I’m wondering if anyone here has experience of road riding on a schlumpf 24", as I’m kinda interested in how fast one would go…
In theory 24" with gearing --> 36", i.e. it “ought” to go “as fast as a coker”. But, obviously there are lots of other factors that’d make it very different (wheel mass, play in hub, torque-through-saddle thing, etc.), and I’m curious as to whether anyone’s ridden both and can compare, and say how much slower the geared 24 really is…be it over 1 mile, 10 miles, or 40…
Not having ridden a coker myself, tho, I’d also be interested in comparing with a 29er; I rode one a fair bit last summer, and found with 102mm cranks and a big apple tyre I could do 40-mile-ish rides at average speeds of 11-12mph, maxed out at 17mph (that’s on a speedo, so likely only for an instant), and one day averaged 12.9 for 6 miles - practice might improve/prolong that but 'twas pretty exhausting. So any comparison as to how I’d likely find a geared 24’d be very interesting…
Theoretically, you can do a simple calculation. Work out the effective wheel size in inches. (That will be 24 x whatever the ratio is. About 1.6:1, I think.)
Now find the circumference of the wheel. That’s the effective diameter, multiplied by Pi.
(e.g. 24 x 3.122 for a 24" 36 x 3.142 for 36" etc.)
Convert that to yards by dividing by 36.
Now see how many times that number goes into 1,760. That’s how many times the wheel will have to go round to do a mile.
Divide that number by 60 to see how many times it will have to go round in a minute to do a mile in an hour.
Now, choose a target speed in miles per hour and multiply that by the number you’ve produced. Can you spin at that many rpm? Good, then you can do that speed.
Math doesn’t tell you how fast you can go, but it’ll put you in the ballpark. My short answer to the question would be “a little slower than a Coker.” But why use a 24" when you could use a 29"?
Well, because a 24" is much more portable - I think it’s plausible to carry one strapped across your back, whereas with a 29er…although it’s possible, probably no weight difference, I think it’d be too ungainly to really be practical. I’m hoping to get a uni that’s as effective as a folding bike (e.g. Brompton). Because, when geared down, a 24" is usable as a hockey uni, or a freestyle. Because a 29er barely needs gearing anyway ;-). A geared 29er is a (some would say) superior alternative to a 36er; I’m thinking of something more multi-purpose, but which can still turn it’s hand to distance riding with a gearbox. Yes, I have weird ideas :-).
Mikefule - yes, theoretically, I’m with you. But, in practice - you can do rather more than 50% faster on a 29er than a 20" (with same crank length): things like wheel mass, stability, etc., all have a major effect on how fast you can actually spin without falling off…that’s what I was hoping to find out ;-). Maybe nobody’s really tried - but I’m sure a fair few 24" schlumpfs have been sold, even if not as many as 29ers!??
Why don’t you ask Florian Schlumpf? I think he rode a 24" Schlumpf on the laos unitour www.laosunitour.org
He’s probably the best person to get a comparison from.
I’m currently using an ungeared 29" for commuting. It’s a great Uni to travel with…as I’m away from home for 6months.
