Shimano Hub dynamo - any good?

I have the DNH370 or DHN370 or whatever it's called. The '370 model.
I've had it for just under a year.

It's great. I love being able to get on my bike, flip on the lights
and go, no worries about batteries. I do run a battery-powered light
in back, but I almost wish I had the rear light hooked up the generator
as well. It's really cool.

To answer your questions:

1. It's been rock-solid reliable.

2. I run a Lumotec halogen light, and it flickers a bit at very low
speed (slowing down to stop). I keep a white Cateye blinky on my
helmet for this reason.

3. If you try to spin just the hub, it's notchy. If you spin the
wheel with no load connected, it's not quite as free-spinning as a
regular hub, but not bad. If you spin the wheel by hand and put a load
on it, the wheel stops pretty quickly. In actual riding, you notice no
difference.

4. You didn't ask, but...it is significantly heavier than a typical
front hub. That doesn't matter much to me, but I can understand how
some people wouldn't like it.

5. Make sure you get a good headlight. I recommend the Lumotec, for
one thing because it's easy to change the bulb. Generator systems DO
burn out lightbulbs over time (a bit faster than battery systems) so
it's a good idea to have a spare bulb handy. With the round Lumotec
model, I can change bulbs wearing full-finger gloves.

Thanks for the discussion!

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have the DNH370 or DHN370 or whatever it's called. The '370 model.
I've had it for just under a year.

It's great. I love being able to get on my bike, flip on the lights
and go, no worries about batteries. I do run a battery-powered light
in back, but I almost wish I had the rear light hooked up the generator
as well. It's really cool.

....

Quoted message said:

4. You didn't ask, but...it is significantly heavier than a typical
front hub. That doesn't matter much to me, but I can understand how
some people wouldn't like it.

I didn't ask because I don't care <grin>. This is for my tourer, which
is already about 35 lbs with the big steel frame, rack, fenders, fat
tires, aero bars, heavy duty wheels, etc. I knew it would be much
heavier than a regular hub; permanent magnets and copper wire are both
rather dense materials.

Quoted message said:

5. Make sure you get a good headlight. I recommend the Lumotec, for
one thing because it's easy to change the bulb. Generator systems DO
burn out lightbulbs over time (a bit faster than battery systems) so
it's a good idea to have a spare bulb handy. With the round Lumotec
model, I can change bulbs wearing full-finger gloves.

That's a point I wouldn't have thought of; thanks for bringing it up.

--
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride my bike.
I want to ride my bicycle,
I want to ride it where I like!