Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tubus Carry Ti w/ Supernova E3 Triple & Rear (and Schmidt SonDelux)

As my cycling tastes evolve, I find myself gravitating toward the more expensive, but high-functionality items. My latest Casseroll project involved an increase in storage carrying capacity, as well as lighting solutions.

Starting at the front of the bike, I laced up a new wheel around a Schmidt Sondelux. Renamed from the Son 20R, this hub is the same, just renamed as it now meets German lighting standards for wheels other than 20", ie 700c wheels  (as long as one is using efficiend LED lighting). Details on the drag and power output here.

This data set claims that the drag is lower with the Sondelux as opposed to the traditional Son28, with the only downside being a little less power output at low speeds. Other benefits include a lighter hub, and its visual appeal (in my opinion, anyway). I laced said hub to a Salsa Delgado Cross, the same as before, using DT 2.0/1.8 spokes. And a little plug for Livestrong. Here are some pics:


If I have a generator hub, I must have lights to connect to it, right? I went with a Supernova duo, specifically the E3 Triple and E3 Rear lights. When considering mounting options for the E3 Triple, I considered handlebar, fork crown, and either fork leg.

I lack handlebar space, so that option was out, and my rando bag precludes the installation on the fork crown, so I was left with fork leg options. After reading the install manual for the Sondelux (yes, I read it), I decided to mount the light on the "road" side, or left fork leg, since Schmidt clarifies that the hub can be installed with the connections either on the right or the left. I considered using the Nob XL with the handlebar-mount E3, but I instead went with VeloOrange's handlebar bottle cage mount. This allows for a super-secure mount with no worries of twisting or sliding down the tapered fork leg. Details:



To mount the rear light, Supernova does offer a seatpost mount for the E3 Rear, but I have had my eyes on a Ti Tubus rack for a while, specifically the Carry. So, that's what I did. In the past, the Carry included mounts on the horizontal support at the rear of the rack for 50mm spaced lights, such as the E3 Rear. This proved problematic, as the wiring for the light required some sort of spacing out away from the rack to allow room for said wiring. As I looked over the rack, I noticed no such mounts. After suffering my way through the 1-page instruction sheet, I noticed that Tubus now includes two small plastic mounts that eliminate the need for spacers, or holes in the rack, for that matter. The rack also has little "stops" at the front of the pannier rails. Here are the details of the rack and E3 Rear:

See, no holes.

See the little "stops?"

Front view

Back view

Nice touch

Installed

I went with the single strut approach. Had to bend it a little.

Here are the plastic mounts

Super busy dropout, but it works. Tuggnut, Rack, and fenders. Awesome. 

Mounting of fenders is easier without a silly cassette in the way. 

So, I think the Casseroll is basically Rando-ready. I'm using the Tubus to mount my Acorn tri-fold, as it would annoy at times when mounted on the saddle. The VO rando bag is quite nice, and the Garmin Edge 305 keeps me from getting lost. Night ride reviews of the lighting system to follow . . . . 

Sans bags.





6 comments:

  1. Hey just laced up my SonDelux to Mavic 719s on my 29er. I also went with the e3 and the darn thing did not work out of the box. However was wondering if you thought the e3 puts out enough light? BTW your bike looks great.

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  2. Did you do the E3 Pro or E3 Triple? I'm finding that I need to be at 13-14mph before the light really kicks in. It's decent below that, but I'm not super stoked about the low-speed light. That might be a function of the consumption of the Triple, but I feel like the vintagebicyclepress analysis was very accurate in that regard. I may go with a single-LED or figure out a way to go with the Son28. My Brompton has a Schmidt at that fires up my Lumotec IQ CYO at about 2 mph. Let me know if you have pics of your setup!

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    1. Somewhere I read that the Triple shouldn't be used with the SON/20R/delux because of the hub's low power output. I'm running my Triple with a SON28(original) and it's very bright at almost all speeds. I really want that rack, but it's a shame there aren't barrels welded on the underside of that support.

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    2. I bought into the E3 Triple pretty early on, so I suppose I was crossing my fingers that the system would mesh. The Triple just requires significant output. Alas, I have a new Son28 on the way to build a new front wheel. I'm excited to see how the light fires up with the new hub. Happy trails!

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  3. Nice! I've been looking into the Tubus racks for a while but never committed because I've been riding my Brompton so much. I have the touring pannier with plenty of space. The lights look substantial. It would be cool to have a video of you riding at night with this setup.

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