Bicycle Belle, Full disclosure: I sell SP dynamo hubs.
That said, I have three SP hubs on personal bikes, the oldest of which I built into a wheel in 2015 on my Bike Friday cargo bike, which, due to its size, cannot fit in my shed or basement, therefore it lives outside year-round in New England weather. That hub has survived quite well after five years outside, no issues whatsoever. My other two SP hubs are on bikes that are stored indoors, but still have encountered plenty of rainy rides, and no issues. Do note that New England climate is harsh, from deep freezes, salty slushy roads, lots of freeze-thaw cycles, and blistering summer heat and humidity. As a dealer for SP, I have had two returns in total: one due to seized bearings after riding in winter salt and then put into storage for a few weeks. The other had a faint ticking sound when new that was barely audible and needed a stethoscope to hear, but the customer nonetheless wanted a new one. SON is the gold standard, no doubt about it. I have one as well. You can't go wrong with one. But they cost twice as much as SP hubs. SP does have a repair program for after the warranty expires, wherein they will rebuild the bearings for a nominal fee. Personally I now stay away from Shimano. I have two on personal bikes (I have five dynamo bikes in total), and one's been fine but the other developed a loud ticking noise, probably a bearing. And the vibration of the hub through the handlebars is more noticeable than with either the SP or SON hubs, which feel equivalent. The Shimano has the oldest design of all three brands, and is also the heaviest (not that that matters to most RBW listers). Anton velolumino.com On Tuesday, May 12, 2020 at 10:32:19 AM UTC-4, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote: > > Eric - how long does the bike have to be exposed to rain before it becomes > an issue for the SP hub? (Analog has just sent me my first ever set of > custom wheels, complete with dyno and (SP in front) and I am so excited.) I > take a cross-country road trip from Vegas to MN every summer and we will > usually drive through showers on our way. Just wondering if that will be an > issue... > > Thanks! > Leah > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/89f2d4ef-3e49-4877-8d18-195e7a6fbe24%40googlegroups.com.
