I love my 24 but I ride it both on trails that are paved as well as singletrack. On singletrack, the 24 wheel size and 150mm cranks seem perfect. Slow, but perfect for a beginner(4 months in) but on the paved trails, I spin like nobody’s business and joggers still pass me!
If I put on a IGH, what wheel size would the extra gear feel the most like? Is it a big jump like going to a 36 or is it small, like a 26 or 29? Would it make more sense financially just to get a larger wheeled uni for paved than to gear one for both?
I have a Gazz 3.0 tire on it currently. I wouldn’t be interested in constantly changing tires either, so I suppose this also points me to having a uni for each terrain?
There are a ton, a few ton even, of discussions on this very conundrum.
If it was so simple, then there would be less discussion…but it ain’t, so here we are, again 
An internal geared hub is an imperfect solution because:
- The gear step is quite tall, 50%, whereas multigear bicycle gearing steps are 12-15%, so it’s a challenge to ride in two gears that are so vstly different, then to become adept at shifting on the fly is a whole other ball o’wax.
- The hub is expensive, so much so that you could buy two or more complete fixed unicycles for the same price.
- The hub is somewhat fragile, and hub failure, though becoming less common, is a problem as the wheel must be completely disassembled and the hub sent back to Switzerland for an extended stay at Club Schlumpf.
In conclusion: The Schlumpf hub is unique, the only shiftable uni hub available, so if you want that game, you got to buy into that game. The only way you will know if a geared is for you, is if you buy one and ride it for a while. Yeah, it’s an expensive first date.
I had a Schlumpf, I did not like it enough to keep it, so I sold it and bought a 36er. I may get another Schlumpf, it depends on whether I feel like my riding would benefit from having a two speed hub.
This is the key: Will you really use both gears?
If you will only use the high gear, then get a big wheel
If you will only use the low gear, then get a small wheel
There are people who ride their geared hub in high, leave it in high, rarely if ever shift gears on the fly. They have their reasons, they may chime in here, but it does seem kinda silly to me to have two gears and only use one…
My advice: Get a 29" and/or a 36" before investing in a geared hub.
Ben’s got the gist of it.
I have a geared 26, not all that different from what you are proposing. I think it is great for my current situation (traveling, limited storage space and using easy walking paths to get tot he trails), but in the parts where I use it in low gear I would rather be riding a regular 26 to get rid of the extra weight and slop, and when I am in high gear I would rather be riding a 36er (most of the time) for the smoother ride. I am still working on shifting on the fly.
Having said that a geared up 24 or 26 is lighter and more nimble than a 36er, and you are less likely to get tangled in overhead branches.
Oh yah, a geared up 24 with 3" tire would have an effective gear around 37"
I see your points and appreciate the input.
While I like the idea of just having one setup that does everything, having bikes like I do(a carbon road, a steel fixie, and a fattie), I realize that having one machine try to be your everything makes it not so good at anything really.
I’d probably dislike the wheel drag and weight when in high. And it is an expensive experiment.
A 36 it is then. Thanks guys!