Best bicycle component you ever bought?

[Bill C]

I don't think putting "wide range derailleur gearing" as one of the three things that have most influenced my cycling should be considered as slagging derailleurs.

hi Martinf

i quoted Andre's post in it he quoted your post after editing it
i did read you post and am aware you listed wide range derailleur gearing as one of the best components you had bought
I'm going to take a few months off the forum before i get so cheesed off i don't want to be involved with it anymore
it's finally warm enough to start spraying again and i have Thorns waiting for some tlc

adios till then Bill

[Pavel]

Best thing ever bought?  Cycling underwear.  The sunburn was terrible, until I got a pair. 

[Andre Jute]

On one of his several netsites, in the days before he became an important politician, the California cyclist Steven M Scharf (Mayor Scharf to you)* had a choice selection of naked Danish ladies (hmm, not quite the right word, but they were definitely women) cycling here, there and everywhere. Being a cynic I wondered if the saddle burn was worth the frisson of outraging the bourgeoisie. Even lace lingerie might have offered more protection against Mr Brooks' stiff leather.

*Scharfie, in the years before BUMM saw the (LED) light, published superb plans for building powerful cycling lamps using decorator's track lamps from the MR11 and MR16 series. I built a set of each and the total cost was about twenty bucks for really useful lamps at a time when any lamp that could get a TUV or CE stamp after sunset was used on the roads only by the terminally reckless.

[steve216c]

Hub dynamos with LED lights. Now I ride day and night more visible to other traffic without worries of blowing a bulb or flattening batteries. On my current 3 bikes I have a Shimano, an S-Ram and a Chinese no name dynamo. All several years old and all great. I'm sure I have avoided accidents with that combination as car drivers are more aware of a well lit cyclist. And the bright LEDs make the unlit shortcuts through woodland ridable where old bulbs were just too weak.
Never had a SON but even the cheaper hubs are hardly noticeable when riding.

[Andre Jute]

Never had a SON but even the cheaper hubs are hardly noticeable when riding.

The spread of extra resistance of all the modern hub dynamos would probably fit into an ascent of a loot per mile of forward motion, in short a negligible quantity.

Unless you're going to be a world tourer beyond the limits of civilisation, or know for a fact that your great-great-grandchildren will be cyclists, you don't need a SON. Its only advantage is its longevity. For riding around home, for touring in your own country, and especially for commuting and riding in traffic, the Shimano with the Ultegra-level seals will be a better buy, regardless of price. The reason is that the Shimano comes up to delivering full output and useful and visible light several paces sooner than the SON, and maintains full power at a lesser speed than the SON. In city congestion those could be valuable paces for your limbs, your life or your tyres, and in traffic you want maximum visibility at the lowest possible speed. Since a Shimano hub generator depending on model costs about a third to a half the SON's price, the choice should be obvious. Most people, I suspect, buy a SON for the bragging rights*, and of course Thorn owners specify the SON because they intend touring far and wide.

* Full disclosure: I have one too, which came as a default on a German bike. If I'd known that having a SON and BUMM lamps would lead to Andreas Oehler of Schmidt Machinenbau (the makers of the SON, and outriders of BUMM, who supply the gubbins out of the CYO for Schmidt's own-brand lamp) appearing like a genie from a lamp to berate me for lese majeste every time I made some minor critical remark, I would have had the SON taken off and a Shimano fitted instead, regardless of the Shimano being an extra-cost option, which is what happens when you have Zero-Shimano Germans build your bike. Cycling is becoming more bizarre every year.

[Pavel]

I have both as well, and can't deal with the fiddly cheap plastic connector used in the Shimano. Those large metal spade connectors are such a simple bit of good design, I'd pay the price difference for just that aspect.  Now I can't mix and match the lights from one bike to another without a lot of work, redoing the harness. 

I've not bothered to observe any difference is charging speed, as it isn't too much of a concern for me, but every single test comparing dyno hubs has the Son out on top, in low speed charging.  Of course I no longer read any of that neither.

This thread has made me think how much bicycle touring is so much easier for all the gear we have.  It should make touring much better - If ever one can get out of the house, cycling, rather than comparing which widget is best, saving up, buying, saving up - upgrading.

Could all these improvements have people like me losing track of how simple it could be, and once was? 

[PH]

The spread of extra resistance of all the modern hub dynamos would probably fit into an ascent of a loot per mile of forward motion, in short a negligible quantity.

I know we live in lawless times, so I leave the bike at home when I go looting.
I have two SON, a Shimano and a SP, so no brand loyalty from me.  They were all bought with different criteria, but there is something special about the SON ones that goes beyond their function.  Polished for one thing, so my 12 and 16 year old models can be made to look like new.   

[John Saxby]

 

Polished for one thing

Best to have a SON that shines, eh? 

[martinf]

I have both as well, and can't deal with the fiddly cheap plastic connector used in the Shimano. Those large metal spade connectors are such a simple bit of good design, I'd pay the price difference for just that aspect.

On all-weather commuting bikes (I'm retired now, so no longer commuting), when removing the wheel to repair a puncture, I preferred the Shimano or SP connector for convenience over the SON spade connectors.

That convenience has also been possible with the SON for a few years, since the introduction of their coaxial conversion harness:

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/dynamos/son-coaxial-conversion-harness-21cm/

[dgc]

A Primus Stove.

[John Saxby]

I preferred the Shimano or SP connector for convenience over the SON spade connectors.

For the SON28 on my Raven, Martin, I inserted two pairs of Deans connectors a few inches north of the hub. (See the photo below.)  That allows me to remove the front wheel without touching the connectors at the hub itself.

Further north still, above the crown of the fork, I installed two more inline spade connectors. These allow me to remove the forks as well as the wheel, without having to disturb the wiring.

That arrangement has worked well for me in the seven seasons I've had the bike.  I use it for touring -- perhaps the story would be a bit different if I used the bike for commuting.

Full disclosure:  Dan very kindly gave me detailed plans and encouragement.  No way could I have done this from scratch myself. I had to refresh soldering skills which I hadn't used in many years, but that was no problem.  I installed my wiring before SON's coaxial was available (AFAIK).  Its relatively short length (21cms) would require additional connectors in any case.

[Andre Jute]

The spread of extra resistance of all the modern hub dynamos would probably fit into an ascent of a loot per mile of forward motion, in short a negligible quantity.

I know we live in lawless times, so I leave the bike at home when I go looting.

Ha! I'll refrain from correcting it to my intention, which was not loot but foot, so your joke makes sense. The spellchecker strafed me again.

I dislike the fiddly SON spade connectors and prefer the Shimano model. To make the SON's tiny spades palatable, I've made a junction higher up the wire, similar to the photo John published a few posts above, complete with drip loop a la Dan, so that the lowest bit of the wire stays with the SON when the wheel needs to be removed.

And yes, I agree, the SON is definitely bright bling, but there's no reason, except good taste, you couldn't polish a Shimano hub generator yourself.

[PH]

I dislike the fiddly SON spade connectors and prefer the Shimano model. To make the SON's tiny spades palatable, I've made a junction higher up the wire, similar to the photo John published a few posts above, complete with drip loop a la Dan, so that the lowest bit of the wire stays with the SON when the wheel needs to be removed.

My latest Edelux light has the jack plug do dah, it's the neatest and simplest of all the hub fittings, not that I ever had problems with the spade connectors.  I've never given it much thought, none of them are difficult, maybe if I was removing the front wheel often I'd give it more consideration, but I might only do so a couple of times a year (Cue long run of front punctures...)

And yes, I agree, the SON is definitely bright bling, but there's no reason, except good taste, you couldn't polish a Shimano hub generator yourself.

You'd have to remove the anodising first, a job I've done once on some cranks and never intend doing again. 
I'm disappointed that Rohloff have moved to anodising rather than polishing, I understand some people don't like the extra job but there's something very satisfying about polishing a dull hub back up to a perfect shine.

[Pavel]

The spade connectors are so simple, strong and robust ... why introduce another plastic gizmo point of failure?  And the instructions are simple.  Pull off.  Push on. Even a recent US high school graduate may be able to follow those.  Maybe.

[PH]

The spade connectors are so simple, strong and robust ... why introduce another plastic gizmo point of failure?  And the instructions are simple.  Pull off.  Push on. Even a recent US high school graduate may be able to follow those.  Maybe.

There speaks someone who has probably never tried reconnecting at 3am, 300km into an audax, in the sleet, half way up an Welsh mountain...
Me neither, but it could happen...