Bottom Bracket Dynamo by Sanyo

[[email protected]]

I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Peter Charnley

 

[Clive George]

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:af0f4e9f-2498-4be6-aaa2-625b3ec7f55a@q77g2000hsh.googlegroups.com...
>I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
> with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
> needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
> seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
> have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
> would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
> to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
> advice would be appreciated.

The by now traditional reply is "get a hub dynamo". I'm not one to mess with
tradition

However if it still spins, and it's just the release mechanism, some
combination of brute force and oil/WD40 (or plusgas or whatever you've got
hanging around) may persuade it into action.

(Try and apply the force in the direction the spring would be applying, ie
towards the tyre. But if it's the lever thing, make sure that's releasing
first.)

cheers,
clive

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <af0f4e9f-2498-4be6-aaa2-
[email protected]>, [email protected]
[email protected] says...
> I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
> with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
> needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
> seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
> have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
> would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
> to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
> advice would be appreciated.
>
I used to use these, but AIR the bearings always wore out before
anything else went wrong. If the cam lever still moves but the drum
doesn't pivot towards the wheel try holding the lever in the 'on'
position (i.e. against the spring) and wiggling the drum, as it could
just be that the hinge is clogged with muck - ISTR this was a fairly
common occurence.

 

[Nigel Cliffe]

[email protected] wrote:
> I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
> with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
> needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
> seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
> have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
> would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
> to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
> advice would be appreciated.

You got about the same life as I did from mine before its bearings collapsed
terminally. While it worked it was totally trouble free as you report.

There isn't much to be done to it, and, AFAIK, there isn't a direct
equivalent.



Options for replacement -

B&M 6 "conventional" dynamo. Pretty reliable, does the job with the usual
dynamo-tyre whirring noises. Requires tyres with a "track" on the sidewall,
which rules out some lightweight "skinwall" types of tyre.

Front wheel hub dynamo. Shimano's upper priced models (about £55 in UK) are
very good for price. The theory goes that Schmidt SON models are better, but
come in at over £100. However, its my view that the benefit of the SON is
marginal over the current better Shimano models. Wheelbuilding extra for
both.

There is a spoke-engagement dynamo which is occaisionally seen in the UK.
Has advantage of total disengagement when not in use, no tyre slip, and does
not need wheel rebuilding. Is cheap (around £20), but I believe prone for
its internal belt to fail.



I ended up with the Shimano hub, its very nice and no noticeable drag when
switched off.


In all cases, dynamos are generally much cheaper imported from Germany web
retailers, even with postage costs. Several have English language websites.




- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <[email protected]>, Nigel Cliffe
[email protected] says...
> [email protected] wrote:
> > I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
> > with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
> > needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
> > seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
> > have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
> > would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
> > to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
> > advice would be appreciated.
>
> You got about the same life as I did from mine before its bearings collapsed
> terminally. While it worked it was totally trouble free as you report.
>
He didn't say the bearings had failed, he said it wouldn't contact the
tyre.

 

[[email protected]]

On Jan 12, 3:45 pm, Rob Morley <[email protected]> wrote:
> In article <[email protected]>, Nigel Cliffe
> [email protected] says...> [email protected] wrote:
> > > I have now had my British Eagle Tourer for over 18 years. I bought it
> > > with a Sanyo bottom bracket dynamo which has worked perfectly whenever
> > > needed. I have not even replaced the bulbs. Unfortunately it has now
> > > seized and the lever will not release it so it will run on the tyre. I
> > > have had a good look at it and cannot work out how to free it off. I
> > > would not say I am very hot on mechanics. I cannot find any reference
> > > to Sanyo dynamos so it seems buying a replacement is not possible. Any
> > > advice would be appreciated.
>
> > You got about the same life as I did from mine before its bearings collapsed
> > terminally. While it worked it was totally trouble free as you report.
>
> He didn't say the bearings had failed, he said it wouldn't contact the
> tyre.

Thanks to all for the helpful advice. I will have a good play with it
and see if I can free it. Just heard about a new lighting system that
uses magnets on the spokes to generate power. Sounds amazing!

Regards

Peter

 

[Nigel Cliffe]

[email protected] wrote:
> Thanks to all for the helpful advice. I will have a good play with it
> and see if I can free it. Just heard about a new lighting system that
> uses magnets on the spokes to generate power. Sounds amazing!

Yes, first described by Faraday. A moving magnet passes a stationary coil
and electricity is produced. Commonly called a dynamo

These gizmos which can run an LED or two are quite neat toys, and the drag
is minimal as the power is minimal. They won't run a headlamp, and one
cannot magic power from nowhere.



- Nigel


--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

 

[Rob Morley]

In article <c9f1e583-71c2-49fd-82e7-
[email protected]>, [email protected]
[email protected] says...
> Just heard about a new lighting system that
> uses magnets on the spokes to generate power. Sounds amazing!
>
They're silly little toys - you wouldn't see where you were going.

 

[Alan Braggins]

In article <[email protected]>, Rob Morley wrote:
>[email protected] says...
>> Just heard about a new lighting system that
>> uses magnets on the spokes to generate power. Sounds amazing!
>>
>They're silly little toys - you wouldn't see where you were going.

Though to be fair they don't claim to be proper lights to see where
you are going in unlit conditions.
http://www.reelight.com/Default.aspx?ID=47
"Reelight lights are daylight running lights for bicycles."

That daytime running lights _are_ silly little toys isn't a position
I'd argue with personally, but personal preferences for them can vary.

 

[Steve Watkin]

They are surprisingly bright at night. Good enough to be "seen" with. I
have a set of the Reelights on my bike and the convenience factor is great.