Is it too early to call dibs on her hub?
Currently, I only have two hubs (one is in switzerland right now)…I was thinking of using the third as a backup in a 26" frame.
corbin
You think you have problems? I only own two and one is in Switzerland. I need some more so we can keep up with you on Muni rides now.
awesome Corbin, and it’s great to hear the four GUni’s had no probs on the trip.
Also has anyone (who went on the trip) posted a summary thread since returning, with some pics and story etc? sorry if I’ve missed the thread, I’ve been looking out for it as it sounded like it would be a great uni adventure.
I’m hoping to write something up…soonish. I also still have to go through all my photos. I just posted a Madagascar video (not fast paced riding, but interesting, none the less).
corbin
Hey,
Regarding the bearings - it looks like one of the reasons for premature wear on the bearings was that we were too conservative in how tight we recommended the knurled bearing had to be clamped (ie. we recommended it to be tightened too much), resulting in the typical wear you get on a uni with overly clamped bearing housings. It wasn’t the only factor - hence why the new hubs are coming with larger triple bearings - but was a big factor nonetheless. The assembly manual has been updated with that change. You should find that only slightly more clamping than with a normal bearing housing is OK to keep the knurled bearing from turning (5-6 Nm). Feedback on this would be appreciated if you have a torque wrench and can quantify the minimum torque rating to prevent slippage on the knurled bearing side.
By the way I second that with Corbin having so much fun on the geared 24. My personal favorite is a geared 26 because I find that a 2.3" tire has lower rolling resistance in second gear, and the type of trails I’d take a geared uni on are suitable to the 26’er (e.g. all-mountain trails versus pure technical freeriding). If you typically ride with fit mountain bikers, this is an awesome setup for being better able to keep up, especially if your rides are split up by dirt road connectors between singletrack.
Kris
I had a feeling that this was part of the reason. I never had this issue with my geared 29 or 36, and I always just tightened the knurled side a little more than I would on a regular hub. I would always make sure that the wheel still spinned freely. You really don’t need that much torque to keep the gear from slipping. I use a multitool and hand tighten it (note a basic multitool does not have a lot of leverage, which is good).
I also find that the crank bolt torque specs seem a little too high, so I don’t go to that spec either.
Thanks for the response.
I managed to screw up my crank bolts by torquing them up to 54Nm, just to be on the safe side… So I agree, 55Nm is way too much for the crank bolts. I keep them at 50Nm now. They do keep coming loose though, so I retighten them about once every two weeks.
I use 25-30 ft pounds, which is 33-40Nm. I think 50Nm is too high, and deforms the soft aluminum. I haven’t had problems with my cranks coming loose.
corbin
Hey,
Thanks for the feedback on the axle torque rating. I’ll change this in the assembly manual.
Kris
You’re welcome. I already told Florian about it, so he sent me some new bolts but didn’t bother to change the manual.
Hi guys,
Have been riding my KH24" schlumpf for the last 2 days and i must say that it is everything i thought it would be and then some. I was initially a little apprehensive considering the horror stories of brand new hubs failing, but with some good help from an enthusiastic bike mechanic and with the advice from this thread it all went together like a dream. I had a feeling the torque ratings were too high (as a precaution against cranks coming loose etc) so i’ve just been using common sense. Initially i could feel the wheel had some resistance so i loosened the bearing holders and it is running much better now. As for the axle bolts, it is really not that hard to take off the buttons before each ride and just give them a little tweak if they need it.
Scott lynch and myself are riding at Mt Stromlo all this weekend so i will hopefully get some good footage of DH in high gear. We have been invited to ride a demo run of the double black diamond DH course at the UCI world championships after the mens qualifying next week so we are getting in some sneaky runs this weekend to pick lines and sort out some of the harder rock gardens.
I hope that the problems people are having with their hubs get dealt with properly. Hitting single track at 36er speeds is just too much fun- not sure if i could ever be happy going back.
mark
I had my cranks mounted by Roland Wende (municycle.com) when he assembled my KH29 and since then I never touched the screws. He used locktite, and the screws didn’t come loose for ~ 500 km. Unfortunatly the “test” ended here because one of the bearings gave up (not the knurled one). I don’t know what torque Roland uses, but it looks like his method works very well.
Ah, great point! I also used blue locktight on the crank bolts when assembling my KH24. Louise’s right one came loose during the Africa tour, but mine has never came loose.
corbin
It looks like Kris’s website has been updated with photos of the new 2009 updates to the KH/Schlumpf:
http://www.krisholm.com/khu/kh-schlumpf
Notice the new ‘power hump’ on the left of the black casing to accommodate the larger internal bearings.
Florian is awesome, and mine should be in the post any day.
Sam
I don’t think that is new. Looking back at some photos of the first KH-Schlumpf hubs they look the same.
I won’t disagree about Florian being awesome though 
STM
I got my updated hub (and owner: Nathan Hoover)! I can’t wait to build it back into my KH36 and start riding it around again.
Florian is top notch. I absolutely love my hub(s).
corbin
I had a nice small brown box waiting on my doorstep today as well! #229 (owner: Rob Youngren). This is round TWO at it. I killed #127 after only 20 flat paved miles! 
I’m going to put this into my KH24… for a serious trail killing machine! Oh and +1,000,000 cool points for Florian. What a guy!
You will love having it in the KH24!!! That is by far my favorite unicycle at this point. My opinion may change once I get my KH26 built up, but we’ll see…
corbin
(ps: Yes, that means I will have a geared 24, 26 and 36).
corbin: you must be rich! And at only 31! Damn where did I go wrong! 