Cycling UK Forum

Hi all,

Can anyone help me track down online a dynamo that I've seen on some club rides?

The usual hub dynamo is built into the wheel.

The one I'm interested in is fitted to the fork at the axle, but doesn't form part of the wheel. Instead there's a plastic tab that you fold into the spokes - so the spokes turn the dynamo - or fold out of the spokes so there's no drag.

Does anyone know who makes this dynamo, and maybe where I can get one? Thanks for any help!

Ed

One of these? (Fer 2002). (out of stock)

The dynamo itself is similar to a bottle dynamo, and there's a train of plastic gears between the driving spoke peg and the dynamo to speed up rotation. The early ones at least gave similar drag to a mediocre bottle dynamo, and a bit of a reputation for failure at higher speeds. There was a "new, improved" version which may have been better.

If you are feeling flush, Supernova have introduced a proper hub dynamo with a declutch mechanism to disable the dynamo during the day, by moving the magnets out of the way or some such. Drag similar to good SON/Shimano when generating.
There was also another hub dynamo that had an internal epicyclic gear train that could be put in neutral for zero drag. Higher drag when generating. {Renak Enparlite]

[edit]
It seems that the Supernova dynamos are manufactured by Shutter Precision in Taiwan. The same dynamos are available via Velo Orange in the US, Ktronik in Australia and from W Scholten in the Netherlands (at least)

http://www.burls.co.uk/shop/supernova-i ... -1320.html

..looks very nice indeed,dragless when off, but very expensive.

That's the one, andrew_s - thanks for digging it up.

Seems like the company's gone out of business (according to some German listings of the same product) so I think it'll be a Schmidt for me. James01, that's a beautiful bit of kit, but Ouch!

ed_b wrote:Hi all,

Can anyone help me track down online a dynamo that I've seen on some club rides?

The usual hub dynamo is built into the wheel.

The one I'm interested in is fitted to the fork at the axle, but doesn't form part of the wheel. Instead there's a plastic tab that you fold into the spokes - so the spokes turn the dynamo - or fold out of the spokes so there's no drag.

Does anyone know who makes this dynamo, and maybe where I can get one? Thanks for any help!

Ed

Something wrong with a bottle dynamo.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/DYMOTEC-travel- ... B000XQ7Z9A

They even claim to make one with zero friction resistance. And if they have they've invented perpetual motion.

You can't have no drag, but the Lightspin bottle dynamo was very good. You could actually spin the top with your fingers. I had one for a while and it was great until the switch wore out and you couldn't turn it off at all. I don't think you can buy it any more - out of production like the spoke dynamo. I had one of those spoke dynamos too and it wore out after one season, which was poor as it wasn't cheap.

I have since switched to hub dynamos and I wouldn't go back - they're fantastic, even the cheap ones seem pretty good.

ed_b wrote:Seems like the company's gone out of business (according to some German listings of the same product) so I think it'll be a Schmidt for me. James01, that's a beautiful bit of kit, but Ouch!

I used a FER 2002 (AKA Aufa 2002) for many years: first on my Pashley Moulton, then the front of my Kett. But it died in the end and I could not find a replacement. They did occasional appear on Ebay (there is one there now: 130587324356), but in the end I bought a Shimano hub dynamo. Quieter, and less resistance when on.

I've been using a Sturmey Archer 'Dynohub' generator since the bike was new in 1974.

When the lighting circuit is broken, the wheel spins freely.