KH on freeride vs XC 29 rim
As I await my KH29, I re-read this email exchange with Kris Holm, and thought it might be useful for others (at least other newbs like me. :o )
Note that Kris personally responded to my email, which was sent to the info@ address on his web page, in less than 2 hours.
On Wed, Jul 22, 2009 at 4:12 PM, James wrote:
This is an enquiry e-mail via http://www.krisholm.com/khu/ from: James
Hi:
I’m new to unicycling, and loving it. I would really like to try commuting (2.5 miles), and am also interested in MUNI. For my second uni, I’m considering a KH 29 as an all-round uni. I’m 6’4" with a 35" inseam, so I think I’ll be able to handle a larger uni reasonably well.
My question is which rim would be best for me - the standard 29 rim, or the freeride rim. Is there any downside to using the freeride rim for road riding? I’m thinking the extra width and stability will be helpful to me, especially as a green rider, and will also make getting into MUNI more plausible.
If the freeride is the way I decide to go, can you also give me tips on how to get one? UDC doesn’t seem to offer the KH 29 with the freeride rim as an option. Would I have to get a custom built wheel to have the freeride rim? No local options for me, here in Missoula, Montana.
Any info appreciated.
-James
From: Kris Holm <kris@krisholm.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 5:59 PM
To: James
Subject: Re: Kris Holm Unicycles: KH 29 rim choice?
James,
Thanks for the note, and it’s great to hear you’ve gotten into riding a uni!. The KH29 is very versatile in that it works well for XC muni and is faster and smoother feeling than the smaller wheel unis. The higher axle position also means you’re less likely to hit your pedals on rocks.
The 47 mm wide KH29 rim provides a very stable profile and a higher volume feeling to the tire, which is awesome offroad for more technical riding. However, the increased width creates a flatter tire profile that feels stickier for turning on pavement (grabs a bit on pavement when you corner), and that is more susceptible to road crown (e.g. you tend to feel like you are twisting when you ride along the side of a road with a lot of crown to it). The 38 mm rim is still wide by mountain bike standards (until the wide KH rim was available it was the widest and strongest 29’er rim on the market). The narrower width is a better profile for roads, for the reasons noted above, and is also more compatible with smaller volume road tires (e.g. in the 1.9-21 range). So if you plan to commute with it, I would suggest you get the regular 38 mm rim that comes with the stock uni. If you do choose the wider rim, you would need to get a custom build because it’s not a standard item shipped with the 2009 KH29.
Hope that helps!
Kris