I’m happy to say that the the 2009 KH product lineup will be out very soon, within the next few days for some countries and the next 2-3 weeks for others.
There are some major upgrades and changes and new products. Here’s a summary; better quality photos & details to follow shortly at krisholm.com:
Redesigned Saddles. This was a major, expensive, 2-year project involving new injection molds for the saddle frame and rear bumper. Big thanks to Scott Wallis for completing the model drawings and frame stress model analysis. The frame is re-shaped to be stronger, stiffer, more comfortable, and easier to grab. It’s slightly wider through the back to better fit sit bones without interfering with pulling the seat out front. The rear bumper is rounded and reshaped to eliminate thigh irritation at the side corners of the bumper during seat-in-front riding. Front handle is unchanged. All 10 mm dome nuts are gone, replaced with 4 mm allen (hex) bolts that screw into inserts in the frame. The Freeride saddle has a deeper 30 mm cutaway that increases comfort; the top fabric is replaced with stretch-nylon that better conforms to the cutaway. The Street version has a similar foam & fabric to the existing saddle but with the new frame and bumper. The frame & bumper were also licensed to Nimbus for their Nimbus Gel saddle; otherwise no other saddles will have this frame. Both the frame and bumper are recyclable polypropylene and have the correct recycling symbol.
Redesigned Moment hubs (both Ti and CrMo; photos attached). Hub flanges are now machined 7075 aluminum, to increase strength and provide a better angle for spokes. Flanges are 36-splined and pressed onto corresponding axle splines, eliminating all welds (cranks are still ISIS). The hub body is hollow (except for the spindle); the CrMo version has a black aluminum body and the Ti MomenTi hub has a very beautiful glossy carbonfibre body. The CrMo version is very slightly lighter (32 g), and the Ti version is very slightly heavier (18g). In practical terms the weights are the same.
New K26 frame. This was announced earlier; it’s the same crown configuration as the KH29 but in a 26 size for All-Mountain riding. As mentioned in the other thread, this is a great All-Mountain size and works really well for a geared Muni.
New 47 mm wide 26" and 29" rims. Same offset spokes and drillouts as the existing 24" rim. Combined with a Stout tire these provide a very stable platform for All-Mountain riding without the extra weight of a larger tire. On the KH29, the 47 mm wide rim is really good if you primarily ride offroad and is actually similar weight to the 38 mm rim due to the drillouts. The existing 38 mm rim still comes standard on the assembled KH29 and is the best option if you do a mix of road and trail riding.
New 22x40 mm ISIS bearings. This “bearing”, consisting of two 22x34mm OD ISIS bearings pressed into a 40 mm insert, allows older frames with 40 mm housings to fit Moment hubs as long as they have 100 mm bearing spacing.
New T-bar touring handle (photo attached). The objective was to make an adjustable handle that allows a moderate extended-forward riding stance, stays out of the way of your knees, and uses bar-ends that can be replaced if damaged in a crash. The T-bar fits to the underside of the front handle and is stiff thanks to a low profile 5 mm stiffner plate that bolts under the forward part of the saddle. The bar is 300 mm long with 35 degree angle adjustment, from low out front to immediately in front of the saddle handle (photo shows it in the low, extended position). The brake is installed between the bar-ends, allowing (with a Spooner) the rider to brake with both hands if desired. This is easy to get used to and substantially reduces fatigue on long descents. The touring handle only fits the 2009 saddle because it needs longer bolts to attach it. For any of you who have not yet tried a handle on your 36’er, you should! It is incredible how much comfort it adds, and how much more stable a geared 36’er feels, with a touring handle. Weight is 602 g including the reinforcement plate, bar-ends, T-bar and mounting bracket.
New saddle reinforcement plate (photo attached). The new saddle is designed to be stiff and strong enough for most riders; however if you can’t tolerate any flex at all or are really abusive on your saddle, this 74 g plate adds significant stiffness and strength. It also comes standard with the T-bar handle as noted above.
Improvements to the KH/Schlumpf hub. Hubs shipped will have stronger bearings and a slightly longer axle, as mentioned on another thread.
I hope you like the lineup! I’m really happy to see all these projects finally come into production, after all the work to put them together.
Wow! Looks very nice Kris! I’m going to have to upgrade my saddle so I can try that T-bar touring handle. I just got a KH/Schlumpf hub and am waiting patiently for a new wheel build so I can try it my KH 24. Thanks for further pushing the envelope and providing the uincycling community with such incredible products! If that T-bar touring handle could telescope out or in (like a police baton ), and fold easily, then that would be, IMHO, the ultimate for long distance XC muni where you might have some stretches of fire-road to really utilize the touring handle and KH/Schlumpf and then be able to “pack it away” when you have some more technical trail ahead. Still all in all I’d like to give it a shot on my KH24 Guni.
This looks great! Due to other expensive hobbies I will probably have to limit myself to getting the new saddle and the touring bar When my square tapered muni hub finally gives up I will now have the option to upgrade to splined without throwing away my customised frame, nice!
Have you tested the longer axled KH/Schlumpf hubs with ISIS cranks other than Moments? Just curious as to if the longer axle solved the problems that were occurring with the nimbus ISIS cranks and lightweight Qu-Ax cranks.
That’s basically how it works. The T-section inserts into a short 22.2 mm seatpost tube under the handle, and can be pushed in and out or removed by simply loosening a seatpost clamp.
Cool handle, have you tried it with aero bars?
It might be a while til I can afford to try it since you have to buy a brand new seat as well, and I love the drink bottle holder on the T7. I like how you’ve tried to solve some compatability problems with the isis bearings.
Thanks Kris, I understand now. Looks very good! As long as you have room you can loosen that 22.2 mm seatpost clamp and slide the t-bar as far back as possible, which may not be a whole lot until you encounter the seat-post, but that may be enough. If not you can simply remove the t-bar. Only issue I guess is what do you do with it if you still have the brake handle attached? I guess if you had a parallel 22.mm seatpost tube (welded side by side with the centered one) one could remove the t-bar from the center tube, slide it into the parallel one thus giving one room to “miss” the seatpost and tucking away things nicely (as long as the t-bar isn’t too long). I guess the other possibility would be for the seat attachment section (with the 22.2 mm seatpost tube) to be able to swivel (upon adjustment) thus giving room to tuck the t-bar past the seat-post. Then again I don’t know if all this would cause any interference with one’s legs when pedaling? I guess nothing is easy huh? Still I really like what I see with this T-bar! Great work!
One additional change - all 2009 KH unis now come with 14g spokes. The switch was made to improve nipple strength and make it easier for riders to obtain replacement spokes.
Well done, Kris! I think I’ll get one of those touring handles for my KH26 Guni soon. And the new saddle obviously. Are there any pics of the new 26" frame yet? It probably looks very similar to the 24" and 29" models, but still I’d like to see it.
Very nice. Just in time for me as my old rim became so warped it would break my spokes no matter how good I or a shop could true and tension them up, and because of the old flange problem, that meant a lot of rebending flanges straighter to be able to pull a spoke out without having to majorly bend the spoke to make it slide out.
Ive been waiting for this seat for a while now, ever since me and Shaun were talking about it a while back.
Soon ill be having a new rim, new hub, new set of spokes, and new seat.
Great stuff.
Now to pick between Ti and regular. I dont go the biggest, but I do weight around 200 pounds and go pretty big.
The Ti Hub is now on my birthday list! Woah… The carbonfibre looks awesome!
), and fold easily, then that would be, IMHO, the ultimate for long distance XC muni where you might have some stretches of fire-road to really utilize the touring handle and KH/Schlumpf and then be able to “pack it away” when you have some more technical trail ahead. Still all in all I’d like to give it a shot on my KH24 Guni.
When my square tapered muni hub finally gives up I will now have the option to upgrade to splined without throwing away my customised frame, nice!
