP hub with about 5,000 miles on it and no signs of issues yet, but I know others have had issues in about 12 months and < 3,000 miles.

I’ve also got a couple of Shimano ones, one is at least a decade old (god knows how many miles) and only been serviced once and is running fine.

Likewise I have a very old SON, maybe 10-15 years old(?) and that is just now feeling like it needs attention.

Meanwhile the 70 year old Sturmey-Archer dynohub on my Rudge roadster still works perfectly.

It never occurred to me that modern types may be unable to be maintained by the owner.

I’ve a SON Deluxe and it developed a fault, it was about nine years old with maybe 10,000km on it, so I sent it off for service. Including removal from the wheel, sending it off and rebuilding the wheel it was £80 from memory.

I’ve a 15mm axled version SP on my HT that’s so far done about 4,000km with no problem and my wife also has one with a similar distance, maybe a little more, on it that’s still fine. I think the problems were with the early 15mm axle models but it was a bit hit and miss as to whether you bought a lemon.

My sp hub was a QR one and failed quickly – the bearings seized up after one winters commuting. Replaced under guarantee.

as to whether you bought a lemon.

You see thats where you went wrong, if you have a lemon you need to put a galvanised nail in it at one end and a copper nail at the other. Should be quite a reliable source of power then.

Maybe the 15mm holes made the nails bit loose, try it with some qr addapters, should accept normal 5mm nails then.

You can service the wiring end of the Shimano ones. Unfortunately Shimano thinks we’ll all be too cack handed not to damage the wiring, so don’t offer the cones as a spare.

Sooo, if you can service it often enough to avoid pitting the cones, you’re fine. But you won’t, then you’ll have to lace a new hub in, but it’ll still be cheaper than the alternatives.

Looks like shelling out for a SON 28 or Delux is the way to go. Thanks!

Note that the Deluxe was originally rated for 20″ or 24″ wheels (can’t remember which ATM) so you might not get the desired output on 700c or 29er wheels. SON recommend the 28 if you want lights and to charge, the Deluxe if you only need lights. I’d go for the SON 28

My SON hub must be around 12 years old and has done at least 6 winters of that as an off rad commuter, still running well. Not cheap but good value.

I was responsible for warranty at SJS for just under two years from mid 07…my knowledge of the product names and models is a little rusty having not worked in the industry for over 10 years.

We sold a lot of Schmidts, many went on high mileage bikes and very few were sent back for new bearings so I expect it is quite a high quality bearing that they spec.

I do not recall any coming for warranty issues and all were well used, Schmidt were excellent to deal with. The turnaround time may be a bit of an issue as it has to be sent within the UK, then to Germany, then back and then sent within the UK again. At some time during my time with Robin the smaller bodied hub came in and although it was for smaller wheels at launch I think that for LED lamps it was fine on any wheel size as they have components in them that alleviate any issues.

I have had a Shimano Alfine on my fixie which became singlespeed for 12 years as I got it as a free sample…it has been great, even withstanding running backwards for a good few miles. The bearings are still good but it has recently stopped generating after I was cut across by a car. The Shimano XT / Alfine hubs can be had for as little as £50 when on offer, annoyingly I dithered and missed out recently!

A use and eventually throw away Shimano is the far better value option but there’s something lovely about a schmidt.

Thanks for all the info! I’m going to buy a Schmidt from SJS. Does anyone know if they come with the connectors?

Should do, lights generally come with bare ends to wire into whatever hub you have. Normal grease or Vaseline on the contacts will keep it dry but silicone (plumbers) grease is best.

Thanks!

Holy thread resurrection!

Finally, someone has made a user servicable dynamo hub: Kasai.

These guys looks like they have them available – although it doesn’t specifically say In Stock. Would love to see some real world (i.e. cold and wet) reviews.

Also, this light looks ace – cheap(ish), powerful, USB output.

Intriguing! Hard to find 15mm dynamo hubs that don’t have bad reliability reviews.

One weird thing I’ve found, since both my bikes have 15mm thru axles, that no-one makes a reducer kit that threads/pops in to the 15mm holes to bring them down to 12mm or for QR. Seems like it shouldn’t be too hard to machine?

@yourguitarhero like this you mean:

15mm to 12mm fork reducer

Comes in other flavours. I have one and it’s the dogs danglies 👍

re

“One weird thing I’ve found, since both my bikes have 15mm thru axles, that no-one makes a reducer kit that threads/pops in to the 15mm holes to bring them down to 12mm or for QR. Seems like it shouldn’t be too hard to machine?

see https://www.ebay.com/str/JJP-E-LLC?_trksid=p2047675.l2563

or https://forkmods.com/

no personal experience of these.

Intriguing.
How come they’re specific to each bike? Are all thru-axles not the same? Guess I should try swapping my ones around!

re

Finally, someone has made a user servicable dynamo hub: Kasai.

These guys looks like they have them available – although it doesn’t specifically say In Stock. Would love to see some real world (i.e. cold and wet) reviews

see the discussion at https://bikepacking.com/news/kasai-dynacoil-fs-dynamo-hub/

Which suggests that only the bearing at the non coil end is directly replaceable, at the other end it is thought to be integrated in to the dynamo bits.

The distributors web site does not have any technical instructions.

Just reading through this and saw one comment and thought that sounds pretty much like my experience. Was about to say +1 but then realised I’d written it over a year ago😊

Cups and cones should (mostly) be swappable from another Shimano hub, possibly including a non dynamo one?

I’ve gone through over 10 SP dynamo hubs over the years. I have two bikes and three SP 15mm dyno hubs. Every year one gets replaced. Started off with a 9mm and that failed quickly. Progressed onto the 15mm ones and eventually replaced all three of the first iterations and currently have three of the 2nd iteration where SP had bulked up one side slightly.

I think one of the problems is the larger axle means reduced size bearings bearings so they’ll be less reliable.The Sons may use higher quality bearings but they benefit from a breather tube to equalise the pressure inside the hub when the temperature drops. This prevents moist air being pulled in through the bearings which can cause them to seize up. This happened on at least one occasion as my bike was sitting in an unheated outhouse over winter. Tried riding in spring and the front wheel didn’t move. Almost brand new hub too. Flipping pain respoking the wheels and sending the hub back to Taiwan.

Those Kasai hubs have only solved half the problem. It’s good that the wheels don’t need to be disassembled but does the internal unit just get thrown in the bin or do they have a replacement service? If so then that’s a step forward for sure but I’d still like to be able to replace the bearings myself and defintely wouldn’t want to chuck the guts away each time a bearing wears. They need to publish a how-to on bearing replacement before I’d consider buying. Also early days so who knows what the quality is like. The fact you can screw the guts out might mean it could work itself loose or play could develop.

Re the axle reducer from 15mm to 12mm Kasai have one of those on that site too. And that dyno light looks comparable to the revo but with a 5v charger which is interesting. Any rear light output?

Igaro’s dyno light will have a road ficussed beam, an integrated charger with a huge capacitor and Bluetooth with loads of customised options. sounds like it could be excellent if expensive.

Any rear light output?

Yeah, there are photos elsewhere on the web showing a rear wire connected.

I got 90% of the way through checkout and then realised I had no idea how much import duty I’d get stung for.

That light looks superficially similar to the “Ugoe” lights

Quite cheap on alibaba etc if anyone fancies trying them…
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/UGOE-dynamo-bike-light-input-voltage_60655262392.html

Hi,

I know its late but in the off chance somebody might be looking through this thread for a solution to their problem I thought I’d post anyway. I have started to stock 15mm to 12mm fork adapters in the UK. Making it possible to use any 12mm wheelset in your 15mm fork. They’re also great for dynamo hubs.

This is our ebay shop, we cover a LOT of bike models already but will be adding new adapters shortly to cover even more bikes.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/adaptcycles/m­.html?item=333868954562&hash=item4dbc23f­3c2%3Ag%3ANngAAOSw4FtgDzCE&rt=nc&_trksid­=p2047675.l2562

Thanks,
Josh

I’ve gone through over 10 SP dynamo hubs over the years. I have two bikes and three SP 15mm dyno hubs. Every year one gets replaced.

That seems like an exceptionally high rate of failure. I’ve one that’s still going strong after what must be around 10000km.

@adaptcycles linky no work…

@boblo sorry don’t know what happened there.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/adaptcycles/m.html?item=333868954562&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562

The above should work!

Everything can also be accessed via my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Adapt-Cycles-102246138558727

There’s a lot more info about the adapters on that page too 🙂