SON DELUX WIDE BODY SL HUB

Design and construction

The Delux uses the same sealed construction as every SON, with air exchange through a pressure-compensation system rather than the bearings and a five-year warranty that covers them, in a smaller, lighter shell with a coil and magnet arrangement tuned for higher wheel speeds. Schmidt makes it in a standard version, a Wide Body version that spreads the flanges for a stiffer wheel, and an SL version whose axle carries the electrical contact so a matching fork needs no wires or connectors at the hub.

Because the front Delux Wide Body SL dynamo has no freehub, it is the hub that asks for the least: a spin of the axle to check the bearings once a season and nothing else. The flanges, bearings and seals are the same as the rear's, the axle converts between the front standards with end caps, and the rotor mounts the same way. Choose it to match a rear of the same model, or on its own for a fork that needs a new front wheel.

How it rides

A Delux Wide Body SL wheel rides exactly like the Wide Body, stiff and nearly drag-free, and the SL contact means the front wheel comes out and goes back in like an ordinary wheel with the lights working the moment it is clamped. On a frame built for it, it is the cleanest dynamo installation there is.

A front wheel is where you feel a hub least and a build most. With no drive torque to carry, the front Delux Wide Body SL dynamo 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 version

This version is the front rim-brake hub in QR 5x100mm, drilled for 32h, about 380g, in black. Those are the only things that differ between the versions of the Delux Wide Body SL dynamo; the shell, bearings and seals are the same.

This is the rim-brake Delux Wide Body SL dynamo, with no rotor mount at all: a lighter, simpler shell for road, track and classic frames that stop on the rim. It builds into the lightest wheel the model can make and it is the version to choose for a rim-brake bike; the disc versions of the same hub have their own listings.

Sizes, fit and compatibility

The Son Dynamo SON Delux Wide Body SL Hub comes in the drillings listed on this page in 100mm spacing with the brake mount shown in the configurator; it needs a fork with SL contacts, or it can be run with a standard connector using Schmidt's adapter. J-bend spokes in any gauge; we build most SL wheels with Sapim Race, D-Light or CX-Ray spokes or DT Competition and brass nipples.

It pairs naturally with the HED Belgium G, DT Swiss GR 531, Reserve 25 GR, ENVE G23 and the gravel rims in the catalog. Pick gravel or randonneur 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 SON Delux Wide Body SL Hub already selected and pick the parts around it; it is offered for road rim brake, track and road single-speed and touring builds, and the configurator will not let you assemble a combination we would not build.

Building it at ProWheelBuilder

SON makes the Delux Wide Body SL dynamo; ProWheelBuilder is an independent custom wheel builder in Georgia and not the manufacturer. Spokes are cut from the ERD we measure on the actual rim, the wheel comes up in stages on a tensiometer, and it is stress-relieved and trued before it goes in the box; tape and a valve go on if you ask.

The configurator filters to what fits, crosses out what is not made, and prices the build as you go.