For those of you who ride geared 29ers, I would like to build up a good 29" wheelset with a Schlumpf geared hub. What rim and spokeset did you use and why. This unicycle would be used for hard surfaced roads, dirt roads and singletrack trail. I’d like the rim to be able to take anything from a 2.0 Big Apple to a 2.5 tire like a Kenda Claw or equivalent…no need to go wider for me.
I’d also like to know what is the best source to buy the hub. I’d prefer a KH product but am unsure of where to get them. The link I found did not work for me. Thanks.
I build my own wheels so i ordered for my KH29 the KH XC 29 rim or if you like more aggressive riding then order the KH Freeride. XC is great rim unless you are planning big drops.
Spokes just tell them that you want them for whatever rim and with Schlumpf hub - you could either call or email them referring to your order number.
These guys are extremely helpful.
Hi Carey. I just picked up my new KH Schlumpf wheel with a blue 38 mm XC Kris Holm rim. After riding it for an hour I realize I made the right choice - a 29er in high gear is as fast as I want to go on a unicycle
My hub came from a Vancouver BC shop (thanks An’So’) and since all the XC rims are sold out in North America, Kris kindly provided a blue prototype of his XC rim (thanks Kris). I run a Big Apple 28 x 2.35 for both road riding and hard packed trails.
After an hour of riding, shifting up is about 90% successful, while downshifting results in about 50% UPDs. I’m sure that will improve with practice. Enjoy you new 29er guni - they’re great!
The XC rims have been sold out here for over 6 months now. I wonder why UDC hasn’t restocked the 36 hold XC KH 29er rim???
I would also recommend that rim over the freeride rim. That was my choice, and I used it for road riding, XC, and some tough singletrack here in CO.
There is probably an equivalent nimbus rim.
As far as spokes, 14g 282mm (for the xc rim). The key to a good wheelbuild is either being an expert yourself or knowing the best wheelbuilder in your area. Get a good relationship with your local bike shop and if the wheelbuild you get there starts having issues they will usually true it and fix it up for free.
Thanks friends! I too think that 1.5x29er is plenty fast for me. This is something I would like to buy…may wait until the rims are available before I jump. I like the idea of the XC, with dual hole cranks, and the muni hub. My son could build the wheel for me. I figure I could just replace the current wheel on my KH29 Freeride and be ready to go. I assume the bearing outside diameters are the same?
Is buying direct a good plan and how is the wait/shipping time once you commit to buy the hub? Thanks again for the help and advice.
I think that something like the Salsa Gordo would be a good rim choice if you don’t run a rim brake.
The KH/Schlump hub was designed to work with standard MUni frames, It will fit in your KH29 frame without any problems if the frame is from 2008 or later, if it is a older frame you just need to shave away some material from the inner lip of your bearing holder.
I have got the 47 mm rim with holes - is that the Freeride rim?
I’m usually riding on roads and the only downside of that rim is that the tube really comes out of the rim holes when you store the uni in the hot car or similar, altough there is a rim tape. That is because I run the tyre (WTB Stout 2.3) at a relatively high pressure. But so far, nothing exploded during the first 1000 miles…
I just got to thinking about it. If you are spending $2500 on a hub…might as well buy a new frame to put it on. What frame options are there to handle the magnificent wheel described above?
Any frame with 42mm machined bearing holders can be made to work but most people are using either a KH frame or getting one of those beautiful russian Titanium frames from Triton.
You are going to have to get some ISIS cranks. The KH ones are the only ones that Florian suggests using. They have a moderate amount of Q. Not sure if it is the same as the old KH/Onza cranks or not.
I went with an earlier KH 29er rim that does not have the cutout holes. It was one I had lying around from ages back.
I know another geared 29er rider who had lots of problems with punctures on their cutout rim. I think the decrease in potential punctures is worth the extra weight of not having cutouts, although whether you can source a rim similiar to this now may be moot.
Regards hub sources, I don’t believe Unicycle.com US deal in them at present (although you can always ask).
We do stock them at Unicycle.com NZ and a few other UDC’s have them too (eg the UK). With the current exchange rate those two sources may be worth a look. Check out Unicycle.com (approx cost about $1490 USD including delivery)
You can go direct to Florian, although it can sometimes be a wait of several months or more before the hub arrives(he does seem to be getting faster at turning orders around though). To give you a rough idea, our previous orders have taken anywhere from around a month to about six months to come in.
Another option to consider is buying second hand. I know a rider who had their hub replaced under warranty and has done virtually no riding on their new hub and are now selling it due to it not getting enough use to justify having it. If you are interested, check out this thread:
Note that $1500 NZ is about $1160 USD. Last time I did a postage quote on a Schlumpf hub to the US it came out at about $80 USD, so you could likely get an almost new hub for around $1240 delivered.
As mentioned you will need to get some ISIS cranks. Also you may want to check whether your current frame is compatible with the Schlumpf hub or not. Frames manufactured from around the end of 2007 onwards are compatible, so if your frame is older stock it will need modification in order to fit the hub. I had to do this with my frame.
For some pictures on what the frame needs to look like to fit the hub and how to modify it go to schlumpf innovations
then under the menu item “technical” choose the “installation” option.
Basically the inner lip on the bearing clamp and frame needs to be a few mm smaller than the outer. If the lips are the same diameter you need to modify your frame and bearing holders.
It gives me the flexibility to ride off road when I want. The WTB stout runs just fine at 4.0 - 4.5 bar (that is 58 - 65 PSI). On road and off road. I even did a marathon with that tire, in 2:02, 99% in high gear.
And you can still mount a Schwalbe Big Apple (will try that soon).
Rumor mill here, but I heard that the future Schlumpf is going to be disc compatible.
Just a thought, but if it were me, I’d wait
You could build a KH XC wheel set for use now, then when the disc hub comes out, get your frame modified for the caliper, build a new wheel, then keep the original wheel as a back up for when you Schlumpf is getting repaired
Hmmmm…not sure I would want a disc brake. The edges on them are incredibly sharp and in close proximity to flesh in a uni crash…much more so than on a bike and I have seen some nasty injuries from disc brakes in the past. It would be my inclination to stick with a rim brake, but thank you for the suggestion. Depending on when I decide to buy one, I may get delayed into an upgrade anyway.
So much for the delay. I contacted Florian and he said they were receiving a shipment this week and could send it without delay…so I bought one of the muni hubs. When you buy one, they will engrave your name on it for free…pretty cool. Now to find a rim, I need a 36 hole and prefer not to have a drilled rim–would rather have a heavier rim than the fuss of the holes collecting stuff. My Freeride rim from a few years ago is built that way.
Good thinking! I bought one of the very first muni hubs and haven’t had any issues with it (minus the crank bolts). There is no use to wait for possible future versions of the hub as others have suggested - even if the newer version may or may not have a disc.
@ Carey- I have a schlumpf in a drilled 24" wheel and honestly it is no real hassle at all to clean (if your worried about it collecting a little debris then you mightn’t like the extra maintenance that goes with a schlumpf hub in the first place). With a Guni you want to cut down your rotational weight as much as possible and the rim is a good place to start. After that you can go tubeless (no hassle) and save a bunch of weight that you otherwise would have to try and push. Doing this makes your high gear easier to push and helps with climbing in particular.
If I was building a G29er i would definitely go with the wider rim. For road riding you can just crank your tyre pressure to get better ride characteristics, but for offroad you can’t magically make your rim wider and more stable midway through a ride!
Get more punctures with a drill out rim? I can not confirm this at all as it does not fit with my, or any of the riders i know experiences using these types of rims. If you do a lot of technical muni and stuff though you will eventually need to learn to true your wheel but this is an invaluable skill to learn anyway.
The tube pops too far though the drill outs? Simple solution for you, get a better rim strip. That was hard.
I hope your build goes well. Make sure you follow the instructions about spoke lacing and crank bolt tensions etc so you don’t destroy your brand new toy.
