Rollerbrakes in Perth

Hello Forum!

I'm toying with the idea of sticking on of these buggers on my commuter, keeps everything nice and clean.

Has anyone got any experience with Hub-Dynamos and Hub-Brakes? Sheldon Brown (RIP) wrote on his website that they were a load of crap on the front, but I beleive they have evolved over time and got better.

Anyone know if there is any place here in Perth I could try one out? Haven't seen any in the bikeshops yet.

Reason behind it? at the moment I have sidepull brakes on steel rims on the bike, and that it pretty bad in terms of stopping power. Bit too much adrenaline if it starts to rain


Cheers in advance for any help!

See Gary @ Speedlite in Maylands, he plays with Gererator Hubs a bit.

As for Nexus Hubs with Roller brakes, a friend with a Giant has a 4D Auto, no problems.

I have not checked, but the Nexus Hub on the Giant CRX City may have roller brakes.

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Cheers,
George.

Hi

I have a SON dynohub on my Orbea Araia that is coupled with disk brakes and find the performance of both to be exceptional. The SON has the lowest drag of the dynohubs although I think the shimano ones have been improved in recent models but the idea of having light for as long as I want to keep pedalling works well. Mine is couple to 2 E6 halogens and have full power from both lights at around 18kph or 12 kph if I turn the secondary light off. If you have led lights (Busch and Mulller are in the process of releasing a new LED version of the E6) such as the IQ Fly which has a standlight and produces a similar but wider beam than the E6 but is not compatable with a secondary light although reputedly you dont need one.

I have not been able to source Schmidt or Busch and Muller products in Perth I dealt with Harris Cyclery in the US and Abbotsford Cycles in Melbourne (03 9429 6889) and the Australian distributor for Schmidt is St Kilda Cycles. I havent dealt with St Kilda but had extremely good customer service/support with both Abbotsford and Harris

HTH

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Chris
2006 Orbea Araia
2001 Mongoose Pro 5.5 Rx
My Bike Journal

While you are looking, you should give some thought to simply having an alloy rim laced to your current hub OR even buying a "new" wheel ... it would probably be be less expensive in the short-and-long term.

You can also get sintered brake pads (usually a dark orange color) which will help a little in wet weather ... but, they won't be as good as having alloy rims.

Cheers guys for the answers!

I'm definitely going to replace the whole wheel, as the steel is getting a wee bt rusty in places. The Fork doesn't have Canti sockets or disc brake mounts - hence why I was thinking of the roller-brake option.

I'll check out Speedlite in Maylands, thank for the idea.


chrispatoz, you write
"f you have led lights (Busch and Mulller are in the process of releasing a new LED version of the E6) such as the IQ Fly which has a standlight and produces a similar but wider beam than the E6 but is not compatable with a secondary light although reputedly you dont need one."
What do you mean with secondary light? A second back light or a front light hooked up to the dynamo?

I was looking in to getting one of the Busch and Mueller LED taillights with Standlight option. Already have (Bulb) light at the front hooked up to a (trashy) sidewall dynamo. Should work fine.

When I mention a secondary light I mean like my twin E6 lights (when buying make sure the second one is E6-Z) up front using 3 watt halogen globes. If you add a rear light it will be 0.6 watt and you simply run your primary E6 with a 2.4 watt globe since a son hub produces 6 watts. You plug the rear light into the socket on the rear of the primary E6

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Chris
2006 Orbea Araia
2001 Mongoose Pro 5.5 Rx
My Bike Journal

Hi

sorry really didnt answer your question..... you have to match the total output of the lights(combined in watts) with the wattage output of the generator ie 6 watt dynamo with 2.4 and 3 watt frontlights and .4 watt rear light for example and match the voltage of the generator individually with each light ie if 6 volt dynamo the each of the lights must be 6 volt (Schmidt do make a 12 volt sidewall dynamo). The main differences between a sidewall dynamo and a dynahub is sidewall dynamos may slip in wet weather, maybe noisier and may wear the sidewall of your tyre

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Chris
2006 Orbea Araia
2001 Mongoose Pro 5.5 Rx
My Bike Journal

The cheapest option would be an alloy rim and a dual-pivot sidepull brake with good pads. You would possibly/probably need a long-reach caliper, as it sounds like you have an older bike.
From a lighting point of view, I would submit that a dynamo system is neither bright enough to light a dark road, nor bright enough for optimal visibility to drivers. I would prefer a rechargeable, high-intensity system.
Drum-brake /dynamo hubs are for a certain kind of cycling purist, but to my mind require unacceptable compromises.

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"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

I just found the ultra-cool Reelight

http://www.reelight.com

I'm going to hop out and by some and see how they perform...I'm fascinated by the simplicity of the idea.

I'll still consider all other options though. Cheers for ALL the feedback, and if you have anything to add, it's always welcome.

Artemidorus

I actually disagree re the dynohub lighting: the new IQ fly has sufficient beam to light the whole road and my twin E6 halogen setup give loads of light enabling safe speeds up to mid 50 kmh. The IQ fly has a similar but wider beam than the E6 with a less defined upper edge. I have them (the E6s) mounted in the upper 1/3 of my forks on the Orbea and sure they dont throw as much light as a HID set but I dont have bother with batteries or charging and have more than enough light to ride safely at speed in both suburbia or on the darkest of roads.

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Chris
2006 Orbea Araia
2001 Mongoose Pro 5.5 Rx
My Bike Journal

I've had two reasonably bad crashes at night due to driver inattention and have concluded that too much lighting is not enough. Charging, if made part of your routine, is not a big deal.
What about at low speeds (ie start-up at an intersection), or when stationary?
Of course, everyone takes their own risks, but I've learned the hard way.

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"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

Artemidorus

Fair enough however I have a white frog front and my rear light is a battery powered Cateye TL - LD1100 with a red frog as a secondary to the two banks of light from the Cateye upper on solid lower on random. When starting I usually have the auxilary turned off initially so I get light from one E6 almost immediately...... I dont take chances riding with substandard light since most of my commute riding is done at night. I do find though that light to see by is a greater requirement than to be seen by.

Also the IQ Fly that I recommended to the OP has a standlight(5 minutes) and auto on options.

Hope all that makes sense

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Chris
2006 Orbea Araia
2001 Mongoose Pro 5.5 Rx
My Bike Journal

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