KH / Schlumpf Geared 24" mountain unicycling

[corbin]

Howdy! I wrote a quick review of my geared 24":

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog...icycle-riding/

Nathan Hoover put some pictures from last Sunday:

http://nhoover.smugmug.com/gallery/6637666_SutW5

Be sure to check out the video of me cruising along at Coker speeds:

http://nhoover.smugmug.com/gallery/6...23349592_eN8yQ

Overall, the geared 24 is wonderful. It will be my unicycle for the Africa tour, and as soon as we get my old hub back, we'll have a second one for Louise to take on the Africa tour too.

--corbin

[saskatchewanian]

Cool stuff, I really want to try a geared 26 built a bit lighter than my current MUni.

[MuniSano]

That's awesome. I've got a KH/Schlumpf on order now and I plan on rebuilding my KH24 around it when I get it. For me this will be a very versitile and useful setup for the sorts of terrain I ride regularly; plus it's very transportable. I can't wait!

[corbin]

Originally Posted by saskatchewanian

Cool stuff, I really want to try a geared 26 built a bit lighter than my current MUni.

An advantage of the 26" is more tire options...I definitely want to find a good smooth tire with some traction for light offroad/fireroad (for the tour)
corbin

[munirocks]

I want to schlumpf my rides... The 24 must be the most fun of them I guess.

[Chrashing]

Originally Posted by corbin

An advantage of the 26" is more tire options...I definitely want to find a good smooth tire with some traction for light offroad/fireroad (for the tour)
corbin

Congratulations on another guni Corbin,
I have not ridden my 24" much yet, still need to mastered free mounting it. But I have ridden it enough to notice in high gear, on the pavement, the knobby vibration, even on my well worn duro wildlife Leopard tire.

It's good see more posts about the new hubs, Florian mentioned he shipped 50 of the beauties last month!

I have not had much time to ride this new wheel, so I have some questions,
What mount do you use for high gear? I tried the rollback a couple times and man, that high feels completely different, like the wheel isn't going turn, then suddenly speeds back behind me. I'm thinking I'll need to brush up on the rolling mount.

So far I've only used low air pressure 18 lbs (Maybe that's why the mounting feels so dead at first.) What pressure are you liking?

And one of those video's shows someone riding up a steep hill, in high gear, on 36" guni, awesome. Even stops and turns at the top, nice control.

[munirocks]

My parents just offered me to give me a KH/Schlumpf hub for Christmas! I am so excited!

But now I have to decide which uni to put it on. That's a difficult one. I think maybe the KH29 is good as a first geared hub? Or maybe I should put it in a 26" rim on the 29er frame, but then I'd have to mod the brake bosses. The KH24 would be great too, but that's the one I do the most abusive stuff on, and I'm still trying to learn all sorts of tricks on that one. In any case, I think I'd build a whole new wheel set for the Schlumpf anyways, so I can go without it whenever I want to. If I had a KH36 I might put it on that one to have the fastest ride available... But I have a Nimbus Nightrider... can't schlumpf that one, right? So maybe I would sell it... and get a KH36? The thing is that I currently live in the somewhat flat Netherlands, so the geared 36 would definitely make more sense than 24" guni. Although I don't see myself going much faster than 36Km/h on one wheel anyways. I wish one could change hubs faster, quick release style... Because the geared 24/26/29 setup would be my choice for touring in the mountains. I'd want to go on tours in southern Germany and Switzerland then. Difficult decision, but I think probably I'll gear up the 29er, either as a 26er or as 29er. It seems to be a good compromise. At the moment the 29er is the one I use the least, because for going on tours I love the speed of the 36er, and for going technical muniing in the few hills available and practicing tricks I use the 24"...

What would you guys do, if you had to make this decision? What do you think is the easiest one for getting into guni and shifting on the fly?

[tholub]

Originally Posted by munirocks

What would you guys do, if you had to make this decision? What do you think is the easiest one for getting into guni and shifting on the fly?

Shifting on the fly just takes practice; it doesn't really matter what the wheel size is. Shorter cranks make it easier for most people.

I've just set up a Schlumpf 29er with a 29x2.3" MUni tire and the dual-drill 125/150 KH Moment cranks. I think that's about as versatile a setup as you can imagine. In 125mm geared mode, it's fast enough to compete in Ride The Lobster. In 150mm ungeared mode, it rides pretty much like a MUni. It fits in the trunk and it's easy to take on a plane (at least relative to a Coker).

[munirocks]

Thanks, I think that's what I'll do too!

[munirocks]

If I had a 32" I'd probably gear that one up.
But I won't link that thread here now...

[corbin]

Originally Posted by Chrashing

I have not had much time to ride this new wheel, so I have some questions,
What mount do you use for high gear? I tried the rollback a couple times and man, that high feels completely different, like the wheel isn't going turn, then suddenly speeds back behind me. I'm thinking I'll need to brush up on the rolling mount.

So far I've only used low air pressure 18 lbs (Maybe that's why the mounting feels so dead at first.) What pressure are you liking?

And one of those video's shows someone riding up a steep hill, in high gear, on 36" guni, awesome. Even stops and turns at the top, nice control.

Cool! Yeah, Beau and Nathan both have geared KH 36'ers now! I got my KH36 last friday, but I need another hub (mine is still getting repaired -- and when I get it back, it is going in a 24" for Louise!).

I put quite a bit of air pressure in the tire; probably 22 - 25 psi or more (I guessed). It wasn't squishy at all. I usually like 20 psi in my muni tires; low enough to absorb stuff, but high enough to avoid hitting the rim on drops (I weigh 135-140 lbs).

I don't mount in high gear...ever! I always mount in low gear and shift. I recommend always doing this -- it will quickly make you proficient at shifting. I already had quite a bit of guni experience, so riding the geared 24 was really not that big of a change for me. You do tend to lean forward more, and push harder with your legs.

Regarding shifting...I wrote up several things about it:

http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69964

Give it a try!
corbin

[corbin]

Originally Posted by munirocks

My parents just offered me to give me a KH/Schlumpf hub for Christmas! I am so excited!

What would you guys do, if you had to make this decision? What do you think is the easiest one for getting into guni and shifting on the fly?

Right now, my ideal muni is the geared KH24. Fast to the trails, and can do what I want to do; I've been taking it easy (no large drops), but most of my trail riding fun is fast technical stuff, and not doing huge drops. My ideal road machine is the geared KH36 (which I haven't fully tried yet -- only a geared Nimbus 36, with bad bearing holders). It will be fast, comfortable and versatile. (Heck, i was commuting 20 miles each way to work and 20 miles back when I was training! With huge hills..both ways!)

corbin

[munirocks]

If I lived in the hills/mountains the geared 24" would definitely be my first choice. But it looks like I'll gear up the 29er for now. I can still change it later on, in case I move closer to the Swiss Alps... Although it would be a shame if I wouldn't have much use for my very beautiful 36er anymore, because the geared 29er would be faster then.

[phlegm]

The reason to do a geared 36 over 29 is if you are going to race or you just really like 36ers better than 29ers. The reason to do a geared 24 over 29 is if you really will do big drops and very rough MUni along with big distances. Otherwise a 29er is the most versatile as a geared setup. It's small enough to ride MUni and do huge climbs, and it's fast enough to scare yourself.

[napalm]

Thanks for the small review corbin! I have been waiting for some people to start writing about their geared 24" experiences because i am planning on getting that set up in time for unicon in Wellington. That and i want to compete in some 12hr mtb races and be competitive. once you've had some more time on it can you post a more comprehensive write up on the forums?
cheers,
mark