Now I’m starting to rethink this whole thing. I was was planning on shifting off the unicycle and not with my feet. If starting in high gear is THAT difficult will I have trouble at traffic lights? Is it much more difficult to start in high gear on a 29er than an ungeared 36er? Would a geared 26er be easier than a geared 29er? I have trouble starting my 36" on an uphill if I don’t have some level or downhill to get the momentum going. I wonder if I’ll be biting off more than I can chew?
Frankly, I would recommend against getting a Schlumpf to anyone who is uncertain about their own unicycling abilities. Higher speeds, combined with additional new failure modes (like the ever-popular shift into neutral) make the Schlumpf a more formidable ride than any ungeared unicycle. My personal rule, even after 1000+ miles, is wrist guards and helmet on all Schlumpf rides. You’d be better off getting more experience on the Coker than trying to learn how to deal with a geared beast.
I don’t find starting in high gear to be difficult. I actually force myself to start in high gear whenever I put on new cranks, I don’t put the shift buttons on right away. I prefer riding in high gear for a mile then tightening the cranks and repeating until the cranks are settled, then I add the buttons.
If I am riding in traffic, before I get to a stoplight or a road crossing where I may need to hop or slow down, I downshift before reaching the stoplight or before coming to the crossing because it is easier to idle/hop in low gear and I prefer crossing the road in low gear as well.
You will get used to starting in high gear and you will get used to shifting, both can be learned and they just take practice. Once you get shifting down, riding is so much more fun. When I first got my geared 36 (I had already learned shifting from riding a 29er) I purposely sought out rides with rolling hills because it was such a blast riding in high gear until it became hard to chug up the hill and then shifting to low gear without much effort and continuing up the hill.
The schlumpf is really an amazing toy, and although an ungeared 36er is more simple and cheaper, I have way more fun on my geared uni.
There is really no need to start off riding in high gear. especially in something like a traffic light situation. Start riding in low then shift up once you’re in the groove. Shifting gears using your feet isn’t difficult - you would get the hang of it in no time. Just like using a brake, it’s more the idea of doing it before you’ve ever tried it that is unnerving.
Why are you thinking of getting a 29 GUni? Is it mainly for road riding? Did you want/need to ride faster than you can on a single speed 36?
HK or TryAll rim, Large Marge is more rim than you need, esp on a guni which will already be heavy.
165/135 cranks, I like the power, spinning is for roadies 
Narrower and lighter tire, so TryAll 2.6, Gazz Jr 2.6, Duro 3"
Triton or KH, if you’re gonna spend $1500 ona hub, I’d get Ti.
I’d get a second wheel built with a normal hub, then switch out.
I have a KH29 that I am considering converting to a GUni. It would be for road only. I will have a wheel built with the narrower rim (I have the wide one now). I am happy cruising on the 36" but have a difficult time free mounting and I run into limits in climbing. I seem to crap out if the grade is much more than 10%. On my 29" I can climb 18-20%. I’m not happy going a long distance on the 29" when it’s flat or gently sloped. I thought a 29" GUni would give me the best of both worlds. I just want to make sure I can start in high gear, at least until I can shift with my feet. Good to know that learning to shift up seems to be easier than down.
Just a question for people with schlumpf’s is it ok to practice idling on these hubs? I recently came into possession of a Guni 36" with 160mm moment cranks. I can almost idle this but I do note there is a little bit of play in the hub during the rocks and I’m mildly worried I might be putting undue strain on the hub practicing this.
Holy thread resurrection batman!
Idling is fine - you’re going to put far less stress on the gearing by idling than you do slowing down and accelerating when riding, especially using a crank mounted disk (as many people now do).
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Thanks I was doing a search for idling and schlumpf’s and this was the closest one I could find. That’s good to know as I was planning on practicing it more as well as hopping. Techniques are much easier to learn with 160mm cranks on a 36" and my other has 110mm at the moment.
I’ve seen warning messages about using a crank mounted disc my local unicycle site. This 36" has magura rim mounted brakes and they seem to work pretty well. So I think I’ll leave the brakes as is for now.
I’m not sure about that, at least on a 36". That requires a lot of pressing to idle decently. My question is, why idle on a 36"? If it’s to learn the skill, that’s fine. But if you’re thinking of doing it a red lights, I don’t recommend it. It takes up a lot of space, and it’s not very fun because your’re hauling that heavy wheel back and forth. Hopping is easier, and possibly less stress on the hub, but I just hop off and wait for the light to change. People like to see how the mount works, and it’s also good practice for doing those. 
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^+1. I’ve been trying to learn to idle for about a month now, but I got hopping down in no time, even on the 36er.
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Why idle on a 36"? Mainly because it’s actually somewhat doable with 160mm cranks. On my standard 36" I can’t hop/idle with 110mm. This way I can practice idling and hopping skills while riding my 36" where previously I couldn’t at all.