All about progressions
I purchased my KH almost 18 months ago. I started out with 150s. I tested 165s but found there was a fair amount of wobble.
For the first year I pretty much stayed with the 150s. I learned to do a rolling mount first; then the jump mount. I recently learned the static mount, which in the beginning seemed impossible. To get the static mount I discovered that if I find a slope steep enough I could mount it.
Since the beginning of the year I’ve been swapping between 150, 135 and 125s. Every time the cranks get shorter it takes some time to adjust the timing. The good news is that once you get adjusted to the shorter crank, going to a longer crank “seems” much easier.
Personally, I think the progressions rely more on neurological training then physical. Sure, you can get a real good burn on a decent hill on a 36. But if you don’t have the brain trained to ride the upslope a UPD will result. Not from muscle fatigue, but from leaving the balance envelope and not knowing how to recover.
I have not tried 110s on my 36er yet… The 125s still have room for improvement and the gain of going to 110s does not out weigh the sense of security I like when I’m riding on familiar cranks.
As already pointed out, every time you go SHORTER on the cranks, the seat must go up. Mounts are more challenging for the seat height alone. But the real issue with mounting with shorter cranks is the increased neurological demand to maintian your balance AND create the forward momentum to get the big wheel rolling.
Once the wheel is moving, staying on it is the easy part (did I just say that?)…
I took my 29er out for a ride yesterday, also on 125s. The first couple of miles felt a little wobbly as I had to readjust my timing… most of my riding is on the 36.
I also feel the T-bar on the 36 is required equipment. When I first started riding with the T-bar I had a heck of a time free-mounting. I just seemed like that bar was in my way. Fortunately I got past that non-sense.
It was also unnatural to put two hands on the tbar. After a while though my balance/technique improved to the point that now I almost always have both hands on the T-bar.
Hills make the T-bar worth their weight in gold. I find that if I can keep both hands on the t-bar I will have better power for the climb. If the hill is too steep and I go to a single hand on the tbar it is to help me with balance at the slowing speed, not power. Power is lost when two hands are not on the handle.
Ultimately, it all comes down to improving your technique, which for me takes months of slow, imperceptible progress. As technique improves, so does the quality of the rides.
There’s a separate thread devoted entirely to 36er free mounting… for me it is still the wild card. Some days it is no problem, then out of the blue, it’s as if I got the “shanks” (a golf term where the player has no idea where the ball is going to go… but it’s not up the fairway). Free mounting the 36er is still a head game. Probably always will be.
