Dyno Hub Roll-Off

Shimano 3N80 Hub on test bike

Years ago, there wasn't much choice in Dyno Hubs for my randonneuring. Schmidt or Shimano. Schmidt SON was the standard for dynos. If should be, it cost 3x what the Shimanos did. John Mestemacher and I put together a super deal for several Shimano PH-3N80 hubs along with the excellent Mavic Open Pro 32H rims, laced with Swiss spokes & topped off with the efficient Supernova E3 light. This made a strong, fairly light and affordable set up. We used that for many years on the longer rides.
Fast Forward.

Today there are many good dynamo hubs on the market:
Biologic Joule 3
Sanyo
Schmidt
Shimano
Sutter Precision
SRAM
Supernova (based on SP hubs)

Shutter Precision SV-8 on test bike

All the different manufactures have their own tests to show how great there products are. Our buddy Mac Imacseng got a Shutter Precision SV-8 hub and took it over to this year's PBP. All was well (except his wiring connector & bent rim). Mac lent me his SP hub for this test vs my old Shimano PH-3N80!
Here we go.

Shimano PH-3N80 vs Shutter Precision SV-8
These hubs each cost about the same today. I did several tests to see which would have the least drag and work the best for my riding style. Mac's SP SV-8 hub was mounted on a Belgium 32H black rim. Somewhere along the line it took a hit and had a ding and was out of true. I managed to work it some to bring it back to somewhat usable condition (brake still grabs but it rolls fine).

Test was done from a standing marked start. Bike was allowed to roll downhill till it stopped. I assumed the same position each run. Air pressure was the same and the same tire brand  & size was used on the front wheel.



Roll Test - Regular Wheel:
Test bike had a 32mm aero 18H Velocity rim, with ultra smooth cartridge bearing VeloMax hubs wheel laced with flat blade spokes. This wheel ran a long long distance.





Free Roll Test:
This test used the Shimano Hub first, then quickly followed by the SP Hub. (Same wind conditions). The Supernova light was hooked up to each hub, but not turned on.
Shimano Hub wheel was built with Mavic Open Pro 32H rim,laced with Swiss Revolution spokes.
SP Hub was laced to Belgium black 32H wheel with black spokes.
They seemed to weigh about the same.





Free Roll With Light On Test:
Same as Free Roll Test but the Supernova light was turned on, thus the maximum amount of drag.





Overnight Road Test:

Test bike with Supernova E-3 light

I rode a night ride, following the same route as we rode last month when Albany Sam was here (Sandia Creek Century). I rode the full route using my Shimano Hub set-up that night. Today, I would use Macs SP Hub set up. I would generally compare the difference, if any.

Overall the SP hub performed well and seemed to offer less resistance, especially during free rolling and when the light wasn't turned on. I ended up making several beam adjustments during the ride, finally getting a perfect "egg" shaped pattern. Around 6 mph on climbing, the light entered a flickering stage.. denoting a declining output due to wheel speed. The Shimano had performed the same, only at a slightly lower speed. The beam strength at full speed was similar, but for some reason, I think the Shimano was a little brighter.


Conclusions:
These test and conclusions are not really very scientific, but based more on actual use. Overall, I thought the SP offered less free-rolling and under-power resistance. Not much, but it was noticeable to me during the night ride. SP Hub is lighter by 100gm, but a good wheel build will make that up. The Shimano 3N80 has a superior electrical connector to the hub. It also works with the SP Hub. The brake grabbing on Macs SP wheel was a little irritating at times, but I don't think it affected the overall performance. Maybe a good wheel rebuild would offer real smooth wheel rolling?

Shutter Precision now offers a smaller, lighter and more efficient (they claim) newer model, SV-9. This is designed for racers and has the same hi-speed output as other dyno hubs, is fully rated for 20" wheels, but lacks full output at low speeds on 700 wheels (German Standards). I guess racers don't go that slow anyway!

 - randorides