Late in 2024, DT Swiss came out with a dynamo hub based upon Shutter Precision's dynamo technology coupled with DT Swiss hub design/tech. What a great development, I thought when I learned of it ... months later. I love my DT Swiss hubs, and I love my SP dynamo lighting setup. DT Swiss sells these as complete wheels or hub-only for amateur builders such as myself, as well as for pros.
I purchased one of the disk hubs from a German online retailer for 132 Euro. It cost less than the similar SP PL-7. And it gets great reviews. Plus it looks as if it should be easier to service than the original SP design. Very nice.
It took awhile to get around to building the wheel, but I finally built up a front gravel bike wheel with the hub in October, and fine-tuned and used the hub in November while up at Yatsugatake.
What can I say? The hub was very easy to build up. It takes straight pull spokes, which I have not used much for wheelbuilding (but will try to use in the future when possible, given how easy it was to thread them and how common they have become over the past 10-15 years). I paired the hub with Sapim CX Ray spokes -- my "go-to" -- and a no-brand-equity ("OTVTO Official Store") rim from AliExpress that is 45mm deep, measures as 28mm internal and 36+mm external, and looks perfect.
The hub works like a charm! And it is an efficient setup, with the extra drag negligible when the light is off (under 1 watt even at high speed) and barely noticeable (up to ~6 watts) with the light on.
Since I built it up on a very wide gravel-ready rim, it will go on the RAMAX, which already has a Busch Mueller IQ-XS light. So I should be ready for adventures both off- and on-road in 2026!
Over time, I seem to find that my hubs are gravitating toward DT Swiss ... while my hub dynamos are all via SP, so this is a perfect "love child". Come to think of it, my "go to" light is now the IQ-XS, which is on several of my bikes. And 3 of my 4 non-recumbent bikes that are fully rideable these days ... are via Tim Smith at GS Astuto (the Ti Travel Bike, the RAMAX, and the Mugikusa Pass ICAN FL-1 frame climbing bike). Maybe I am converging on the best products over time? Or at least I am converging on the products that best fit my riding style(s) and budget.
Next on my list -- a set of 650B wheels with large gravel tires for the RAMAX. I tried some Panaracer Gravel King 1X-R 700x40mm tires and I felt the bike handled differently and was not nearly as "right" with the resulting larger wheel circumference. The tires themselves are excellent, but the geometry felt off and was not easy to adjust to. Maybe 650B wheels would solve that. Ideally I will try out a set somewhere before going to the trouble to build a set, but they should work well, though I am not sure if they will allow me to go larger than a 40mm width.
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