Just ordered a hub dynamo online

On Monday, October 14, 2013 10:45:48 PM UTC+1, James wrote:
On 15/10/13 05:25, Andre Jute wrote:

On Monday, September 16, 2013 6:58:16 AM UTC+1, James wrote:

My poor ol' Sanyo Dynapower is getting a bit long in the tooth.

The



bearings and bushes are wearing out. It makes a bit more noise

than it



used to, despite me lubricating the moving parts. I suspect it's

days



are numbered.







So I ordered a PV-8

http://www.sp-dynamo.com/8seriesdynamo%20hub.html



from the UK. Don't expect an Australian supplier to have something

like



this, or if it is available locally it's sure to be double the

price!



90 GBP, minus VAT, plus shipping made it 86 GBP = 146 AUD.



[snip]



--



JS



Starting to look like a smart decision. There's suddenly a spate of

reports on another group I'm on about SON bearing failures, some as

low as 12k. Since the only justification for buying a SON, besides

snobbery, is that it is supposedly sturdier and longer-lasting,

that's a bit disturbing. Fortunately, I have only one SON; maybe I

should sell it on!





Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even

worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I

should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily

loaded bikes?



I did read that some people had broken the axle on the SP dynamo, but I

can only assume they are carrying loads, and not just themselves. I

don't expect such a failure given my use of the bike.



--

JS

SON hubs are not user-serviceable. They give a five-year guarantee, but the cyclist has to pay for carriage to and from the SON factory in Germany, which is pricey for a whole wheel, and a nuisance for stripping the hub out and rebuilding the wheel if you send only the hub. Compare this to Rohloff, which effectively gives you a lifetime guarantee if you change the oil annually, including carriage to anywhere in the world.

12k miles (or even

worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I

should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily

loaded bikes?

12000 miles/ 20,000km according to one report from a fellow who had two fail and now has switched back to battery lamps. (Scharfie will be his pal for life!)

I did read that some people had broken the axle on the SP dynamo, but I

can only assume they are carrying loads, and not just themselves. I

don't expect such a failure given my use of the bike.

These SON failures are from a conference of heavy users, guys who do big miles, loaded tourers, fast tourers, 10k miles pa four-seasons commuters. Sometimes it seems I'm the only credit-card, home-on-the-third-day rider on that conference. I'm there among other reasons because that designer's bikes are perpetually on my shortlist, and his bikes, besides the thoughtfully designed frames, are on my shortlist because he knows the best components, and his clientele really gives them a thorough test, and again and again. (It also helps that they are well-mannered, because I am bored with constant nastiness of the trash on RBT.)

Send an email address to andrejute at coolmainpress with the commercial extension and I'll send you the URL of the relevant thread so you can go look for yourself.

Andre Jute

On Monday, October 14, 2013 11:16:23 PM UTC+1, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On Monday, October 14, 2013 5:45:48 PM UTC-4, James wrote:

On 15/10/13 05:25, Andre Jute wrote:





Starting to look like a smart decision. There's suddenly a spate of

reports on another group I'm on about SON bearing failures, some as

low as 12k. ...



Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even

worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I

should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily

loaded bikes?



Since it's Jute posting, remember that there's a strong possibility that the reports are entirely imaginary. We'll see as time passes.



- Frank Krygowski

Frank Krygowski is the perfect example of the aphorism: You can take the peasant out of Poland, but you'll never turn him into a gentleman.

This poor old peasant Krygowski is under the misapprehension that to accuse someone of being a liar, and crimes up from there, it is enough for poor old Krygowski to dislike the person. Poor old Krygowski has had ten years to prove that I ever told a single lie, and all the poor buffoon has succeeded in proving is that he is a public laughingstock who falls into every pit I stake.

Even if I ever told a lie -- and I never need to, because the truth is my servant, as the language is -- who would bet on a crude peasant like Krygowski catching me at it? I feel sorry for Krygowski with his visceral fear of everyone cleverer than him. It must make his life a paranoid misery.

Yo, Franki-boy, when I speak to the decent people on RBT, there is generally nothing more in my words than the facts, except maybe a little wit to reward them for good information. It's only you I do it to deliberately, letting the language slither like snakes under your feet, because you're hostile scum.

Andre Jute
Boss wordsmith. Boss psychologist.

On 10/14/2013 2:45 PM, James wrote:

Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even
worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I
should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily
loaded bikes?

They need to be returned for servicing when the bearings need
replacement. There is a three year warranty. I expect that the SP
dynamos also have bearings that eventually wear out.

On 15/10/13 23:54, Andre Jute wrote:
On Monday, October 14, 2013 10:45:48 PM UTC+1, James wrote:


Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace?

SON hubs are not user-serviceable. They give a five-year guarantee,
but the cyclist has to pay for carriage to and from the SON factory
in Germany, which is pricey for a whole wheel, and a nuisance for
stripping the hub out and rebuilding the wheel if you send only the
hub. Compare this to Rohloff, which effectively gives you a lifetime
guarantee if you change the oil annually, including carriage to
anywhere in the world.

12k miles (or even

worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub.
I

should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these
heavily

loaded bikes?

12000 miles/ 20,000km according to one report from a fellow who had
two fail and now has switched back to battery lamps. (Scharfie will
be his pal for life!)

That's a bit ordinary.

I did read that some people had broken the axle on the SP dynamo,
but I

can only assume they are carrying loads, and not just themselves.
I

don't expect such a failure given my use of the bike.

These SON failures are from a conference of heavy users, guys who do
big miles, loaded tourers, fast tourers, 10k miles pa four-seasons
commuters. Sometimes it seems I'm the only credit-card,
home-on-the-third-day rider on that conference. I'm there among other
reasons because that designer's bikes are perpetually on my
shortlist, and his bikes, besides the thoughtfully designed frames,
are on my shortlist because he knows the best components, and his
clientele really gives them a thorough test, and again and again. (It
also helps that they are well-mannered, because I am bored with
constant nastiness of the trash on RBT.)

If I can find an email for you, I'll send you the URL of the relevant
thread so you can go look for yourself.


Thanks!

I've asked SP on FB about servicing instructions. They don't want folks
fixing their own bearings it seems. It won't stop me trying though.

--
JS

On 16/10/13 01:45, sms wrote:
On 10/14/2013 2:45 PM, James wrote:

Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even
worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I
should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily
loaded bikes?

They need to be returned for servicing when the bearings need
replacement. There is a three year warranty. I expect that the SP
dynamos also have bearings that eventually wear out.


Virtually all rolling bearings wear out with use.

--
JS

On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 12:17:17 AM UTC+1, James wrote:
On 15/10/13 23:54, Andre Jute wrote:

If I can find an email for you, I'll send you the URL of the relevant

thread so you can go look for yourself.

Thanks!


Duh. Google doesn't report the email you use. Drop me an email to andrejute at coolmainpress dot com so I can get an address for you and send the link. -- Andre Jute

On 10/15/2013 4:19 PM, James wrote:
On 16/10/13 01:45, sms wrote:
On 10/14/2013 2:45 PM, James wrote:

Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even
worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I
should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily
loaded bikes?

They need to be returned for servicing when the bearings need
replacement. There is a three year warranty. I expect that the SP
dynamos also have bearings that eventually wear out.


Virtually all rolling bearings wear out with use.

Yes, it's not an issue with the SON alone. In fact on the SON at tleast
there's a repair procedure in place. BTW, how much does SON charge for
repair service? And I made a mistake, it's five years not three years
for the warranty.

I also noticed that on Peter White's site he states that he may need the
whole wheel in order to service the hub. Anyone know why this is the case?

Still what an incredible hassle to have to send a hub or wheel in for
service.

On 10/16/2013 09:31 AM, sms wrote:
On 10/15/2013 4:19 PM, James wrote:
On 16/10/13 01:45, sms wrote:
On 10/14/2013 2:45 PM, James wrote:

Are they a cartridge bearing? Easy to replace? 12k miles (or even
worse if kilometres!) is not a long bearing life for a front hub. I
should hope they'd last 3-4 times as long at least. Are these heavily
loaded bikes?

They need to be returned for servicing when the bearings need
replacement. There is a three year warranty. I expect that the SP
dynamos also have bearings that eventually wear out.


Virtually all rolling bearings wear out with use.

Yes, it's not an issue with the SON alone. In fact on the SON at tleast
there's a repair procedure in place. BTW, how much does SON charge for
repair service? And I made a mistake, it's five years not three years
for the warranty.

I also noticed that on Peter White's site he states that he may need the
whole wheel in order to service the hub. Anyone know why this is the case?

Still what an incredible hassle to have to send a hub or wheel in for
service.

I'm going off memory here, but I think it's because the first step in
disassembling a SON is removing some threaded bits from the body, and if
it's been in service long enough that a strap wrench can't hold the
body, you might need the extra leverage of the wheel rim. Certainly
makes sense to me, and were I having a hub serviced, I'd likely opt to
pay extra to send the whole wheel rather than mess about with removing
it and then rebuilding the wheel upon return (unless I were having the
hub serviced specifically because I needed a new rim anyway)

nate

--
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