Shutter Precision Dynamo bearing replacement?

[Eric Walstad]

My SP  dyno hub is starting to feel rather loose. Have any of you ever replaced the bearings on yours? Where did you find the bearings? Did you send the hub to SP for the service? 

Thanks,

Eric 

[Greg Merritt]

Eric, I found this on the Interwebs:

Are SP hub dynamos user serviceable? 

Alas, SP hub dynamos are not user serviceable and indeed we are aware of no hub dynamos that are based on manufacturer’s recommendations. Any attempt to service a SP hub dynamo will void its two-year warranty. We have received quite a number of requests from consumers on how they might service their hubs even accepting that attempting to do so would void their two-year warranty. They accept this risk thinking that this would save the need to disassemble and rebuild the wheel. Unfortunately, the design of SP hub dynamos like that of many other brands requires disassembly of the wheel for bearing replacement. Furthermore, the delicate generator mechanism housed within the hub body must be re-calibrated to tolerances of less than a millimetre each time bearings are replaced. Failure to carry out this operation properly (which is likely without expert knowledge, experience and tools), will generally result in catastrophic failure of the generator mechanism after a period of use. SP engineers have considered making their hubs user serviceable (with much prodding from IDC at the behest of our technically savvy testers). But the expertise and equipment required to carry out recalibration of the generator mechanism each time the bearings are replaced presents a technical hurdle that SP engineers, and indeed all other hub dynamo manufacturers we are aware of, have so far declined to attempt.

-Greg

[SFRandonneurs List Admin]

Hi Eric,

Just curious — how many miles do you have on the hub?  Wondering how long I can expect mine to last….

Thanks,

-Jim G

--
--
This message is from the San Francisco Randonneurs list at sfra...@googlegroups.com
Search the archives at http://groups.google.com/group/sfrandon
For SFR's schedule and general information, visit http://sfrandonneurs.org/
To unsubscribe, email sfrandon+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "San Francisco Randonneurs" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sfrandon+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to sfra...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

--

jimg at yojimg dot net

[SFRandonneurs List Admin]

I just found this:

https://www.cyclemonkey.com/technical-service-center

Cycle Monkey states they are an authorized USA distributor and service center for Shutter Precision.  

(Merry Sales also seems to be a distributor, but I don’t know whether they do service work as well.)

-Jim G

 

[Eric Walstad]

Thanks for this perspective, Greg. I think I will build up a new wheel
(about ready for another new front rim, too) and then send the SP hub
in for servicing. I purchased it from BoxDog and I have not talked to
them about it yet. I *think* it's under the 2-year warranty still but
I'm not positive about that. The next wheel I build will have a SON
dynamo hub on it. I don't have any data to back it up, but my
experience (sp on my "road" sequoia, SON on my "mixed-terrain" black
mountain cycles) is that the SON is more efficient. (@JimG) I have
9,250mi on my SON dynamo and 15,900mi on my SP dynamo (thanks,
Strava).

Eric

> --
> --
> This message is from the San Francisco Randonneurs list at
> sfra...@googlegroups.com
> Search the archives at http://groups.google.com/group/sfrandon
> For SFR's schedule and general information, visit http://sfrandonneurs.org/

> To unsubscribe, email sfrandon+u...@googlegroups.com

> ---
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "San Francisco Randonneurs" group.
> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an

> email to sfrandon+u...@googlegroups.com.

[Greg Merritt]

Just curious — how many miles do you have on the hub?  Wondering how long I can expect mine to last….

I have two nearly-identical wheels (one w/ red SP hub, one w/ silver, lol) that I use on my Volagi. I have a combined ~24,000 miles on that pair of hubs.

On one of them, the dynamo magnetic "notches" you feel when spinning it definitely feel rougher -- notchier -- than when new. It operates fine on the bike; I don't notice the difference when riding, and electrical power is normal. Bearings/play are fine on both.

-Greg

[Robert Cauthorn]

Eric,

+1 on SON.

I don't have any experience on anything but SON hubs, however, I've got close to 35,000 miles on an older one without a problem and now close to 9,000 on another that is still just like new. 

They cost more for sure, but the build-it-and-forget-it quality is appealing to me. One less thing to worry about. I've never even read about one of them failing -- it must have happened, but I've never seen anyone talking about it.

Bob

[Greg Merritt]

Never say never...https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!searchin/randon/son$20hub$20failure

Personally, I ride SON, SP, Shimano, AND Sturmey-Archer(!) dynohubs; no failures to date. I would buy any of them again, where specs/price are appropriate to the application.

The Sturmey-Archer is arguably the best value: at well under $100, it also includes a drum brake! Weighs about as much as all the others put together, though. ;)

-Greg

[jack holmgren]

I was sagging the second edition of the Shenandoah 1,200 and was sad to see a SON hub completely frozen up. This forced the rider to DNF.

[Brian Johnston]

Here is a link to have SP replace your bearings.

http://www.sp-dynamo.com/Store.html

[Robert Cauthorn]

Actually, I didn't say never. I said it must have happened, but I had never heard of it. 

That was accurate. Now tonight I've heard of two instances.

I stand corrected.

[Larry Sokolsky]

You have to send the hub back by itself.  They have to disassemble the hub to install new bearings.   And you have to send it to Taiwan.  Probably not worth it if it’s built into a wheel.

Larry