Sanyo NH-H27 dynamo hub

This dynamo hub/wheel was given to me for testing by Charles Tsai/Intelligent design cycles.

Experiences

I tested this hub from mid August 2010. As of 21 October 2010 I had used it about 1700 km on a bike I leave outside all the time and ride in all conditions with, so it gets plenty of exposure to rain...

I counted the poles and each steady position (28) has a slightly less steady position next to it, so 56 fairly steady positions in total (steady position means: going to the next requires force to overcome the magnets). Does the Shimano have this too? I haven't noticed but will check, and if not, could this means less annoying vibrations in the handlebar?

The lamp connector is similar to the Shimano, but the system that Shimano uses is nicer as it allows quickly removing the connector (to take out the wheel to replace a tyre for example) with less chance that the wires get out of the connector.

I have now checked those steady positions in the DH-3N80, and does not have those slightly less steady ones, so just the 28. Having tried the NH-H27 on various rides, there is a little bit of a difference with the Shimano, but there are no 2x28 poles, which could have been an explanation for the larger number of steady positions, as the vibrations start at about the same speed as with the DH-3N80, ca. 20-21 km/h. Actually, the vibrations seem to start slightly earlier than with the Shimano dynamo hub, and they definitely end earlier at 25 km/h (vs. 27-28 km/h with the Shimano DH-3N80). Beyond that this hub is silky smooth (tested up to 42 km/h, so I don't know yet if this hub has a vibration issue at high speeds that the Shimano has). Using the triple XP-G, the vibrations start/end at ca. 19-25 km/h, and at ca. 38 km/h they begin again (not bad, but noticeable). Not sure yet what will happen at higher speeds.

Note: The Sanyo dynamo hubs do not have the same internals as Shimano, contrary to what some people claim and what I read in a few places. Actually, the Sanyo people told someone who enquired about this that their dynamo hubs are better than those by Shimano... (not sure in what way, I'll see what I can find out)

Conclusion (preliminary until I do high speed testing up to ca. 50 km/h)

I like it a bit better than the DH-3N80 due to the fact that the vibrations are gone a bit earlier at 25 km/h. This means for me in most cases I can ride without vibrations in the handlebar.

Notes

1: 50 km/h may not be a speed reached often on flat roads, but if you ride somewhere with hills, this is not an uncommon speed. Also, vibrations are bad, but if high speed vibrations are strong, that's a bad thing, because at those speeds you don't want anything to distract you.

2: For some reason to do with previous experiences I gather, Sanyo is not going to make a disc brake dynamo hub... Also, Sanyo doesn't allow internet sales (except perhaps internet sales by regular shops). I think this is a big mistake...

3 Late addition to this review, August 2011: It seems the NH-H27 does not comply with StVZO in power output: from testing done for dynamo drivers it seems the NH-H27 is more like a 2.4W dynamo... I didn't notice a low power output from the NH-H27 at low speeds (see my review of the SD-8 for information on the consequences of that lower power output) but perhaps it's in between 2.4W and 3.0W. I will test the power output in the StVZO way with resistors. The people from Sanyo do indicate however that the Sanyo produces the required 3V at 5km/h, and this conirfms my experiences that low speed performance of the Sanyo is better than the SP SD-8/SV-8 hubs (that supply ca. 1.8 W in a 622mm wheel at 15 km/h). A lower power output will cause weaker vibrations so the advantage of the Sanyo compared to Shimano seems to be (partly) caused by this.

I have done tests with a triple XM-L attached to special dynamo driver on the Sanyo to see what happens then and have done the same with the SP and Shimano dynamo hubs. The result is noticeable lower power output, but the SP SD-8 small wheel dynamo gives far less power still than the NH-H27, see here.

4 (20-8-2013): I had a problem with no power output, and taking of the plastic caps, I then unscrewed the nut, then took off a ring, then a ring that's recessed into plastic which was corroded somewhat on the outside but even worse on the inside...

So there was no contact from that galvanised steel ring to the brass ring that's one of the 2 connectors. The brass ring with is connected to one of the poles of the dynamo ('earth') which is on the dynamo axle, so this corrosion caused the problem. I cleaned it and put grease around it all and inside the connector before putting the plastic caps back on. And it worked again... Perhaps not just water but also galvanic corrosion (2 different metals touching each other), made the corrosion happen quickly?

Last modified: Tue Aug 20 08:57:53 CEST 2013