Confused about hub dynamo

[elsteffo]

Hello hello! I'm looking at getting a hub dynamo to fit on my Nishiki Hybrid 401 Lady (smaller frame) but I can't for the life of me figure out how to determine which one to get and which will fit on my bike.

I'm going on a long-distance tour over the coming summer and will be relying on the dynamo for all my power needs, but I also ride pretty slowly, so the dynamo needs to kick in at lower speeds too. I haven't yet decided on a power adapter but will probably go with a B&M E-Werk because it fits with my handlebar bag.

What recommendations do you have for dynamos that will fit my bike and produce power even at low speeds? Thanks in advance for your advice. Happy cycling to you!

 

[Gnufrau]

Wow, no replies? OK, any hub dynamo will fit as long as it has the same type of axle as the old hub (through axle, quick release, or bolt on ). Most of them will power a headlamp at a brisk walking pace, but the drag produced will vary by who makes it. If you are powering a Busch & Müller e-Werk, you will likely need a higher pace to charge it. Perhaps as much as 14kph or 10mph average speed. As to which one to get, I'm partial to the SON 28 from Schmitt, but they are pricy. I have also used a Sutter Precision dynohub, but did not like it. Shimano also makes several of these, but I have not used one. One caveat is that the SP unit I had may have been defective. It was that bad...
Any hub you get will have to be built into a custom wheel, so I recommend getting the best you can afford

 

[Froze]

Why a hub that takes between 3 to 6 watts of power from your legs to propel the bike forward? The better option, and cheaper option is to go with solar. https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/camping-and-hiking/solar-charger/anker-powerport-21w
This unit and it works great, it keeps my I6 charged fully and quickly. I will probably buy a Anker Power Core + 26800 when I start doing long tours just so I have a fully charged power bank in case of lack of sun, I have a cheap power bank now but it's not up to the abilities of the Anker. Even if you add the cost of the solar panel and the power core you are still far under the price of a dyno hub with a new wheel to go with it, plus you're not using any watts to make it work. On my short tours I do I'll either leave the phone plugged into the solar and strap the solar panel on top of the tent open so while I'm riding it's making power, and then plug my phone into it with it inside the seat bag, or what I do now is simply deploy the solar system once I make camp and recharge the phone at that point. I haven't ran my cell phone battery down so far that I needed to charge while I'm riding, but at least it's an option. The only issue with charging something in daylight is electronics need to be shielded from the heat while recharging so you don't overheat the unit, I use the power bank to charge the phone with the recharge the power bank instead which keeps the phone out of the heat of the sun.

With lighting situation, all you need is a rechargeable headlight and tail light and charge them while riding or while camped, those rechargeable lights are cheaper than dyno lights.

Not sure how long it will take to fully charge a dead I6 since I never let it get below 25% charge, but at 72% discharged battery it took the solar thing about 35 minutes to charge. Supposedly it will charge a completely dead phone in 2 hours, and the power bank if it was dead it would take about 18 to 24 hours which is why you need to keep it fully charged and never let it drain that much, and if you charge it every day it won't get drained. Besides letting these new bats, either in a light, phone, etc drain too much is bad for the battery.