SON Hub Dynamo

My knee has been getting better and I was told that bicycle would be a much better recovery exercise than trail running. That is kind of obvious - less stress and better joint stabilization. September has also proven to be a great time for a bit of off-road / gravel biking. Not too hot and very nice scenery, especially in mornings or at sunset. 

Sunset rides also mean returning after dark. Which means the bike needed a good light. That was planned from the very beginning, especially with some longer off-the-grid trips I had in mind. 

When I was a kid, most bikes had attached dynamos, friction- powered by a rotating tire. That system was problematic - the friction was significant and did not work when the tire was wet. Also the additional tire wear was not negligible. 

But now we have dynamo hubs. I chose the German SON, as it bears some convincing German engineering - like moisture protection. The hub also removes all issues of the old design: works always (even when wet), and the load it produces is almost negligible. Close to nothing when no electric output is attached and around 3W with the load on. The hub is purely mechanical: bearings, coils and magnets.

Then comes the smart part - the SON Ladelux: Light + USB-C charging system. It is a very nice concept. The front light houses the whole intelligence (the controller) and low/high beam switchable headlight. Has 3 cables: one to the dynamo hub, the other to the (optional) tail light, and one to the bar-mounted switch / indicator. The switch has magnetic contacts for a dedicated USB-C cable that can charge an accessory (a phone / a bike computer / practically anything).

There is some smart energy management. A small buffer battery built-in, so the light stays on when the bike is not moving. Phone charging (and also the high beam light) are switched off when the buffer runs low: when stationary or moving slowly (such as an uphill trail). The front low beam is prioritized and it has never failed me even on long trail climbs. My iPhone 17 Pro charges at about 1% per kilometer. Just enough to compensate the typical daily discharge on a typical daily ride.

The only thing that I don't like is that the mode switch is a capacitive-touch device. This technology fails when abused by the elements. Does not work when wet, does not work in gloves, has no tactile feedback. An ordinary mechanical switch would be much better, but I understand the SON engineers got carried away by the vision of a no-moving-parts, fully-sealed component. That did not work for many other products: the Bose Frames just could not control volume once I sweated a bit. Even the original rotating-wheel Apple iPod was so much better than the later Synaptics touch-based models (despite the efforts to replicate the tactile feedback). So if SON has an upgrade to a classic mechanical design of the switch, I'll go for it.

Otherwise, while pricey, the SON hub dynamo + integrated light / controller / charger are highly recommended.

P.S.1. The pictured Redshift Kitchen Sink handlebar has been totally awesome. There is one related detail about it that I will cover in a future post.

P.S.2. I use this system: https://headworx.slupik.com/2024/06/magnetic-usb.html for all my gear.