A while ago, I posted in this forum for advice on which Muni to buy. The balance of advice was for the KH 24 XC. I ordered one but, due to a packing error, I received the fat-tyred muni instead. I decided to keep it.
Having just done 35 miles of rough muni (by my standards) across Dartmoor, on top of a few rides in the forest over the last few weeks, I’m now glad I got the fat one after all.
It is a bit sluggish on the road, but the fat tyre is really forgiving on rocks, and it sort of floats over loose gravel, sand or mud. There’s plenty of grip. The 165 mm cranks feel right for my leg length, and so far I’ve never “stalled” like I sometimes did on the 26 with 170s. Does 10mm difference to the diameter of the pedaling circle make that much difference? Apparently, yes.
I doubt I could have completed the rougher sections of this week’s rides on the Holy Roller tyre, good as it is. I saw a KH24 XC too, and I think the narrower tyre would have made the ride much more difficult.
Two criticisms of the uni: the seat (KH Fusion) chafes in a way that no other seat has ever chafed me, and the steel cranks rust quite easily. This uni will need more maintenace and cleaning than my Pashley.
Still, highly recommended, and it has taken my riding onto a new level. (Which those of you who met me at the weekend might find a startling admission:o )
Mike - I’ve ridden 24x3 like yours, 24x2.6, kh24 xc , 26x2.6 gazz and 26x3 gazz. I’d say there’s so little between all the tyres as far as ride-over stuff that you’d have been fine on any of them. They’re all super fat. The only noticeable difference is that the 2.6 ones feel like a little bit less effort to ride. I’ve also recently come to similar conclusions on crank length, after 5 or 10 minutes, you can get used to spinning 165s or 170s even if you’re usually riding 150s, and vice versa.
It’s a bummer that the fusion is chafing, I’ve found the new fusion the best saddle so far, although everyone has different shaped bums, so it might just be wrong for you. Maybe tip it right back, that’s how my Schlumpf is and it seemed okay for 100 miles. Or it might just be that you’re needing to get callouses in a new place, so it’s hurting temporarily.
As for the rust, my uni got quite a bit of surface rust on it this weekend too, I guess there must be something about the super-damp dartmoor weather that just wasn’t good for them.
Hey wait! The Kenda Kinetics 2.6 (tire that comes on the XC) is a great tire too, and pretty wide. I use it for all kinds of drops, rocks, north shore riding, and even some trials. Although not by choice… as soon as it wears out I’m getting a duro.
