A Geared 36ers is for hardcore distance.
The 29er is more versatile and plenty fast enough. 2nd gear on the 29’’ is faster than I can run and I had the scabs to prove it.
I want the 24’’ muni-schlumpf.
Its cold and snowy with lots of snow on the roads so I’ve only had my new KH36 out for a few short rides. Fast and fun!
James, I’ll be down in DC for a week or so end of April, Early July. Lets hook up for a 36Guni ride!
Ro
The geared 29er was quite a fun ride. I would love to have both to try back to back to compare again. I think the geared 29er was slightly slower, but a lot easier on my leg muscles since the rotational weight was so much less. I had to spin fast and it still felt like I was riding a unicycle, whereas with the geared 36er it feels very smooth and the cadence is similar to a bike.
I think if I were to do some international traveling and wanted to pack a unicycle, I would bring a geared 29er because it would pack easier and be quite versatile. For most road unicycling though, the geared 36er feels like it is the king of the road. Both are great rides, but the geared 36er just has something special about it. It also has been giving my legs the workout of a lifetime. I never had such sore legs when unicycling before, but I don’t mind it because it just means I am building muscle. I do mind sore joints though, and so far I haven’t had to deal with knee pain.
Since you live in the bay area, you should talk to Nathan Hoover, Corbin, or Mike. They have geared 36ers and you may be able to try one out. They are a blast, and learning shifting is quite fun.
Great, I’d love to meet up for a ride. Keep me updated as the week approaches that you will be down here.
What handlebar set up are you using for your kh/schlumpf 36er, and are you using the coker tube or a 29er tube? I have been tempted to try out the 29er tube to save on rotational weight, but it doesn’t seem that reliable and I don’t want to have a flat while commuting to work.
Most of the snow has melted and I’ve had the chance to get out on my 36"Guni a few more times.
I was having some real trouble up-shifting, as others have mentioned, it seemed to be getting harder. Then I tightened that crank down harder and things got much better.
I started riding on 137mm cranks and it was ok. Then I cut my seatpost down more and shifted to the 165mm cranks. I’m digging these much more. I have way more control and can ride up many more hills in high gear. The tricky part about riding a guni isn’t the right-left balance but the forward-back axis: a larger crank gives you more power here.
I had a similar experience with my 29"guni (125 vs 150mm cranks) and thus highly recommend any new-guni’er start with big cranks.
The guni works your legs way more than a standard uni. I expect this will build up my legs and, after a few months, I’ll be equally comfortable (and faster) on small cranks.
I’ve had a few wipeouts on the new big guni (especially with smaller cranks), for a variety of reasons. I’ve got some hard-plastic kneepads that totally saved me in each. No injuries, or fear of falling, from any of them. Get some kneepads.
Finally, on the 29 vs. 36 guni question. A 29" guni is good for the road, good for trails, and great for traveling. A 36" guni is great for the road, ok for trails (haven’t really tried yet, still too wet here) and lousy for traveling.
-Ro
Once you get a 29er set it is pretty reliable. I typically ride thousands of miles without any problems once it is set properly. Blown tubes on the stretched 29er happen in the first ten minutes or they don’t happen at all. They are kind of a pain to set well, but I did notice a huge difference in weight and handling. Now I can’t go back to that Coker monster tube anymore. Practice and patience help with getting it set up right.
Do you have a good handle on your KH/Schlumpf 36? I used the GB4 bars for all my distance riding (ungeared 36, ungeared 29, geared 29) up until getting the KH/Schlumpf 36. I found I needed something a little further out with the geared 36, and although not perfect…the T7 seems to help make the ride smoother than the GB4s on the g36.