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Video: Hunt launches SuperDura Dynamo Disc wheelset

New wheels for adventure riders and commuters are designed to be lightweight and durable

Hunt is launching a new SuperDura Dynamo Disc wheelset that’s aimed at both hardcore endurance/adventure riders and everyday commuters who want to avoid the need to recharge lights. The wheels feature Hunt’s existing 24mm-deep tubeless ready 6061-T6 aluminium rims and a SONdelux dynamo front hub from Germany’s Schmidts Original Nabendynamo (SON)

Former Hunt employee Josh Ibbett, winner of the 2015 Transcontinental Race, has been involved in the development of the SuperDura Dynamo Disc wheelset. Josh is just about to set off on a year-long round the world ride.

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc 4 - 1.jpg

“One thing that’s always been coming up [during my time at Hunt] is a dynamo wheelset and a really strong wheelset that can be used for long distance events, used with a bike with more luggage, also for things such as commuting and everyday riding. 

“The dynamo wheelset means I’m not relying on any power sources. I can also charge my phone and any gadgets I might need to, so basically I’m pretty self sufficient if I go out to somewhere like Patagonia or Canada where the gap between towns is very big.” 

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 9.jpg

The heart of the wheelset is the well-respected SONdelux dynamo front hub. The efficiency of the hub is said to be 65% with a connected light turned on; a 3 watt/ 6 volt dynamo output (11-12mph) takes 4.6 watts of your rolling power. 

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 10.jpg

If you unplug your light, the SONdelux is said to add 0.4 watt extra rolling resistance compared to a high quality non-dynamo hub. 

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 5.jpg

Swapping bearings in a dynamo wheel is more difficult than in a standard wheel so SON hubs feature a ‘pressure compensation system’ that’s designed to equalise the internal and external pressures in order to stop moisture getting sucked into the bearings and affecting their durability (it comprises a hollow coil inside the hub that’s linked to an airflow port on the axle cap). The bearings are said to have a 50,000km-100,000km lifespan and they come with a five year warranty. 

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 8.jpg

Hunt uses its existing 4Season Disc hub at the rear.

The asymmetric aluminium rims are the same as those that feature on Hunt’s Gravel Disc wheels. They’re 25mm wide (external width; 20mm internal width), designed to support tyres up to 50mm, and 24mm deep. 

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 2.jpg

You get 32 triple butted Pillar PSR spokes (laced three-cross) at both the front and rear. Hunt surveyed 600 riders to find out what features they’d like in a dynamo wheel, and concluded that the slight weight penalty of going to 32 spokes (as opposed to 28) was worth it for the extra strength and security, especially for those travelling to remote areas.

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 11.jpg

These wheels can be setup for use with either a standard quick-release or a 12mm thru-axle, but they can’t be used with 15mm axles (and unless trends within the bike industry alter, that’s never likely to become an option).

Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc - 1.jpg

The Hunt SuperDura Dynamo Disc wheelset has a claimed weight of 1,939g (1,029g front, 910g rear; and, of course, you can factor in that a dynamo light like an Exposure Revo doesn’t weigh as much as an equivalent battery light). 

The wheelset will be available from June at £499. You can buy the front wheel alone for £329. For more info go to www.huntbikewheels.com

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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14 comments

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sammutd88 | 6 years ago
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I like this company....at first I thought they were just wheel resellers like the majority of others however these guys build sensible wheels, which is great. Wide rims, higher spoke counts and sensible hubs. When my Zonda C17's need an update, I'll look at Hunt. 

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John_S | 6 years ago
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These look great and it's fantastic to see Hunt offering a dynamo hub wheelset.

 

The explanation above about the 12mm and 15mm thru axles made sense however I'm now one of the ones cursing the fact that my forks have a 15mm thru axle and not a 12mm.  That's not a complaint about what Hunt are offering because reading the message above I understand the need to have picked one of the options and the rationale for going with 12.

 

However does anyone know if Hunt will offer for sale the rims only so that if somebody wanted they could build up a wheel using for example the SON 28 Disc which I think comes in an options including 15mm thru axles?

 

Thanks, John

 

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armb replied to John_S | 5 years ago
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John_S wrote:

However does anyone know if Hunt will offer for sale the rims only so that if somebody wanted they could build up a wheel using for example the SON 28 Disc which I think comes in an options including 15mm thru axles?

Rather late, I know, but in case it helps anyone else researching building similar wheels, yes Hunt do now sell rimes only: https://www.huntbikewheels.com/collections/rims?_=pf&pf_t_internal_width...

(I want a Rohloff rear using an existing hub, with a probably SON dynamo front. The Hunt Superdura Dynamo rims are asymmetric only, which the Rohloff doesn't need, and probably more offset than the SON needs. So I'm currently thinking the Race Aero SuperDura, which I believe is a Kinlin X31T. The not-SuperDura Race Aero is a Kinlin (see http://road.cc/content/review/170213-hunt-race-season-aero-wide-wheelset); from the descriptions the SuperDura rim is just higher spoke count.)

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Bassmann13 | 6 years ago
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What was the reasoning behind the decision to go disc only I wonder?  Surely it would have opened up the market to run a rim brake hub on the wheelset, then they could be used in either application, or am I missing something?

It's a shame, I was waiting for these to launch before going Dynamo, but I'm not in a position to upgrade my frameset as well as my wheels, so I'll be going back to plan A and a custom build

Avatar
alexb replied to Bassmann13 | 5 years ago
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Bassmann13 wrote:

What was the reasoning behind the decision to go disc only I wonder?  Surely it would have opened up the market to run a rim brake hub on the wheelset, then they could be used in either application, or am I missing something?

It's a shame, I was waiting for these to launch before going Dynamo, but I'm not in a position to upgrade my frameset as well as my wheels, so I'll be going back to plan A and a custom build

 

Build them yourself! There are loads of instructional videos online and it's not very difficult.

They might not be exactly perfect, but they won't be shit either.

I have been building my own wheels for years and really enjoy it.

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1961BikiE | 6 years ago
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Can we assume that this hub will eventually be available on a HUNT 650b wheel? Obviously this will no doubt depend how many 700c wheels you shift and demand for dyno 650b wheels.

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alotronic | 6 years ago
1 like

Dear Mr Hunt

Yes, take your point you need to make a choice, and that 12mm makes more sense. 

Really it's just nice to see someone doing this, so chapeau! I hope it works commercially for you.

A

 

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acjim | 6 years ago
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looks like a great wheelset, i just need my old LED lights to fail on me now... (but hopefully not in the middle of no where )

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kil0ran | 6 years ago
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Thanks Tom - decision now makes sense as I wasn't aware that you couldn't just adapt down from a 15mm axle. I'm starting to dislike my fork enough to consider replacing it - 15mm, no fork crown hole for mounting the light, and untidy mounting option for mudguards  2

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CXR94Di2 | 6 years ago
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I had a wheel made up with a son hub, works very well indeed. Good to know Hunt are doing these too  1

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HuntBikeWheels | 6 years ago
3 likes

Morning alotronic, Dr_Lex & kil0ran,

thank you all for your comments and very useful feedback. You're correct we definately agree with you that we'd like to offer a 15mm option on the Dynamo wheels. Dynamo wheels (whilst being able to adapt to QR with a sleeve) cannot be adapted between 12 and 15mm (unlike a normal hub) due to the hub caps needing to be fixed and cabled for the dynamo to operate, and 12mm forks will not accept a 15mm cap as they have a small ridge above the axle interface. So for our first dynamo wheels we had to choose one size either 12 or 15mm thru to launch with. Since all major drop bar disc brake bike manufacturers plus many of our bike company partners such as Mason Cycles have 12mm now as their standard for fork axles, and this looks to continue in the future, we went with 12mm adaptable to QR for the first option. Of course we are looking at 15mm as an option in the future, but it would probably need to be 6 bolt to allow the larger ball bearings; ball bearing size is very small on 15mm dynamo axles if fitted inside a centre lock disc mount diameter and around the larger dynamo axle thickness (needs space for wire to pass through the bearing inner dimater unlike a normal 15mm hub axle).

Apologies to anyone who was hoping for a 15mm HUNT Dynamo option, it was a difficult decision to make for our first dynamo option, and we of course want to serve as many riders as possible. I hope this explains it a bit more and thank you again ever so much for your feedback and you are all correct we would love to offer an option for you soon. Obviously since drop bar disc brake bikes are now becoming more stable in their standards hopefully these things will be simpler in future, here's hoping as it would probably make all our lives easier as riders  3 Thanks again and enjoy your riding, Tom Marchment, HuntBikeWheels | TheRiderFirm

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kil0ran | 6 years ago
1 like

Aaargh  2

Been hoping for a Hunt dyno wheelset and they decide not to do a 15mm option. Odd, as SON & Shutter Precision both have 15mm dynohubs available. I know 12mm is becoming the standard but I don't see what the challenge is in offering a 15mm option.

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Dr_Lex | 6 years ago
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Lack of 15mm option is a surprise, given that it is available - as alotronic, above, notes.

I was quoted £535 for a 15mm SON disc build with Hope RS4 rear hub using Stans Crest (650b)  and black sapim spokes with brass nipples, so custom options are very much in the same pricing area. It was also a similar weight.

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alotronic | 6 years ago
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Nice idea, off the shelf decent disc dynamo wheels will have a small but solid market.

I love my dynamos - two sets, one rim, one QR disc.

But no 15mm option rules out my datum... SON and SPV do make 15mm versions, but obviously not the majority vote at the moment. Oh well, back to custom options (1st world problems eh?)

The newest Baush and Muller, the IQ-M headlight, is a ripper by the way. Much better light than the old 60s and not prone to water ingress like the 90s. All you  need for fast road riding at night, and would be good enough for 'gravel' though not MTB downhilling.

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/article/b--m-iq-x-led-headlight/aid:837401

 

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