I have had my 24" XC Kris Holm for a few days now, and I am starting to feel really comfortable with it.
Free mounting is much better on the Kris Holm, I can ride over everything on the Kris Holm I could with the Pashley, and I am starting to tackle things now that I wouldn’t of before.
Every time I take out my new Kris Holm to go out to ride it, I have a big stupid grin plastered across my face. It was worth the wait for it.
Getting a better unicycle hasn’t made me a much better unicyclist yet, but it is great fun trying to be a much better unicyclist on it.
> I have had my 24" XC Kris Holm for a few days now, and I am starting to
> feel really comfortable with it.
> […]
> Getting a better unicycle hasn’t made me a much better unicyclist yet,
> but it is great fun trying to be a much better unicyclist on it.
This is a really useful post - I’m still weighing up whether to go for a
26" or 24" muni. My most likely riding is going to be distance on
not-so-bad terrain, so I was thinking the extra 2 inches may help. I have
previously owned a Pashley Muni* so this kind of comparison is great.
Still moderately undecided, but I’m now erring on the side of a 24".
Cheers,
Stu
(* Two, actually - I had one of the original heavy pashley munis, but
quickly upgraded to the second generation when they came out)
You might want to think about getting the 24" and an extra pair of cranks, i run a Kh/Nimbus 24"x3", with the 170mm cranks supplied i ride very rough terrain and trials but by switching to the 140mm cranks (or even 127s are available) and raising the seat a little it becomes much more suitable for long distance off road, infact by my calculations it’s faster than a 26" with 170s. Just a thought that might give you a better solution to your problem than any single unicycle, certainly works for me.
> You might want to think about getting the 24" and an extra pair of
> cranks,
> […]
> faster than a 26" with 170s. Just a thought that might give you a better
> solution to your problem than any single unicycle, certainly works for
> me.
Damn fine solution. Gold star (or Blue Peter badge) for that man!
Cheers, now i’ve earned my blue peter badge (always wanted one as a child) i have to point out that this is not a good idea if you’re using a square taper hub, the crank and hub deform evertime you put them on, you can only do the process a very limited number of times before the hub is wrecked. Also, when you’re swapping them put them back on t next spline round, then if you want a laugh try riding with different lengths cranks that aren’t straight (between doing one and the other) With an onza this would make little difference but on the KH the cranks are out by 45 degrees, perfectly do-able but interesting!
> i have to point out that this is not a good idea if you’re using a
> square taper hub,
Yup. One of the reasons I hadn’t considered this approach is because I’m
used to square tapers. If I go for this route (very likely) I wouldn’t
swap often anyway, I’d keep the short cranks on unless I was going
somewhere particularly difficult, so splines plus infrequent swapping
sounds like a suitable solution.
I’ll probably end up buying two unis anyway eventually. It’s what I do. I
had 8 at one point before I got out of the habit of riding.
> Also, when you’re swapping them put them back on the next spline round,
> then if you want a laugh try riding with different lengths cranks that
> aren’t straight (between doing one and the other)
I rode a Pashley for lots of kilometers (1000s). My basic upgrade was the tire. If you are just cruising on dirt that is not too rough, a Pashley is fine. Small jumps are OK but bigger jumps will wreck the axle and hubs.
I can ride the KH Freeride 24" down very rough dirt roads with half the effort. The wide tire makes a difference (emphasis on down and rough).
Now my Pashley is all tricked up with leftovers but I don’t get around to riding it. It has 170 mm Black Widow cranks that flex too much for me, an airseat which I don’t like much because it puts pressure on two things next to you know where.
Basically I love the Pashley but have outgrown it with more modern equipment. It sits there along with my original chrome 24" as a pleasant reminder of how it all started.
There’s a big difference between a Pashley 26" (which can only hold about a 26x2.3" trie) and a KH/Yuni 26" (which can hold a 26x3"). The 26x3" has very similar ride characteristics to a 24x3".
I have both a pashley and a KH 24 and the upgrade completely changed my muni experience. Both the 3.0 tire and the bulletproof cranks allow me to ride whole sections of trail that were off limits on the pashley.
Take heart, though! Your pashley doesn’t have to collect dust. buy 700 c rim and convert it into a 29". Mine is a commuter that I use regularly around town.
Of course, I regularly think how nice it would be to have the KH 29. Alas, as long as I have the pashley, my next purchase will have to be a coker.
It was worth the wait for it.