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Dynamo hubs on the C&O


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David Anderson on 3/29/2019 12:15:51 PM:
I'm just curious if anyone has a dynamo hub installed and has any feedback on their usefulness on the C&O. I'll be riding Cumberland to D.C. and trying to minimize as much stopping time as possible for things like recharging devices. My initial thought was to get a dynamo hub and use that to charge my portable charge bank, then after camp set up, use the bank to charge any devices I might have depleted during the day. Right now I anticipate using a phone (for tracking ride data) and bluetooth speaker/earbuds for music/podcasts.

My main concern is that the dynamo hub will not reliably charge up my battery banks during the day, and this is a big cost if this turns out to be the case.

 
Warren from North Carolina on 3/29/2019 6:00:17 PM:
I have had a Schmidt dynamo hub on my long Haul Trucker for about 10 years. It has always worked flawlessly and I would hate to be without it. However I don't think that I would spend that kind of money for a week long trip. An extra battery pack or two might make more sense.

Hub generators tend to charge batteries better if you maintain a steady speed for an extended period. Starting and stopping to see the scenery will not get you a full charge on your battery. Hope that helps.

Good luck on your trip.