DT Swiss has released its first dynamo wheels, built around a custom hub produced in collaboration with Shutter Precision (SP).
DT Swiss road marketing manager Ralf Eggert says the brand developed the wheels in response to the “increasing demand for bikepacking and commuting [products]”.
Alongside two wheels, DT Swiss is offering the 350 SP PL-7 dynamo hub as a standalone product, continuing its long-standing commitment to custom wheel builders.
The 350 SP PL-7 hub’s shell is custom-made by DT Swiss. It contains the same generating components as a standard SP PL-7 hub.
As indicated by the name, the 350 SP PL-7 hub is pitched as a 350-level component – DT Swiss’ nomenclature for its entry-level products, sitting beneath its mid-tier 240 and top-spec 180 ranges.
DT Swiss says the hub is suitable for off-road riding and loaded touring/bikepacking.
With an attached device turned off, the hub will contribute no more than 1 watt of drag at 30 km/h according to DT Swiss’ charts.
When turned on, the hub will introduce a little under 7W of drag at the same speed. The hub is claimed to achieve 72 per cent efficiency at 15 km/h.
These claimed figures broadly align with recognised independent testing for equivalent hubs.
The hub is one of very few dynamos designed for straight-pull spokes.
The Shimano WH-S500 – which was only available laced into a complete wheelset and in limited numbers – and the recently released SON 29 S are the only others we’re aware of.
Eggert says the new 350 SP PL-7 hub will be available in its spoke-length calculator from the day of launch.
The hub costs €174.90 / $236.90. It is only available in a 12mm thru-axle 24-spoke Center Lock disc option.
Competitively priced
The GR 1600 Spline Dyn and G 1800 Spline Dyn wheels use the same alloy rims as DT Swiss’ existing wheelsets of the same name.
The GR 1600 rim is 25mm high and 24mm wide (internal). Laced with DT Aero Comp spokes, the full wheel is claimed to weigh 1,075g. It costs €320.90 / $442.90.
The G 1800 rim features the same dimensions, but uses a sleeved join, bringing the weight very slightly higher to 1,098g. Despite the modest increase in weight, the price is significantly lower at €248.90 / $342.90.
Both wheels are competitively priced – a Hunt SuperDura Dynamo wheel, which is built around a SON Delux dynamo and features a broadly similar rim, costs £520.
A Halo Vapour GXC wheel, which uses an SP PL-8X hub, costs £235 in a similar spec.
Extensive service network
Dynamo hubs are more complicated to service than conventional hubs, with most sent back to the brand or distributor for repair (as is the case with SP’s existing hubs).
Eggert says DT Swiss’ extensive range of service centres makes it uniquely qualified as a large brand to bring a dynamo wheelset to market: “The service and repair of products is an obstacle that might have prevented other brands from offering dynamo wheels.
“With almost 50 service centres worldwide, we can take care of products.”
Although Eggert expects – as with the brand’s other wheels – to see OEMs widely spec DT Swiss’ dynamo wheels, they will “initially be seen on a shop level [pitched as] a replacement wheelset for riders wanting to upgrade their bike with a dynamo hub”.
