so i have a schmidt generator hub that i used to use all the time but haven't used since i got back to pgh... leaving it in storage for almost a year. sadly when i picked it up the other day to work on reinstalling lights and get it back going i noticed the rotation was pretty notchy, as if the bearings were overtightened in the wheel. the part i don't understand is how to access them. anyone with any experience in this would be appreciated... there is also a possibility that things will just smooth out after rolling a little bit and i shouldn't touch it (it doesn't make much since that it tirghtened itself)
The Schmidt always seems a little notchy - I think it's just the framistats settling in between the magnetic fields of the frobizz. You probably just forgot. You can look at mine sometime and see if it's any different.
I have no idea how to service them - if I needed to, I'd send mine back to Peter White.
What Lyle said.
hm... i wish i could find some way to find out how notchy normal notchy is... i remembered it being notchy but with a good spin this stops after like 5 seconds. nate, do you have one (if so can i stop by sometime)? lyle, where do you live, i was under the impression you were out of the city, if not or you are in the city often, when can i see it?
the problem is it seems like you need an insane tool to open the side that has the contacts coming out... i'm off to the internet now to find out
I think you're right that it should spin longer than 5 seconds. Peter said the hub is NOT user-serviceable. Usually I consider that a challenge but I trust Peter.
I believe the bearings are sealed, so you wouldn't be able to inspect them visually anyway, and you'd need a press to replace them.
I have 2. Stop by anytime to compare. Not sure how freely they spin.
One thing: if you don't have a tire and tube mounted, the rim is pretty light all by itself and might not have enough mass to keep spinning.
Now for a long quote straight from Peter's web page (Buy Lights And Wheels From Peter):
Schezbzflat! My hub feels notchy!
When you hold the wheel or hub in your hand and turn the axle, you'll feel a lot of resistance. There are 26 poles and 26 magnets in the SON28 hub (fewer in the SON20). That creates 26 points around the hub shell that the axle wants to settle in, and a corresponding 26 points where the axle doesn't want to be. In the transitions between those points, the axle wants to turn in one direction or the other, to find the point where it wants to settle. As you ride, the hub turns relative to the axle, and 26 times in each rotation of the wheel, the hub wants to turn one way, and then the other, theoretically speeding you up and slowing you down, 26 times per rotation. At speed, the effects of these two forces almost completely cancel each other out, leaving you with extremely low drag overall. It's only when you don't have a lot of mass (your weight) and inertia (your speed) that the effect is to actually retard the rotation of the hub axle. So there's no reason to be concerned about the way the axle feels when turned by hand.
The bearings cannot be adjusted!
Frequently, people decide that I'm stupid, (Who can blame them?) and that in fact the notchiness they feel while turning the axle by hand is due to the bearings being adjusted too tightly. This is not the case. I'm not quite that stupid. There is no adjustment for the bearings! They are sealed cartridge bearings, and require no adjustment. Nor is adjustment even possible.
On the end of the axle opposite the electrical connectors of older SON hubs, the black aluminum end cap has two flats on it. Those are for use while assembling the hub in Germany, not for user adjustments. But sometimes a mechanic will hold the hub in a vise by those flats, and grab the other end of the hub axle with some pliers or vise grips, there being no flats on the connector end of the axle. This genius (you know, the one who thinks I'm stupid) doesn't stop to think why there are no adjustment flats on the electrical end. The brilliant mechanical wizard then turns the electrical end of the axle, in a vain attempt to loosen the bearings. Well, all this does is break the electrical connections inside the hub, making it useless for powering a light, though it will still work just fine as a front bicycle hub. It also voids the five year warrantee. You will have to send the hub to me for a complete rebuild, (assuming you want the lights to work again) which at this writing (2003) will set you back $85 plus return shipping. Call for current pricing. 
The point of this poignant little morality tale is quite simple. Leave the hub alone! If you bring your bike into your local shop for a tune-up, tell the mechanic to leave the hub alone! If the mechanic thinks he knows better than anyone else about how the axle on a SON hub should feel when turned, find yourself another bike mechanic. Only if you hear a scraping sound (an extremely rare condition which means there's corrosion on the dynamo core) while turning the axle does the hub require service. And neither you nor your local shop will be able to perform that service.
Silly question...is the wiring hooked up while you're spinning it? Even if your light is burnt out, you may be drawing current, which, in my experience, makes the wheel stop spinning really quickly.
That said, my SON hub also feels notchy, and spins down pretty quickly even if not wired at all. I'd say just ride it and see how it feels.
reading that makes me think that i'm in good shape... thanks lyle.
it was free of tire/tube and now is not... it didn't change the notchiness that much but i think a little wear and tear will help... thanks guys (i still may make a regent square trip on the wheel just to see how they compare... i'll email you once i figure out how to mount this damned light... zip ties kraynicks and epoxy should do the trick)
