Awwww to bad we weren’t able to hook up. 
I’ll definately try and get out there one day, but ATM I got school and no Muni (plus I just broke my seat on my 20" :().
Yah, but from what I’ve seen a bigger wheel is ideal for Muni. And I believe that a 26" Muni will serve my purposes best.
Sounds cool. You’re gonna have to let me try it out whenever I get the chance to come down there. I’ll try not to harm it.
Hey, John, glad you finally got Perry’s hub! Don’t know if I’ll have the velocity to hang with you next trip, though.5.
I’m definitely at least as glad as you are 
Re:velocity, like I told Jason… the hub still runs in 1:1 mode, and just as with a “normal” uni riding slowly in 1:1.5 there’s balance and momentum (and shifting… I’m still trying to get the foot positions down) training to be had. Not that I’m calling you slow!
As long as you promise not to break my seat! (condolences) I’d totally agree that 24, 26, 29 are all much better for covering any amount of distance (especially keeping up with larger wheels), choosing between those based on the terrain… I was just commenting that 20muni isn’t impossible, and was in fact surprisingly POSSIBLE the few times I’ve tried, hehe.
billnye
John M
Yah, 20" Muni is definately possible. It just is not fast enough for me and a bit harder.
Which crank size would you guys reccomend for my 26" Muni?
And would you reccomend that I purchase brakes when I get the chance?
In my experience both those questions are interrelated, and dependent on the riding you plan (and don’t plan but might end up doing despite those plans ;D) on doing. I don’t have much experience at 26", but I’ve been on a 24x3 since long cranks were in style and Profiles were state-of-the-art, and my riding preferences tend toward including technical uphill/downhill even if that also includes extended tech XC in between. In addition, much of my unicycling “career” has been trying to keep pace with bikes. I started on 24x3@160mm which was considered medium/short at the time, and continued with that length until quite recently. That length gave me okay (but still very “stairclimb-y”) cadence on the flats, decent climbing leverage, and decent “DIY” braking through steep technical downhills. Then when I got a magura (and the frame to support it), I swapped over to a set of 145mm cranks stolen from my trials wheelset, based partly on conversations here on the forums. I noticed a marked ease in carrying high cadence through the flats, and a predictable DEcrease in leverage on the downhills (which was countered nicely by my learning curve on the brake). What surprised me was the fact that once my feet “learned” where the pedals were at at all points in the smaller crank circle, my climbing actually improved.
This was confusing at first, but further cross-training with Ed’s KH29 and dual-hole 150mm/125mm cranks (and continued practice with climbing on the 24x3@145mm) has led me to a theory. I believe that the shorter cranks didn’t actually make climbing “easier” in terms of ability, but what they did was make it more efficient. The decreased leverage of the shorter cranks–some might say forces, others might say guides–you to pedaling “in circles” and learning to work WITH the momentum that you bring to the hill as well as the momentum you create mid-climb. The longer cranks allow for a cadence/stroke that essentially mimics climbing up stairs, where the left foot stomps down hard and settles at the bottom of the stroke, then the right foot stomps down hard, creating but subsequently destroying large amounts of momentum. This leads to a climbing technique that some have described as “chicken-like” as you chug, stop, chug, stop, chug your way up the hill, head moving roughly at a constant pace, but wheel moving herky-jerky under you.
The leverage afforded by the longer cranks and relatively low-rolling-momentum 24x3 tire allows this to work, because the tire can be REstarted fairly quickly every time (barring uneven-ness in the terrain), but it does create a fairly distinct dead spot in the power stroke. The lower leverage created by either decreasing the crank length, raising the wheel diameter, or both, doesn’t allow for the quick start-stop of the chicken dance uphill, and forces you (in almost every situation) to treat momentum as a precious resource to be gently cared for and nurtured ;). The hill will do its best to rob you of momentum, so it’s in your best interest not to aid it in that goal.
The pedaling “form” created by this lesson and transferred back to the 24x3 muni is (I believe) one of the factors in my increased ease and capability in steep and/or technical climbing in the past several months, and the recent addition of a virtual 36" wheel to my riding experience as of this past weekend may have taught me another lesson… Initially my reaction was to throw out every aspect of the chicken climb, because of its tendency to rob the precious momentum. It occurred to me, however, that the stomp portion of the stroke isn’t in itself a detriment to that commodity. The deal-breaker is really the continuation of the stomp into the “settle” at the bottom of the stroke. I’ll be working from here to try and create a hybrid cadence that involves pedaling circles but not SMOOTH circles, instead powering as hard as possible through say the front quarter of the pedal stroke, and easing off to a smooth circle for the crank-vertical portion of the stroke. This may allow me the best of both worlds, creating extra momentum above a smooth pedal stroke but never slowing the wheel myself. Perhaps it’ll still be a chicken, but with a mellowness… a white meat bird.
So to summarize (“lemme esplain… no there is too little time… lemme sum up” - Inigo, The Princess Bride), with the addition of brakes you can gain the benefits of easier high-cadence flats, easier circles on the uphill, and not suffer from the lower leverage on downhills. For a 26, I’d guess that to be somewhere in the 150mm on the short side or 165mm on the long, but based on my experience on the KH29 I’d probably recommend 150mm or dual-hole 150mm/125mm. I do highly recommend the brake if your riding will include steep descents, as it allows this tradeoff to work out much better in favor of flexibility.
</WALL OF TEXT>
…I prefer dark, actually
billnye
John M
When I first got my 29r it came with 150/125mm cranks and was having trouble climbing even small hills thought I needed 165mm cranks so got 137/165, used the 165s for a while, then started riding my Torker DX 24 with stock 150s to train for Moab Muni Fest. After many miles switched back to riding the 29r the 165s felt odd having to spin such big circles, so I switch back tot he 150 just to see and I was now able to climb better then with the 165s. so now I use the 150s for Off road and 125s for the road. Actually tried the 137s the other day at a hilly trail by John and I, but felt to short for the steep down hills (I just got a brake but have not mastered it yet), so for now staying with the 150s.
I would get the 125/150 doubles if you can afford them, John actually switches between the 2 holes on the mixed xc/hard muni that we have at Boyette when he borrowed my 29r, which he no longer needs to do since he got his Geared Muni.5.
Can’t comment on the brake as I have not mastered them yet.
Eddie
Well, I know it’s quite early, and I’ll bump this as the date nears…
We’re visiting Sarasota again around New Years. Ride?
We ride!
Yeah, things will have to be ironed out closer to the date, but I’m sure we can get at least a mini-meetup going while you’re here. I’d like to get something going (even in your absence ;P) here at the beginning of the Summer, as well. Then I go out to WA at the beginning of July, then there’s the WNC Muni Meet in the fall… This is shaping up to be a busy year overall, even if I did miss out on Moab yet again.
I’m diggin’ the mUni.5 so far, trying to get acquainted with a) 150mm on 24" b) high gear in general, and c) the foot positions required for shifting. It’s good stuff, though, and this weekend I’ll probably get it out to Boyette which’ll be a great training and testing ground both.
billnye
John M
That would be great to finally meet you and ride with you. I’m keeping my calendar open. 
Ehhhhhhhhhxcellent.
Holy thread resurrection, Batman!
Anybody have any FL rides planned? I’m in Jax, but Memorial day weekend is coming up, and with the extra day off, a longer drive could be accommodated.
Also, any word on the T-shirts suggested earlier in the thread? Methinks them pretty gnarly.
I ride all the time and I am up for going to Santos almost any day you are. Just say the word and I am there.
Brian
You can hang back with me and ride at a “safer” pace.
One’s safety is of the utmost importance.
Adam,
How’ve you been man?
I really wish I could’ve made it for the get together and ride with you and John again. I’m out of Muni shape but if we can set something up before too long it’d be cool to get the original FUC back together!
Without danger there is no progression.
FUC? Sounds cool! I’ll be getting a 26" in about a month so we should get another ride up real soon.
I have been working myself back into unicycle shape via our Sarasota Urban Assault route and the occasional dab in MUNI. I was able to successfully mount and ride John’s GUNI on my first attempt.
Things have been superb lately. Learning to enjoy the little free time I get outside of work a lot more! Hurry down.
FUC- Florida Unicycle Club (or Comrades)
The “safety” thing is a kind of inside joke from the last ride I was at.
I will be riding Santos tomorrow at 11am May 31st if anyone is interested in joining. I was out there today and the trails are beautiful after the rain. My wife Tanya (Unouni) will be there with me too. Feel free to call me tonight or tomorrow am if you want to join us. 352-817-3679
Brian