SHIMANO DYNAMO DH UR700 3D 6V 3W CENTERLOCK FRONT HUB

Design and construction

A dynamo hub such as the DH-UR700-3D is a generator: magnets in the shell spin around a coil on the axle and produce alternating current that a light or charger turns into something useful. It puts out the standard 6 volts and 3 watts for 26 to 28 inch wheels, is approved to the German StVZO standard, and sits behind a contact seal. The rotor mounts by centerlock and the wheel is held by a 133mm quick-release skewer. It shares its flanges (62mm spoke circle, 52mm apart) with the 12mm thru-axle DH-UR705-3D and the 15mm DH-UR708-3D, so the three build identically.

A front hub is a bearing carrier with flanges, and that is the whole job of the front DH-UR700-3D: two sealed bearings on a stiff axle, end caps for your fork's standard, and flanges spaced to give the spokes a good bracing angle on the rotor side. There is nothing to engage and nothing to swap. Everything written about freehubs and engagement applies to the rear hub only; what you get up front is the same shell quality and the same seals without any of the moving parts.

How it rides

A DH-UR700-3D wheel gives a commuter or touring bike a light that is always there and never needs charging, with a drag that is small enough to forget. On tour a USB charger turns it into a power source. It is heavier and drags a little more than a SON, which is the price difference. For a disc-brake commuter or touring bike with quick-release dropouts, the DH-UR700-3D is the dynamo we recommend.

A front wheel is where you feel a hub least and a build most. With no drive torque to carry, the front DH-UR700-3D can be laced two-cross or even radial on the non-rotor side on a rim-brake bike, which makes a lighter, more direct-feeling wheel; on a disc bike we lace both sides crossed so the rotor's braking torque has spokes to pull against. Either way the front wheel is the one that steers, and a stiff, true front wheel is most of what makes a bike feel precise.

Specifications

This listing

This is the quick-release centerlock version: QR 5x100mm, 32h, 36h drilling, about 476g without the skewer, in black or silver. Shimano also makes the same dynamo for 12mm (DH-UR705-3D) and 15mm (DH-UR708-3D) thru-axles.

Centerlock is the lighter, quicker rotor mount: a splined rotor drops onto the hub and a single lockring holds it, so a rotor swap takes a minute with a lockring tool and there are no six small bolts to torque or lose. Shimano and most current road and gravel rotors are centerlock; 6-bolt rotors fit with an adapter.

Sizes, fit and compatibility

The Shimano Dynamo DH UR700 3D 6V 3W Centerlock Front Hub comes in the drillings listed on this page in 100mm quick-release spacing with a centerlock rotor mount. J-bend spokes in any gauge; we build most DH-UR700-3D wheels with DT Champion or Competition or Sapim Race spokes and brass nipples.

It pairs naturally with the Velocity Dyad, Atlas, Chukker and Cliffhanger, Mavic A319, HED Belgium G and Velo Orange Voyager rims. Pick commuter or touring as your bike type in the configurator and it recommends a spoke count and lacing pattern.

Build it with us

We build this hub to order. Open the Custom Wheel Program with the Shimano Dynamo DH UR700 3D 6V 3W Centerlock Front Hub already selected and pick the parts around it; it is offered for road rim brake, gravel and road disc, touring, tandem and e-bike, mountain bike, MTB single-speed and fat bike builds, and the configurator will not let you assemble a combination we would not build.

Building it at ProWheelBuilder

Shimano makes the DH-UR700-3D; ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia and not the manufacturer. Every dynamo wheel we build gets spokes cut from the measured ERD of the rim, staged tensioning with a gauge, stress relief and a final true before it ships, and we can supply and wire a light or charger.

In the configurator you will only see parts that fit this drilling; combinations that are not made are struck through, and the price updates as you pick.