John - My wheel is not as stiff, but that is simply because it is a loose wheelbuild, I am bringing it by the LBS to have it tensioned today. Even with a loose wheelbuild though, I didn’t notice any problem with it flexing, it feels great(this may be the fact that Ken said that the frame is quite stiff). Most of my experience has been on the extra wide hubs, but it feels a lot better having a narrower hub. This set up is amazing, and I can only imagine how great it will feel having a 29er tube, shaved tire, and my mg-1s.
Ken - After riding my kh/schlumpf 36, I don’t think I will ever yearn for an ungeared 36 ever again.
And yeah…so far no knee problems! It really does feel like riding a bike and I haven’t had sore knees yet, but I only took it out for 10-15 miles yesterday.
I took it up some hills yesterday and I definitely feel the weight of the wheel when trying to climb in high gear, having a lighter tube may help, but climbing in high gear feels like riding a heavy/slow bike. Simply shifting into low gear makes everything nicer though. Riding in high gear on flat or slight downhill or slight inclines feels amazing though.
Nice photos James! Here is the data from Florian about hub width:
Old version
distance between midth of bearings: 90mm
distance between flanges (where the spokes are mounted): 55mm
for bearings d40x12
axle with square ends
comes with torque lever
New KH version:
distance between midth of bearings: 100mm
distance between flanges (where the spokes are mounted): 70mm
axle for ISIS cranks
doesn’t need a torque lever
for bearings d42x12
fits all KH frames from model year 2007 or younger (see details on http://www.schlumpf.ch )
New FS version:
distance between midth of bearings: 100mm
distance between flanges (where the spokes are mounted): 70mm
axle with square ends
doesn’t need a torque lever
for bearings d40x12
fits any frame, which is made for bearings d40x12, with clamped bearing holders (not just pressed in bearings, because there is a torque on this part)
The wheel feels fine (assuming high-quality spokes and wheel build). You can ride off drops and it doesn’t wobble like the old narrow Coker wheels. I don’t do drops of more than 18" or so but it feels solid enough. The real test is brakes. A normal HS33 works fine. You can crank as hard as you want climbing and the pads don’t rub. Beau and Corbin and Chuck did some >20mph riding on bumpy dirt (insane!) and they worked fine. I broke my all time uni speed record the other day and it was an anticlimax - no big deal at all and I wasn’t even trying to go fast. It was 20.9mph, slightly faster than my fastest ungeared speed. Rock solid.
I’m not sure that page is right - I’d guess that the new hub has 128mm bearing spacing, like the old super-wide hub, otherwise that hub and the normal nimbus isis are identical.
With the old hubs, it used to be 100mm between flanges, which was 128mm between bearings.
For what it’s worth though, my coker was always on a suzue hub, with only 90mm bearings, but with quite a tight wheelbuild and that didn’t have excessive wobblyness.
I took the geared 36 out on the bike trail on Saturday for 20 miles(still taking baby steps getting back into the swing of distance unicycling) and my legs felt great afterwards. It definitely worked out my legs more, and there was an annoying headwind for some of the ride (which really affects the g36), but I had NO joint pain. Unicycling distances has always been associated with some slight leg pain, but riding this thing has cured that.
I also commuted to work on the geared 36 today(actually first time commuting to work on a Uni since about 6 months ago due to my knee injury) and once again it was a thrill! I am not sure of how long it took me to do the 7.5 miles, but it took me about an hour and 10 minutes to leave my house, unicycle to work, stash my unicycle in my cubicle, take a shower, change, and eat breakfast.
A few notes on commuting with it: Shifting is not that hard, BUT I am scared to shift in traffic, so I am always slow coming out of a traffic light and it takes me a while before I am comfortable shifting with cars behind me. It is a much more relaxed commute overall than riding a geared 29 was or riding an ungeared 36. I am still faster commuting to work on my road bike, but I think my new geared 36 will be my vehicle of choice for commuting for a while.
You know, one of these days we must get the IUF to set up a unicycle museum somewhere. Those hubs should be there as part of unicycling history. I hope they retire gracefully!
Wow Ken, there’s an idea for your retirement And you should give guided tours through it. By that time you yourself are part of unicycling history which will be an additional attraction to the museum.
I thought I would post an update after doing about 200 miles on the geared 36.
I put a T7 handle on it recently instead of using the GB4s. I miss the control I had with the GB4s, but the T7 gives me more leverage for climbing hills which you really need in high gear. I get sketched out using the T7 on bumpy surfaces and came close to having a UPD over a bump that would have been no problem on a GB4, but the T7 really does help for hills and for tucking low on flats.
I find myself consistently downshifting now, and I am actually getting worse at upshifting for some reason. I took the uni out on the Custis trail here which is known to be a rollercoaster of a bike path and I was able to navigate it no problem hitting every downshift. It feels so smooth when shifting and I am still amazed at how cool it feels to ride in high gear up to a hill and then quickly downshift when it starts getting hard. I dreaded shifting with the geared 29er, but with the geared 36er I actually get excited at the thought of downshifting for a hill.
My max speed so far has been hovering close to 24mph. On flats I can do 20mph if I am tucked down and the path is smooth, but it gets hard to sustain it. I would say on average I go between 14-18mph most of the time.
My legs get such a workout from this beast too. More so than any other unicycle I have tried. I love that my muscles hurt during a ride and not my joints.
The KH/Schlumpf 36er is the best uni I have ever owned, I highly recommend purchasing one if you can afford it.
Wow! I haven’t really tried going fast yet. I let it go a little on one smooth descent on the way to work and hit 20.9 mph easily. The potential for speed is amazing!
thanks for some great posts about your geared 36: they rather upset my
view on the ideal cycle.
I ride a plain 29er and a 36, and although the 29er feels painfully slow
(especially if I’m with a bicyclist) it has the huge advantage that it’s easy
to throw around, and it does go in the trunk of my Mini (saddle off).
I’d been thinking a geared 29 would be a perfect all-rounder: easy to
slip on public transit, or the trunk of a car, yet capable of bicycle speeds …
Now you’re making me think that the geared 36er is the only way to go.
Planning on getting a Ti-Nimbus frame as soon as they are out.
And you should give guided tours through it. By that time you yourself are part of unicycling history which will be an additional attraction to the museum.
