Human powered Cell Phone battery

 

 

SP PD8 dynamo front hub unlimited power device

 

 

I recently started planning for a bike tour this summer to the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania and realized I needed a few more large batteries.

 

In the last few years I have ridden the PALM (pedal across lower Michigan) and have tried everything from powering up at the power stations that they provide in the evenings to carrying (3) 10,000Mah batteries, to one year actually buying a Goal Zero solar panel to hang off of my tent. Unfortunately it was the wettest one week tour I was ever on and never got to use it once!

 

With this in mind I started thinking about alternatives and Dynamos were the next thing.

 

Until recently they were expensive and heavy and caused a lot of drag on your bike. The worst are the bottle style that rub against your tire.

 



 

Google and YouTube were excellent sources to reference the latest and greatest of the available units and I learned that the SP (shutter precision) brand seems to be an OEM supplier to several of the other brands on the market. 

 

The unit I purchased and installed is one of the lightest and least expensive on the market, and has several 5 star reviews by many bike tour professionals, many 1000's of miles without incident.

 

This is where my story begins:

 

First: there are different versions depending on whether you have disc brakes or rim brakes.

 

Second: You need to buy a power regulator, since the dynamos don't come with them. (even though you would think they should)



Biologic Reecharge power pak and voltage regulator

 

Third: they are primarily made for lighting with cell phones and tablets an afterthought.

 

Axa LUXX50 nano light with USB port and built in Voltage regulator.



 

The unit pictured above is what I finally settled on. it has a built in voltage regulator and a USB ports. Some phones need the stability of a battery in order to charge properly. This called a 'chase battery' and some larger power hungry phones need this or they wont charge.

 

Unfortunately nowhere does the packaging (dynamo hub) say that it came with the voltage regulator. It doesn't.... (Its the black thing with the wires). The Reecharge is a pretty good value because it charges the battery (1600mah) and sends a constant output to the phone, and comes with the voltage regulator.  An Iphone and a Samsung Galaxy can have issues charging straight from the voltage regulator.

 

UPDATE: I had to send back the Reecharge unit due in no part to a YouTube review of units that showed a noticeable lack of current output with several of these devices. I decided to go with the Supernova The PLUG III instead.

 

 

The Supernova Plug review

 

I had to drill out one of the star flanges to pass the white plug through

Cleaning up the threads for the top cap bolt



Done, hooked up and ready to charge

 

 

Of course you can charge other batteries as well, but keep in mind as long as you are riding your bike, the battery and the phone are constantly being recharged. Its like riding your bike with the phone plugged into the charger all day long!

 

That alone was enough to sell me!

 

Now, how much did this unlimited human powered cell phone charger cost me? Too much.  Of course when it comes to cycling, price doesn't really matter to me. Its about the adventure, gear, companionship, conversation and fun. What it costs really doesn't factor in.

 

But, not everyone is like me so here are the numbers:

 

SP PD8  (hub dynamo) $130

Supernova The Plug III $184

spokes/nipples and rim tape to rebuild wheel $38

 

 

I also needed a phone mounting system for the bike so I purchased a Rokform case and stem mount to hold my phone while I ride.

 

 

Rokform stem mount system
 

Amazon link to Rokform products


Now, the case/stem mount and battery can move from bike to bike, so if I'm just going for a day ride, as long as I leave with a full battery I should be good.

 

I also recently upgraded my phone to the Samsung Galaxy S5. I mainly purchased this phone for its waterproof ( supposedly) capabilities so I can at least ride in the rain without having to stop and put it away. Another cool accessory for the S5 is a battery charging unit for a spare phone battery.

Spare battery and charging case. lightweight and easy to carry.

 

 

If I decided to build another wheel for one of my other bikes, im only into it for the dynamo and spokes.

 

As you can see, this is not an option for the faint of heart! But, I purchased the phone mounts and accessories some time before deciding to do this project so I didn't outlay all this cash at once. You can choose a different mounting system and voltage regulator and USB system (with battery) for less which is why I  originally purchased the Reecharge.

 

For a more complete list of several dynamos and accessories please visit the link below:

 

Real world touring tests of various lighting and dynamos plus accessories

 

 

 

The Wheel

 

So lets talk about the build. My friends at Al's Quick Release in Davidson Mi. recently purchased a Phil Wood spoke cutting machine.

 

It cuts and threads the ends all in one turn of the crank

Usually I purchase any new tool I need so I will have it for the next time...that's how I ended up with my viper box,

 

Viper rolling tool chest
 

but at $4k, unless I start building wheels for a living, I think I'll pay Steve to make them for me!

 

To start the wheel build, you need to calculate spoke lengths needed. Your LBS (local bike shop) or you can go on line and use any number of Spoke length calculators.



After inserting wheel and hub dimensions the results are listed for the drive and non drive side spoke lengths.

 

 

LETS TALK ABOUT WEIGHT BABY!

 

 

 



Old Hub, Deore MTB LX



SP PD8 Dynamo hub

As you can see above my original hub is 252 grams and the new dynamo hub is 408 grams. That's roughly 5oz. I carry protein bars that weigh more, so lets just stop talking about that as a reason not to buy one!

Here are some wheel build pics.
(click on the pictures for a larger view)

 

And here is a short video I took after a half hour on the truing stand:

 

 

 

All in all a very quick build. Not the cheapest solution, but certainly worthwhile if you go on tours or do all day rides and use mapmyride and gps on your phone so you can upload your stats or pictures.

UPDATE 4/17/15
 
I ended up sending back the PLUGIII mainly due to the fact that my Rokform stem mount wouldn't work with it.
 
I am now using the AXA Luxx50 nano light pictured at the top and a chase battery from Target that seems to work great.

UPDATE 4/17/15  ROAD TEST

Well after installing the new AXA NANO 50 light I can safely say...'THIS THING ROCKS"!

I measured 4.8v output at .52 amps!. That's while I was using , GPS, Sirius XM internet, Bluetooth for my stereo headset and MAPMYRIDE as well as HUD which is a bike speedometer application!

Oh, and all while traveling 8 MPH without using a chase battery!

 Fantastic! Very satisfied. Here are some pics of the final setup.

HUD bike speedometer application showing compass heading mounted on a ROKFORM stem mount with matching Rokform case.

AXA light mounted directly to fork. I had to drill a hole since the fork did not have one.

I love how clean the install ended up. The light comes with a short dynamo wire and the voltage reg is built in.

Rear of the Rokform mount and case system High end very clean and secure.

 

 

I will help you build a wheel like this for your current bike if interested. Just contact me at the link below.

 

Feel free to comment or ask questions and don't forget to visit my Facebook page.

 

https://www.facebook.com/mooniescustombicycleworks

 

Thanks for reading!