Fit new dynamo light and hub.

[sd]

First which is the best one!
My Thorn Tourer will probably get a respray by Dave Yates a frame builder in Lincolnshire. He doesn't do wheel building.
So wheel will need to have a replacement dynamo hub. Any recommendations/suggestion?
I want one which will charge a phone/GPS etc.
Not sure wherever I want a back light run of the dynamo. It would be nice if I would be able to choose wherever to switch it on or not. IE a separate switch for the rear light. I always have at least two rear lights.

[Aushiker]

My personal preference for dynamo hubs is to go SON. I have a SON on my Surly Long Haul Trucker and have a SON 28 15 15 coming for my fat bike. I also have a Shutter Precision hub which is cheaper but when I went to get one of their fat bike hubs, Kerry at http://klite.com.au who was the Australian distributor indicated he no longer distributed them due to too many issues with them. So I have gone back to a SON hub as I know them to be reliable.

In respect to lights I run Busch & Muller Luxos on my bikes but there are other options which may suit you better.

To facilitate charging you need a cache battery [or charger] or you can for example use your light if it has this facility. I have a Busch & Muller e-Werk on the Surly but it is getting a bit old now and the propriety fittings are not keeping up with the times, e.g., USB-C.  I am trying out a beta charger from Kerry at KLite on my Salsa Mukluk.

[martinf]

I have SON, SP and mid to high range Shimano. They all work well and no issues so far.

Shimano are the cheapest, the models I use are the DH-3N72 with steel axle (on my utility Thorn, and the two visitor bikes) and the slightly lighter and more expensive DH-3N80 with aluminium alloy axle (on my wife's bike).

I don't need device charging capability yet, so I have B&M Cyo lamps, which have a good light output at a reasonable price.

[sd]

Thanks. I will need to have the wheel rebuilt or should I buy it built with the hub already in? I want the grizzly rigida for rims they are a must. So I should be looking for them with the hub dynamo in. Or I should send it to a wheel builder to have it fitted? I have a suspicion I won't find it built in? An off the shelf option is unlikely. If you do otherwise please tell. I had the internet site of a wheel builder but can't find it. Anyone?
Thank you JB

[sd]

I have SON, SP and mid to high range Shimano. They all work well and no issues so far.

Shimano are the cheapest, the models I use are the DH-3N72 with steel axle (on my utility Thorn, and the two visitor bikes) and the slightly lighter and more expensive DH-3N80 with aluminium alloy axle (on my wife's bike).

I don't need device charging capability yet, so I have B&M Cyo lamps, which have a good light output at a reasonable price.

If one is cheaper is that a reflection of the "life expectancy". I am so into minimal maintenance and that includes parts that last longest.

[PH]

My SON has just returned from a service after at least 60,000 miles, has come back like new and ready for the same again.
I don't know if it's the best, but it's certainly good enough for me.
I recall reading that if you want it for charging, the classic model is still the best, but I can't remember the details.

Not part of your question, but on the subject of having your frame resprayed. 
I've had two done in the last few years, both by reputable companies and both disappointing.  It seems that since they've taken all the harmful chemicals out of paint it aint what it used to be.  At the same time paint has got worse, powder coating has improved, I've seen a couple of examples recently that looked better as well as being tougher.

[sd]

SP looks good on price and weight.
http://bicycleambulance.com/sp-dynamo-hub-pv-8-review/
And spa cycles for rebuild on wheel. Anyone know of cheaper or better option shop wise?
Thanks JB

[sd]

My SON has just returned from a service after at least 60,000 miles, has come back like new and ready for the same again.
I don't know if it's the best, but it's certainly good enough for me.
I recall reading that if you want it for charging, the classic model is still the best, but I can't remember the details.

Not part of your question, but on the subject of having your frame resprayed. 
I've had two done in the last few years, both by reputable companies and both disappointing.  It seems that since they've taken all the harmful chemicals out of paint it aint what it used to be.  At the same time paint has got worse, powder coating has improved, I've seen a couple of examples recently that looked better as well as being tougher.

Reference paint it will be painted in Iraqi war tank paint. We have a source. I assume with a lacquer finish. Can't remember which war. I will be putting back the transfers but adding union Jack's. Still questioning them on there methods based on what Thorn said was the correct methods. I will look at mates bike again to be sure I like the colour.

[sd]

both disappointing.  It seems that since they've take I've seen a couple of examples recently that looked better as well as being tougher.

My Santos Travelmaster has excellent paint. I can't remember any marks on it even though it had done 20,000 k before I bought it. It's even better now. A motor bike ran in to me from behind. Frame appeared all right, rode straight no handed but bike shop would not guarantee it, so got a new frame. Among other parts!

[Andre Jute]

I have both SON and Shimano hubs. The SON will probably last longer. But the Shimano will probably last at least as long as the rim it is built into; on this reckoning you can probably buy three Shimano hub dynamos for every SON. If low maintenance is your thing, and money is no object, go for the SON. A smarter way is simply to buy a new spoked rim with hub dynamo already built-in at the annual sales when the old one wears out. You just need to know which annual sales.

A good place to shop, and to get answers to the comparative questions above because direct monetary values are given to competing hub dynamos built into various rims, is German Ebay between about Oct/Nov and through to Jan/Feb of the next year when the surplus hub dynamo wheels the big Dutch and German bicycle assemblers ordered and earlier sold off to make space for next year's models filter through to the retail discounters and come on the market.

Here's a search for a built wheel with SON hub dynamo in German, arranged from cheapest to most expensive, but not necessarily like for like:
https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_odkw=Laufrad+%2BNabendynamo+%2BSON&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Laufrad+%2BNabendynamo+%2BSON&_sacat=0
And with a Shimano hub:
https://www.ebay.de/sch/i.html?_odkw=Laufrad+%2BNabendynamo+%2BSON&_sop=15&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Laufrad+%2BNabendynamo+%2BShimano&_sacat=0

Good luck on finding an SP gearbox, as the shorthand for spokes in German is "sp" for speichen.

Those prices are still a bit high but from now to Christmas they fall, and in January they reach near enough bottom.

You need to learn which of the Shimano hub dynamos are which, because they have some rubbish models and some good models. The DH3N72 is famous as a one-time top model, known to be excellent and long-lived) but now a pretty old design. No idea which of the others to recommend (my own is a special model for recharging the computer control on the full auto shift gearbox and active suspension on the Smover Di2 groupset never actually sold to the public, so the number will do you no good). There are some low-end model numbers for price-conscious OEMs but I have no evidence that they are necessarily worse than the Ultegra-level supposedly rebuildable models; except on this forum I've never heard of anyone actually rebuilding rather than replacing the thing, and it strikes me that at the street price of Shimano hub dynamos, rebuilding is just a waste of your time.

[PH]

My SON has just returned from a service after at least 60,000 miles, has come back like new and ready for the same again.
I don't know if it's the best, but it's certainly good enough for me.
I recall reading that if you want it for charging, the classic model is still the best, but I can't remember the details.

Not part of your question, but on the subject of having your frame resprayed. 
I've had two done in the last few years, both by reputable companies and both disappointing.  It seems that since they've taken all the harmful chemicals out of paint it aint what it used to be.  At the same time paint has got worse, powder coating has improved, I've seen a couple of examples recently that looked better as well as being tougher.

Reference paint it will be painted in Iraqi war tank paint. We have a source. I assume with a lacquer finish. Can't remember which war. I will be putting back the transfers but adding union Jack's. Still questioning them on there methods based on what Thorn said was the correct methods. I will look at mates bike again to be sure I like the colour.

That's likely to be a two pack polyester, much like the Imron Thorn are using and tough 

[John Saxby]

SP looks good on price and weight

Tom Norton, who posts from time to time, had to replace the SP hub on his wife's touring bike mid-way across N America this past summer -- the bearings conked out after about 3000+ kms.  So far as I know, the new hub got them home to Ohio (via Ottawa, Montréal, and upstate New York.)

The good news is that (i) SP gave them a new dyno-hub, no charge, and shipped it to the place they were staying in Minnesota; and (ii) Tom was able to rebuild the wheel in a local bike shop.

So yes, good on price and weight, and it appears, customer service. Reliability?  I don't know. I have seen reports on crazyguy suggesting that the SP is reliable. OTOH, I believe its warranty period is two years, vs five for the SON.

Going back to Andre's suggestion:  If 'twere me, I'd look for a built-up wheel with a SON28 hub, via an online supplier in Germany.

[martinf]

A smarter way is simply to buy a new spoked rim with hub dynamo already built-in at the annual sales when the old one wears out. You just need to know which annual sales.

Last time I got a hub dynamo a ready built wheel from my LBS with a DH3N72 was cheaper than buying the hub alone. Rim was a fairly wide Alex model, perhaps not the best but sufficient for the use on one of my visitor bikes. LBS sourced the wheel from Germany.

[sd]

A smarter way is simply to buy a new spoked rim with hub dynamo already built-in at the annual sales when the old one wears out. You just need to know which annual sales.

Last time I got a hub dynamo a ready built wheel from my LBS with a DH3N72 was cheaper than buying the hub alone. Rim was a fairly wide Alex model, perhaps not the best but sufficient for the use on one of my visitor bikes. LBS sourced the wheel from Germany.

I want to go with a ready build BUT must have grizzly rigida rims not prepared to compromise on the rims. Is it possible I could get a ready build with them?

[martinf]

I want to go with a ready build BUT must have grizzly rigida rims not prepared to compromise on the rims. Is it possible I could get a ready build with them?

Unlikely. Best bet for a wheel with Grizzly rims would be to get it built by a retailer that deals in Grizzly rim, like SJS cycles.

In my experience, wheels buit by SJS cycles are very good.