I feel that the G26er is the ideal size for a geared MUni on the trail, and my setup is basically the same a Kris’s; the same setup he rode for his 5-day race with mtbers, and finished ahead of many of them! I chose the 26er primarily for it’s versatility in being extremely maneuverable and responsive in 1:1, and also much beefier and stronger than a 29er for doing drops, and the wheel being smaller is less flexy as well, and has not gone out of true after more than 1,000 miles of trail riding!
And in high gear it is a virtual 39-40" wheel, and more than fast enough with a speed potential approaching that of a mtb. And another important advantage of the G26er (in 1:1) is that it climbs significantly easier than larger diameter wheels. Btw, my 29er became basically obsolete for me once I got my G26er; at least until I rebuilt it as a road-specific 700c climber. Since its “rebirth” it has become one of my favorite unis.
I feel that the G26er is the ideal size for a geared MUni on the trail, and my setup is basically the same a Kris’s; the same setup he rode for his 5-day race with mtbers, and finished ahead of many of them! I chose to gear up a 26er primarily for it’s versatility in being extremely maneuverable and responsive in 1:1, and also much beefier and stronger than a 29er for doing drops, and the wheel being smaller is less flexy as well, and mine has not gone out of true after more than 1,000 miles of trail riding!
And in high gear it is a virtual 39-40" wheel, and more than fast enough with a speed potential approaching that of a mtb. And another important advantage of the G26er is that it climbs significantly easier than larger diameter wheels. Btw, my 29er had been gathering dust after I got my G26er; at least until I rebuilt it as a road-specific 700c climber. Since its “rebirth” it has become one of my favorite unis.
I also find the 29" wheel to be the best all around fixed wheel size, BUT if it was geared up 50% I am not sure where I could ride it, probably on gravel and dirt roads, but probably not on single track.
I think you need to be able to ride the guni in high gear a lot of the time, otherwise it’s just extra weight. Mark in Australia has about as much “guni racing” experience as anyone, he was racing a 24guni and moved up to a 26guni; he also went to a lighter weight and lower profile tire.
Riding a guni is a compromise due to the large gearing step, there’s no way around that issue right now, so you should pick the smallest wheel you can stand riding (26"?) and try it geared. You can always build it into a bigger wheel later.
Keep in mind that riding a geared hub uni in high gear is harder than riding a comparable fixed hub uni (24guni vs 36fixed). Think stability at speed.
If there were a 1:1.33 Schumpf, then I’d say build a 29guni.
Thanks guys i see 26 will probably gear up on more, climb more and steer quicker this alone are better than my 29. 26 i would crank out more geared up than my preservative pace on 29 geared upped
After hearing about Bens Velocity 35 tubeless setup i have decide to swap my hub to a blunt 35 and roll tubeless in my Kh26 frame. effective 39 offroad will be nicer than my 44 or so…
This leaves me with a moment hub and 29er frame so Ben might be happy to hear i will soon build a wheel for a superlight tubeless XC. not sure if i will go 650B or 29 for that one.
cheers again
I think the best argument for a G26er is that you have the ideal of opposite extremes; a 26er/39er. For trail riding, a 39er already has a faster speed potential than a 36er, and the climbing and handling ability of a 26er, which also has the best tire availability.
The smaller 26er rim is also stronger than a larger diameter rim, so it will stay true longer and hold up better under more extreme use. Kris knows his stuff, which is why he opted for the G26er. It is simply the ideal for a geared MUni.
Btw, I took my KH 24 MUni out for some technical riding recently, and was struck immediately at how slow it was, even with 125’s, and how long it took to get anywhere. And the 4 mile trip back which was mostly downhill was plain tedious compared to my G26er, which in 1:1 is noticeably faster than my 24.
Im still reading the Multi geared hub thread its massive and great read!
One day soon i hope, one day
Only strength and failure seems to be the concerning topic
Thanks Terry, You cut through all the minor details going through my head and bring it back to basics.
Considering i need to change my rim and i have both 26 and 29Kh frames on hand can i throw a curve ball… 26guni or 27.5 guni
Ben has confirmed the agile and light 27.5 is a useful Uni. The tyre we ideally can run tubeless comes in these 2 sizes. Any thoughts here?
I am thinking geared up large than the effective 39er might be getting less useful like my 44" i dont shift into as much.
If it was Kris’s choice for a 5 day Race should be my wise selection for a 4 day race. 29er… why did i go there :o silly
Ben, Can you convince Terry to go tubeless your think? Im sure he would love the SuperGravity’s. I love Schwalbe so selling me on tubeless was easy. Took a bit to convert over to 35mm rim to not be to concerning. I will drop pressure if i feel if the rim isnt as wide as im used too
Thanks for contributing to this thread all you Guys.
I see some of you live near one and other. Would be great to one day catch up and ride if the day eventuates one weekend
I have both a 29 and 26 guni. I ride both of them on trails. The 26 can handle steeper downhill in low gear than the 29. I tend to ride both of the gunis for XC so that is not so much a factor (Of course, I was just in Colorado with the 29 guni and found my self occasionally on some really steep DH that I had to walk (left the brake at home)). For true tech DH, I still ride the ungeared 24. I like the 29 guni in high gear better than the 26 for really fast, swoopy non-technical XC. It really runs smooth around the corners at high speed. When I ride easy trails with my wife and daughter (on bikes), I like the 29 guni, because it easier for me to keep up on downhill’s where they can coast. So it really depends on what kind of trails you ride, and your skill level. I guess the 26 guni is better all-around, but the 29 guni sure is fun too.
Hey Andy, i dont hear many riding trails 29guni. would you think you would gear up more in general overall on your 26G without considering any particular terrain?
Down hill ridablility would be more use than a more stable higher speed i imagine.
I figure switching to a 26G from my 29G my slower cadence geared up will just be a little faster leg work on the 26er?
Everything else seems more positive for a Guni in a 26" wheel compared. Weight, climbing, descending agility to name a few all favour a smaller wheel for most Muni from what i gather.
Eventually my 26guni and a 36guni to be, in my collection will never really see a 29guni ridden im thinking.
Unless a 1:1.3 schlumpf arrives soon or a multispeed as suggested only then a 29guni is a more closer ideal Muni size than 26
I love tearing up trails on a 36er more than a 29er in 44" mode.
But i like my 29er over a 26er in low gear any day with most riding.
consensus appears 26 at the moment more useful a Guni offroad than a 29. Thanks for instilling confidence to downgrade my current ride to something hopefully more versatile. Thanks for all the info and personal experiences gathered here
I agree that 26 geared is the best all around muni. Don’t think anyone has mentioned it yet but it’s also much easier to travel with it, especially when flying.
A 29 geared would be fun on easy trails but most trails I would think you would probably be in low gear the majority of the time thus kinda defeats the purpose of having a gear.
If the trail is not too steep, I can ride the 29 in high pretty much everywhere I can ride the 26 in high gear. In those situations, the 29 corners better at speed than the 26. I was on a slightly downhill, relatively smooth section of single track on the 29 in high gear with some mtn bikers behind me for quite a distance a few weeks ago. At the end of the section, they commented that they were waiting for me to “blow up” at that speed, which didn’t happen. If the grade is too steep down, the 29 gets going too fast in high. For trails with steeper downhill, I prefer the 26. For flat and a little rough, the 29 has a little advantage in most cases.
I have been experimenting with my 36 guni on trails lately. I even get into high gear on that beast on trail sometimes. Sure makes the other 2 seem easy.
36G on the trails, You are a speed maniac and i like it. Top efforts there
Had i not wanted to run tubless i may have stuck it out the 29guni for trails and for the time i dont shift up i am sure i make that time in lower gear over a 26". At the end of a day im beginning to think in muni one is no ‘faster’ overall on the trails than the other. 26G for versatility and 29er for stability and pure pace. Versitle, maybe lighter weight slightly, particularly improvement for climbs and descents. I need to hang up the 29" rim, dust off my relatively new 26 frame and go with the majority.
Thanks Tuscon for sharing your insight and ability geared out in the sticks. I can imagine myself so overwhelmed being able to gear up off road on a 36 Guni that the first really big tree i try not to look at my subconscious would see my 36 guning muni days shorter than intended…
Hey all,
I raced in the 3 Ring Circus (50km approx MTB race) yesterday on my geared 26, ardent 2.4 and 137mm cranks. Its a great event that I have done a number of times, twice on my G24 with 125mms and now once on this set up. It is a race in 3 intersecting loops. The first and last loop- totaling about 26kms-are all on rough 4wd tracks and fire service roads and the middle ring (27km) predominately flowy single track with the odd tech section, pinch climb, log rollover etc.
I beat my best time from the last few events by 4 min- (coming in at 3hrs, 20min, 5 sec). The result is a tad misleading as the course this year was 3km longer than it was on my previous best attempt (according to robs- dragonfly on the forums- cycle comp). It appears that the 26 was a fair bit faster for me- I wonder how a 650b would have gone on it as the course is no so technical that you need the precise technical control that the 26 is renowned for.
I still think that with the gearing of the schlumpf as it is, the 26" is the most versatile wheel size for geared Muni at the moment. It can cover everything from tech DH to XC epics. It may not be ideal at either of them but it can definitely cover the whole spectrum pretty damn well. If all I did was the longer XC enduro events then I would consider giving the 650 a crack.
Sounds like you love getting amongst the bikes! Awesome stuff
Wonder if sorry … when sclumpf do a 1:1.3 riders will more likely put them into a 29 for muni or still go 26 guni more often over a larger wheel.
Im sticking to 26 now although I like the idea of 27.5. The 26 will go up and down hills better and have a more usable high gear. I usually felt 26 slow for the most part of flowing trails. Where a 29 would be at its peak in low gear I guess I will be up gear on the 26.
I fully agree with unicycle6869 - the high gear on a G29er is simply too high to be practical for most muni riding. G26 is much better and more versatile.
