Kris Holm 36" Schlumpf, 160mm Cranks & Magura Hydraulic Rim Brakes

Unicycles and Equipment
#1

Just wanted to post my thoughts on my newest unicycle. I managed to acquire a KH36" with a Schlumpf hub and I’ve been riding it for about a month. I also own a normal ungeared KH36" on 110mm cranks which I can ride comfortably at 18km/hr or push it to about 25.

So far with the KH36" Guni I’m slowly learning how to change gears but it does take me a few revolutions sometimes to click the gear in for both up and downshifting. Sometimes I change gears and immediately UPD too. It’s strange going from riding relatively UPD free to having several in the course of a ride. Currently I’m much faster on my ungeared uni then my geared one.

I can get it to about 20km/hr on a ride in high gear but if I try to go faster I usually UPD and it’s hard to keep practicing at that speed as UPD’s going that fast can be hazardous but so far I’ve landed on my feet every time. I’m hoping I just need more time to fully get used to using this unicycle but the learning curve is pretty hard compared to other unicycles I’ve ridden. I think this is an earlier hub as it’s marked M122 on the hub.

Some positives I’ve noticed is downhill is surprisingly smooth and not sketchy as my ungeared uni as my legs are not spinning as fast. Not to mention with long cranks I can hop/idle to a degree and I’m so much more manoeuvrable with long cranks. Steep hills are easier with the longer cranks but smaller hills including most of the ones around my area I can ride up them faster with 110 cranks. At least mounting is so much easier with long cranks.

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3 Likes
#2

Great to see a new “Schlumpfer” guy! It takes some time to be used to Schlumpf hubs but it’s really nice after that period.

You may want to go high gear for small hills. It can be strange at first but it’s really enjoyable for small slopes - less than 4% of gradient; it becomes pretty hard with steeper hills.

#3

I’ve tried high gear for small hills even very mild gradients and it just wears me out and I can’t maintain the speed. I’ve been checking my garmin data and my cadence is around 50 where ungeared 110 I can maintain 90-110. So I’m definitely not spinning it fast enough.

#4

I know some people like long cranks but it can induce such a behavior. I have never tried 160 mm cranks but 150 was too long for me on a G36 and I switched to 127 few weeks ago. It feels much smoother. You could try to reduce to 137 mm and see if you still don’t spin fast enough.
In any case it’ll take some time to get used to your new uni. Be patient :smiley:

#5

The bloke that sold it to me initially used dual hole 150/127 KH Moment cranks and he later switched to 160mm. I’m considering changing them back to 150mm at least as I feel 10mm can’t make that big a difference. Generally long cranks make the learning phases easier but I’ve never used 160 before as the longest on a 36/29 I’ve had is 150. Yes I’m sure a lot of my problems can be solved with time in the saddle.

2 Likes
#6

If Schlumpf weren’t so expensive I would have one asap :grin:
Keep up posted on your progress.