Looks like an amazing piece of unique equipment you got your hands on. Iāve been trawling through harperās posts to find out some information. Is the gear fixed or can you change it on the fly?
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Thanks!!!
Itās genuinely magnificent in both the history and the ride. Did my usual stretch the other weekend and was stunned by how confident I was in high gear and on the Big Apple 2.35ā tyre. Never ridden on that kind of tyre before but I found it tracked for the most part pretty well and I only had one sudden UPD.
As for shifting. Itās not on the fly, but it is shiftable by unscrewing a small hex bolt and then bolt the torque arm into the hub body itself. Iāve not yet ridden in low gear if Iām honest and suspect I will just focus on learning to mount confidently in high and enjoy that. But once my trips get longer in mileage - then itāll be nice to go to 29ā 1:1 when wiped out energy wise from high.
But high is where the magic is for me. And where I get a decent work out and sense of accomplishment.
It could be simply that a geared 29er is a sweet spot size-wise, or the fact this has 170mm cranks (at end hole)ā¦ but currently Iām putting it down to the fact that this hub just has some extra magic that gets it to flow along with such ease - which somehow gives me a good deal more confidence in high gear than my G26er.
I kind of like the fact thereās no shifting button to worry about accidental downshifts or any brake to faff with. Itās complex internally but simple in operation and gets out of the way of the actual ride 
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170 cranks thatās long, I used to run 165ās on my guni as thatās what the previous owner had. I suppose long cranks will allow you to do entire rides in high gear easily. Myself Iāve never managed an entire ride in high gear as itās so much harder to manoeuvre the wheel in high gear at slow speeds. Iām still undecided what I want my 2nd geared hub to be. Maybe a 29 or smaller is what I should get.
In high these 170s donāt in fact feel too long. Theyād probably feel too long in 1:1 but in 1:1.5 they just give a bit more control and I am already going pretty fast where my UPD required me to run to not somersaults!
I canāt wait to get the time to properly test G36er-ing as I can well imagine the roll over and high gear cadence will be delightful. However I am pretty sure 29ā wheel is a sweet spot in general for gearing up especially for path riding.
The ride isnāt too high like a 36er which can at times be worrying for a fast UPD, but is is a big enough wheel to make mincemeat of roots and bumps that Iād have to use some serious cognitive output on my 26er in high to feel sure Iāll make it.
This is all related to me - here and now with my skill levels as they are today. So all issues can be surmounted by either getting more physically skilled and tuned to the wheel you have (any size) - or you find a size that stretches but doesnāt strain or put you off a ride opportunity.
Iād love a G24 for portability- but I know Iād have to be prepared to get skilled in being reactive in high gear more so than I might need to be on a G29er.
It seems to be a unicyclists long term preoccupation- what size wheel is going to be best.
I donāt think weāll ever answer that conclusively ā¦ 
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I just changed my crank length in my g36 to 125 this week and itās taking some adjustment but 1:1 riding is so much better with shorter cranks. One thing I found with long cranks was I tend to make the wheel wobble side to side more often but shorter cranks I can keep it straighter.
Felix-
Iām glad to see youāre getting some kilometers in. Iām interested in the performance of the Cult x Vans blue camo tire. It certainly looks cool. Did you take your daughter for a ride? I used to ride around with my kids on my shoulders. Moms donāt seem to like that so much.
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Going to up the mileage as and when I can get more free time 
I know it looks like I was just off on a ride with Jazzy on my back. But Iād not dare 
ā¦. perhaps when older and on a safe stretch slowly but then again Iād be worried about falling on my back and how theyād fall too.
Testing the tyre this weekend on a few miles of somewhat bumpy path. Itāll give me an idea if itās great āor just a mistake and solely cool looking purchase.
Fingers crossed it turns out to be a useable narrow 29ā uni-tyre - given it has a grippy tread but also a relatively overall sleek surface shape 
Plus it is pretty beefy at 1kg and feels like a solid sidewallād tyre.
I really like the look - but it does have to ride well and be more grippy than the Big Apple to stay mounted.
Now that was a fun ride.
Nice when the first section is the scary warm-up bit, where things donāt seem to be going your way - but then the return trip is when youāre in the zone: carefree, fear-free and flying 
Outward-bound, I had to purposefully UPD (thatās a bit of an oxymoron- but youāll get me) ā6 bikes were two abreast and they were doing a good clip - as was I, for a monowheel, and I just decided to pop off the front as there was no space to pass them safely or time to try and slow down and properly dismount.
Anywho - on the way back I realised what Greg (@harper) means by the well-wish of:
āRide Like The Windāā¦
I got it.
Itās really meant to read: The Hub Rides Like The Windā¦ and I needs must be like a kite 
or the surfer 
on their surfboard ā¦ and catch its currents.
This hubās currents are electrifyingly good and today I felt fully plugged in and in no small part thanks to the wonders of the new tyre Iāve installed: Cult x Vans Waffle
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I hope you didnāt get hurt. Iāve come off the front at about 20mph but I was fully padded up. I somersaulted over my helmet and rolled on my backpack which, fortunately, protected my back.
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Gorgeous looking tyre you got there, wonāt it get a big black line on it eventually?
If you purposely dismounted then itās not really a UPD since you planned it, more likely a Controlled Dismount.
Iām surprised you could catch 6 cyclists riding at speed, but even so couldnāt you have just slowed down and followed at their speed? Glad you didnāt get hurt anyway, you really donāt want to have a UPD at speed on a guni not fun.
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I probably over dramatised that section of my report. It was scary by my standards but risk was was low. I was more shaken by my perception of a āwhat ifsā as in imagining the UPD as the cyclists past me.
What you describe sounds terrifying and Iām hoping I never get that acrobatic 
Glad your back survived!
It could happen I guess but it wonāt get that bad I feel. It looks a bit messy but it feels surprisingly robust and I feel itāll get more worn down then coloured black - it does look nice which is a bonus but Iād only ride it if it worked for my needs and aim for Blue Shift.
Badly written methinks, my bad. The 6 - 2x2 cyclists were heading towards me on the right, and Iām on the left - so it was narrow and they were doing a decent pace with a portable sound system blasting 
and clearly werenāt deciding to move into single file to follow polite protocol with passing on this shared path. I made the judgement call to get off. And of course it wasnāt really a UPD as I triggered it intentionally. But it would visually appear like a mistake.
One of the troop, shouted out: āAh unicycle! - Keep at it, youāve nearly got it!ā
Theyād gone before I could explain via diatribe (joke) that theyād forced me to get off to avoid risks to myself and them - and of course bore them ridged with the facts and challenges of riding a GEARED unicycle 
Wonderful ride on Blue Shift. Such a nice feeling wheel and tyre.
Been a few months since I dared to ride this geared magic carpet - after a rattling UPD.
But I managed to push through the fear and get newly accustomed to high gear
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I know this has probably been answered by you but how do you shift? On the crank? And what type of cranks are those?
Good to see youāre back out on this beauty
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You canāt shift on the fly with the hub, but thereās the option to unscrew a lever arm that runs into the hub and then bolt it to the hub. When it is in this position itās in 1:1. When bolted to frame it is in 1:1.5.
If you zoom into the first photo by the hub you can see how it is bolted to frame. I tend to keep it in high gear and just get help with mounting. Free mounting might be possible eventually but out of scope for me right now.
Iām fine with this as it means when riding you basically have nothing to focus on other than riding. No brake. No shifting, accidental or otherwise.
The cranks are Kookas - cotterless and very cool. From checking eBay they seem pretty rare too!
Thanks, I see a set of 175 on ebay for $850.00 , ouch.
Wow. Thatās more than I remembered them costing. Theyāre nice but Iād not pay that much for them 
Link to that tire?
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Hey Terry 
Itās all detailed here
I should add on this narrow rim I am leaning towards 40/45PSI. Once thatās dialled it it handles rough paths surprisingly well, and Iāve not had any camber issues or odd squirming from it.
Like it so much got a back up in case it ever stops being made!
