Haha - that’s pretty funny - in the 6 days it took for the moderator to approve my message*, I got impatient, found a 2009 KH 29 at Bedford, and bought it!
I still think the question is worthy of discussion, beacuse it is a pretty big jump in price, with various online stores clearing out the 2008’s. I ultimately decided to go 2009, because of raves about the hubs and seats on other posts.
*No offense to the moderators, I know watching this forum isn’t top priority, and appreciate the time people put in for everyone else’s benefit.
I just switched from the kenda nevegal to the wtb exiWolf. I have a KH 29’ Guni. The exiwolf is a lot quiter, the kenda was very loud, especially on the roads in high gear.
The exi is lighter and feels quicker and more manureable, The nobs are smaller and less spaced out giving it a more consistant feel expecially while taking fast cornors.
The side walls are thinner but not paper thin like some other folding tires.
I think the kenda handles mud better and probally snow (i havent rident the exiwolf in snow yet)
Anyone have anyother thoughts about diffrent tires? I like the looks of the stout but it looks like too much tire to commute to school on.
Is there anyone that could compare the exi to the Racing Ralph?, it was another tire i was looking into.
Also, anyone have any thoughts on 26’ vs 29’ Gmunis? How much does the size affect crusing speed on the road?
I first had the WTB ExiWolf on my 29’er and I think that it’s a rubbish tyre. The sidewalls are way to thin to do any technical MUni with which just causes the tyre to fold on any drops.
I currently have a Bontrager Jones ACx 2.2 on my 29’er. While not a great tyre itself, it is an improvement on the ExiWolf. The Bontrager is also a foldable tyre, but the sidewall is slightly thicker so it handles drops better. I would love to get hold of a WTB Stout, but unfortunately they are not available in South Africa yet and importing one is quite costly.
Taking my 29’er out of a MUni ride this afternoon on my favourite donwhill single tracks where I normally take my 24"
I started with the Nevegal and switched to the Stout. The Stout felt really heavy at first, but now I seem to have adjusted to it (whenever I try a new set-up, it feels awkward at first, even if I end up liking it in the long run). The 29 with the Stout still feels light compared to the 24 with a Duro 24x3. I just put the Nevegal back on to try it on some technical XC to see how it feels now. The Stout is definetly my choice for more technical rides.
Being the lucky owner of a geared KH26 I can tell you that swooping down xc - light muni trails in high gear with a 26x3 Gazzaloddi is absolutely amazing. I would assume that the 29er would not be performing anywhere close to that in high gear. Although on paved roads things would probably look quite different. The outside diameter might not be very different on the 29x2.3 vs. 26x3. But I think the 26x3 setup is the most versatile of the two. Also because when bombing down a trail in high gear on the 26x3 the tire swallows up most of the bumps. And then there’s the issue of tire choices as well.
As far as uphills are concerned I’m not sure about what works better. Of course the 26 has a smaller diameter so it should climb better, but the weight of a 26x3 tire might cancel out that advantage.
Edit: Just noticed you were actually asking about “on the road”. Hmmm… The 26x3 would probably have more of a fly wheel effect than the 29er. But I guess the 29er would be faster.
I bought a Vulpine about 2 weeks ago. It replaced a WTB Stout. I do mostly urban and uncomplicated trail riding on my 29er. I like the Vulpine much better than the Stout. The Stout is not a good urban tire but was okay on the trails.
The Stout has a raised ridge of nubbies which make urban turning real squirrelly. I dis-liked the Stout from the first time I rode on it. But then, as danger_uni pointed out, it was not intended for urban riding.
The Vulpine works very well for the riding I do.
(I have a slightly used Stout if anyone is interested. )
Nice, yeah that’s what I figured, I ride the Gazz on my 24" muni. I Definitely want to put the hub on a 26" eventually but I already had a KH29 so it went on there rather than getting a totally new ride.
Ive found that the only time there is an advantage to the high gear on the trails is when it is relatively flat and there are no drops or large roots. Its nice and fast on the roads but after falling off going 17+Mph on asphalt I wouldn’t mind having a lower top speed.
Thanks for the input, Im hoping to build a 26" Guni next summer.
I rode my geared 29er two out of three days at California MUni Weekend, on the Downieville Downhill on Saturday, and Hole in the Ground on Sunday. On Downieville (17 miles, 4000’ net altitude loss, some up and down terrain in the middle), the 29er was great. There were only a couple of short sections I would have tried on my 24" MUni that I didn’t try on the 29er, and there were sections I did try that I cleaned as well as a bunch of good MUni riders on 24" unis. Much of the trail is relatively non-technical, and it was a lot more fun being on that stuff on the 29er than on my 24". I didn’t get into high gear very much, but there was one smooth singletrack section that lasted for at least half a mile where I geared up and had a blast. And on the road at the very end, I got to the ice cream shop three times faster than the people on 24" MUnis.
On Sunday, the 29er was fine on the mostly non-technical climb up to 8000’, but the trail was more technical than Saturday’s, and I wasn’t able to get into as much of a flow. There were some very nice 29er sections, but also a lot of sections with enough rocks to keep me from getting into the flow. The 29er probably took more energy than a 24" MUni would have, and wasn’t any faster. The four leaders on that ride (KH, Beau, Jess, and Corbin) would have been faster than the two chasers (me and phlegm, both on 29") no matter what the unicycle setups were, but I think the first group had the better setup on that trail. They were all on 24" MUnis, Corbin’s geared.
The 26 Guni sounds fun, but requires a significant monetary commitment. I’m not sure that I would want to go any faster down most of the trails I ride. Of course, if I had the Guni, some of the trails that I avoid because they are too boring might be more exciting.
On fairly flat roads I usually cruise going between 14-17mph.
My overall average on my computer (including trails, stopping, starting…) is around 12mph and my top speed so far (going downhill) is 21.5 mph.
I use 150mm cranks
I’ve done time trials on rolling terrain where I averaged 16 mph (>25 kph). That’s at race pace, but not sprint pace. I’ve turned criterium laps at 18 mph (29 kph). Cruising speed when I’m paying attention is probably 15 mph; probably 1-2 mph slower than that if I’m relaxing.
My new KH29 arrived yesterday.
Got it from Bedford, and am very happy with its status on its arrival. Not sure if it’s standard from KH, or if Bedford added to it, but the uni came with the hardware to mount Maguras ($18 at UDC US). There was also already a spot of grease on the threads in the cranks for the pedals. Nice touches. I’ve also got a “Bedford Unicycles” metallic label on the front of the uni, which I think looks pretty good.
The only thing that needs work is the wheel is trued slightly off-center (and it does appear to be the wheel truing, not frame mis-alignment). This should be easy to remedy by just tightening the spokes on one side.
I’ve only ever ridden my cheap 20", so I was a little concerned about how difficult it might be to transition to the 29. I found it surprisingly basic. Free mounts are about the same for me, once I was able to get myself to commit. Dropping it a couple times also helped me overcome the initial hesistation to scratch up such a nice saddle and pedals. Turning is a bit more difficult, but not nearly as bad as I expected, and it feels like it will turn fine with a little more practice. Not sure how much difference it makes for others, but I’m 6’4", so the height difference between the 20 and 29 isn’t a huge percentage height difference for me.
I’m starting with a Big Apple tire in 2" width, and loving how smooooth it is. I can foresee the need to compare to a 36 in the future. It’s nice that my kids can’t outrun me anymore. Also looking forward to putting on the Stout and try it on trails once I get a little more practice on it.
So, after very little time on the 29, my response to the opening of this thread is I love the 29, and plan to use it as my all-purpose uni!
If I’m going on a long ride, I will typically stop at a certain spot which is 12 miles away, and I get there in around or just under an hour. There is a fair bit of traffic and some slow junctions between my house and there so I probably cruise a mph or so over 12 on my geared 29. The second stop isn’t far off of 12 more miles and is an hourish from when I leave the first stop.
For reference, I can often hit 18mph with a down hill and/or tail wind, and have clocked myself at 23mph on the GPS. But I know that’s now what you’re talking about
In general comparisons though between ungeared 29s, 36ers and geared 29s, I used to have an 8 mile commute to work in central London (UK). After faffing about on 20 and 26" unis, I bought a 29", and managed to get in in around 25 mins. After a few months, I upgraded to a 36", but still managed around 25 mins. The 36 was better for the longer strait roads, but with all the junctions and traffic, the 29 was better for other bits. By changing to a geared 29, I could make the most of either environment, and managed to shave a good 5 mins off the journey time. The 29 guni was much easier to travel with though.
I jumped from a 20" to a 28" last week, and it wasn’t hard at all!
At first, it is somewhat scary because you seem so much higher!
But then you get used to it when you see yourself moving (same movement and maybe more stable, as you know).
At first, I thought, I can get rid of the 20" now.
Why should I get rid of the 20? Why not keep them both?
I’ll get rid of my 20 when I feel as if there is nothing more for me to learn or master on it (not that I have a long list).
The 28 has longer cranks, so it might be just as easy/difficult to go uphill…maybe.
As far as turning, it isn’t just how big the wheel is, it is also how wide the tire is…so turning on my 28 has been easier than I thought due to its tire width.
I received my new Nimbus 29" yesterday and I had a quick first try at a school yard/basketball court just to get a feel for it. Of course the first things I noticed are the increase in height and the huge increase in the moment of inertia compare to my 20" learner. Initiating a turn didn’t feel too different. However, I had problems trying to recover from a turn, the unicycle felt tilted toward the inside of the curve and I had a hard time trying to bring it back straight. The Nimbus came with the Big Apple 2.35 and I know that some people strongly dislike it due to its behavior on road camber. Could this contribute to the difficulties I am describing or is it simply due to my total lack of experience on a bigger wheel?
Other 29er tires definitely turn better than the Big Apple 29x2.35". But it’s probably a combination of factors; turning on a 29er is more swoopy than turning on a 20", no matter what the tire is. Try pedaling faster through the turn and carrying your momentum through it.
Turning is a bit more difficult, but not nearly as bad as I expected, and it feels like it will turn fine with a little more practice. Not sure how much difference it makes for others, but I’m 6’4", so the height difference between the 20 and 29 isn’t a huge percentage height difference for me.