The Plug iii -any views...and will it fit a 1" steerer?

Dave855 · Post by **Dave855** » 31 Dec 2015, 3:06pm

Hoping to purchase the above to use with a Son 28 dynamo hub. However I can't find any info confirming that it is compatible with the 1" steerer on my 631 Dawes Sardar. Does anybody have any experience of The Plug iii?

Thanks,

David

Barrenfluffit · Post by **Barrenfluffit** » 31 Dec 2015, 3:14pm

Try the "Bikes technical" forum?

viewforum.php?f=5

andrew_s · Post by **andrew_s** » 31 Dec 2015, 6:09pm

The Tout Terrain page has a 1 1/8" expander bung listed as a recommended accessory, so I would suggest not.
http://www.en.cinq5.de/stromversorgung/the-plug-iii/

Dave855 · Post by **Dave855** » 31 Dec 2015, 6:36pm

Hi Andrew,

Thanks very much for spotting that. Would the expander you mention make it compatible with a 1" steerer?...or is it designed for another purpose. I'm looking at it but can't quite work out how it's supposed to work.

Sorry if I've posted in the wrong section.

Thanks again,

Dave

tim_f · Post by **tim_f** » 31 Dec 2015, 6:46pm

Why not just ask the manufacture? I expect the German manufacturer will have a staff member who can reply in English.

There is also a USA manufacturer of a competing producthttp://www.ghyllside.co.uk/shop/accessories/dynamo-hubs-and-usb-chargers.html

Dave855 · Post by **Dave855** » 31 Dec 2015, 7:42pm

Hi Tim,

I've contacted the manufacturer. The Sinewave Reactor you mention is another option which definitely does fit a 1" steerer, however it needs a slightly higher speed to charge at full capacity and it's also more expensive. There is very little information or reviews relating to the Reactor and I would feel a lot happier with The Plug iii given it is a proven product. It's a lot of money to shell out and I would like to get it right.

Dave

Bigdummysteve · Post by **Bigdummysteve** » 1 Jan 2016, 7:17pm

The plug fits in place of the top cap and as such is sized for standard 1 1/8" stem cap. I have a damaged one kicking around (it might still work but needs soldering) your welcome to it

There are some well respected external solutions which would work with a 1" fork, sinewave make one

I've had the plug3 for about 18 months and it's been faultless, that said I'm considering selling it. I'm building up a Surly ECR and will run a biologic recharge or similar, one thing the plug doesn't have is a battery. iPhones and some other devices don't like interrupted power sources so you need a battery pack in between the plug and device. The other advantage is you can easily swap it between bikes.

There's a good review of the biologic here http://tomsbiketrip.com/biologic-reecha ... ones-more/

The other disadvantage of the plug is the exposed USB socket, I've used mine in some really heavy weather and it's not been a problem but it is a concern. Other issues are possible interference with mounting things on the stem as the plug sits a lot higher than a standard top cap ( the sinewave version looks a lot slimmer) also I found that I had to position the USB port facing backwards due to a 45deg stem making cable insertion difficult.

So yes they are good, reliable and neat but now I would use an external charger

fc101 · Post by **fc101** » 1 Jan 2016, 7:24pm

Just looking at a Plug, it is clearly intended for 1⅛" steerers. However, I suppose with a bit of thought you could fit one to a bike with a 1" steerer, but you would need to have a 10-15mm column of 1⅛" headset spacers on top of your stem to provide access and clearance for the wire and connector from the generator (dynamo) to slot into the underside of the Plug. It's not ideal though.

However, there are several reasons why my preference has been to choose the Sinewave Reactor over the Plug, and the arrangement I describe above would exacerbate one of the design weaknesses of the Plug. The Reactor puts almost all of its electronic gubbins inside the steerer and adds only 9mm to the height above the stem, whereas the Plug sits on top of the stem and adds 25mm to the height plus the 10-15mm of spacers that you'd need. Whether this is a problem for you will depend on whether you mount anything on your stem (e.g. GPS, phone, etc.), the profile of any GPS/phone mount and the length and angle of your stem. Unless you can mount a device well forward of the Plug, the device could interfere with the Plug and so effectively rule out using the stem for mounting such devices.

Furthermore, and more importantly, my experience has been that the low-profile Reactor has proved far more reliable than the Plug. I have 3 Plugs (all bought secondhand at different times, I should add, so I don't know their full histories) and none of them works anymore; the problems are all with the non-serviceable 'head unit' rather than the replaceable PAT cable. Meanwhile, our 5 Reactors (all bought new and at various times since the product was launched in late Spring 2014) continue to perform fauItlessly.

I am doubtful of the the Plug's weatherproofing. As an example, last December (2014), my partner and I were cycling in a very wet Sri Lanka for three weeks, and I mean very wet as in nearly 24 hours-a-day heavy tropical rain for 10 days. If and when it ever did stop raining, then we were usually off the bikes in our various hotels asleep! We had no option but to move on and ride each day and we generally managed to keep ahead of floods, evacuations, landslides and road closures; it was pretty miserable until we reached the south coast and the sun. I was using a Reactor and my partner was using a Plug III. Contrary to common advice, and for 7-8 years now, we've generally ridden with our Garmins plugged into various USB chargers all day and every day whatever the weather and, despite taking steps to weatherproof our setups, these extreme Sri Lankan conditions meant nothing remained totally dry. By the end of the holiday, the Reactor, the Garmins and USB cables were still all working perfectly fine, but the Plug had stopped working.

We'll never know if the damp caused the Plug III's demise, but a third failure out of three units is informative. Perhaps I have been unlucky with the Plug, but draw your own conclusions - I have certainly drawn mine.

We have continued to use Reactors throughout a wet 2015 PBP qualification season in Scotland and the north of England without any issue keeping our Garmins fully charged day and night; the Reactors have been entirely trustworthy. Thankfully, PBP was dry!

Heltor Chasca · Post by **Heltor Chasca** » 1 Jan 2016, 7:33pm

David, there's always the option of a B&M headlight with USB. Much simpler and in my experience it has been great. My lbs fitted a Plug to a Surly DT that was going on a World tour and it didn't work (I didn't ask why) They ended up mucking about for weeks. The customer wanted Son hub dynamo, Son front lights and a Plug. Wouldn't budge. Wonder if they still can see in the dark and charge devices wherever they are?

EDIT The 'small print' from B&M advises not to charge in the rain. I have without a problem but I guess any water ingress would be a pain to sort out. I guess I was lucky although I have the USB port under my stem, behind a bar bag so I guess it's out the worst weather. I just forgot. The intermittent charging is a pain on my Garmin. The gps shuts down 'thinking' it is about to run out of juice. It's fine on my iPhone (not being used as a GPS) and is best charging my battery pack.

I say 'guess' too often.

Bigdummysteve · Post by **Bigdummysteve** » 3 Jan 2016, 1:19pm

This post seems to indicate that the sinewave reactor fits 1" stems

https://theflyingarrow.wordpress.com/20 ... tallation/

Dave855 · Post by **Dave855** » 4 Jan 2016, 6:39pm

Thank you all very much for the detailed responses and advice. It sounds as though the Sinewave Reactor may well be the best option.

Fc101 you present a very strong argument and the only concern I have remaining is related to the apparently higher speeds required to charge from the Reactor than the Plug. I'm hoping to charge whilst touring with full camping weight of 4 panniers plus tent and bar bag and I like to move at a leisurely pace. You've obviously got a great deal of experience using both products- have you found much difference in their charging ability at slower speeds? I wasn't sure what the PBP was but having had a look I imagine you are probably quite a speedy cyclist? Also living in the north of England (Carlisle) I can empathise with regards to the wet weather we've had of late and the better waterproofing of the Reactor compared to the Plug is certainly a big plus. I'm also interested to know which dynamo hub you use?

Thanks,

Dave

fc101 · Post by **fc101** » 6 Jan 2016, 8:25am

I've just noticed your latest message, Dave.

I'll try to answer to your questions.

We are principally touring cyclists, and prefer to travel with full camping kit in wildness and mountainous areas on unmade roads. Our fleet comprises steel-framed bikes with mudguards, front and rear racks, and variously equipped with Carradice saddle bags, Ortlieb panniers, and small and large barbags as required. So, we are not particularly fast cyclists and, even when we are 'pressing on', we tend towards the 'full value' or touring end of audax riding too. We like the freedom to ride into the night, and modern hub generator-driven LED lighting is truly wonderful, and provides for much of our USB charging needs too.

I've not seen the evidence that the Reactor requires a higher speed than the Plug for a given output; if anything I thought I recalled reading the contrary. Just looking now, Sinewave claim a peak USB charging current of 1A at 14.4kph whereas the Cinq 5 claim the Plug III only reaches 5W output (which would be 1A at a USB nominal 5V) at a little more than 30kph. Certainly, my experience is that the Reactor performs better than the Plug at touring speeds.

We use various Schmidt SON hub generators i.e. SON 28 Klassik, new style SON 28 and the SONdelux, and even one of the original (first generation) SON hubs, which must now be over 15 years old. For slower touring speeds, a SON 28 is our preference. Our standard set up is to connect them to Schmidt Edelux (an Edelux II in one case) front lights with B&M Secula or Toplight Line Plus rear lights. The lights are controlled automatically by the Edelux ambient light sensor. As I mentioned, we keep our Garmins connected to our Sinewave Reactors all the time, and sometimes via a cache battery. The cache battery can also be used to charge phones, cameras, headtorches, etc. when touring too, and can be topped up from the mains when the opportunities arise. It all works very reliably throughout the year whatever the weather.

As an aside, and since someone mentioned it earlier in this forum thread, I have used the B&M Luxos U with USB charging too, and my experience is that the Reactor has a far better USB charging performance than the Luxos U. This difference in performance is greatest at night, when the Luxos wouldn't provide any USB charging with the light on dipped beam, whereas the Reactor will charge a USB device and power an Edelux perfectly adequately for all but the fastest, winding, unlit descents. If ever I needed more light output from my Edelux, unplugging the USB charging cable would provide a little extra lighting using the Edelux at its full potential. The Luxos is an excellent light, but I find the U-variant is disappointing with respect to its USB charging performance.

Dave855 · Post by **Dave855** » 8 Jan 2016, 4:53pm

Fc101, thank you for a very thorough response. The literature I've read suggests that the Plug will charge at a rate equivalent to charging from a USB wall socket when travelling speed reaches 7.5mph compared to the Reactor which needs a speed of 9mph. However, given everything you've said in favour of the Reactor over the Plug I'm going to go with the Reactor. I'm not intending to install dynamo lighting at the moment. I have USB chargeable Cateye lights and I'll see how I get on charging them using the Reactor. I don't use lights a huge amount when touring, unless it is a very wet day or I'm riding briefly into the evening.

Thanks again,

David

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