Schlumpf hubs: general discussion

Unicycles and Equipment
1633

First ride yesterday.
Things didn’t happen very well, firstly because my left knee has been hurting for about maybe two months now, and not only the tyre was too loud (1.2kg) but also I chose the 110mm holes on the spirit cranks, so the pain kicked in after the very first km.
Secondly, if I managed twice to trigger the second gear while riding with those 110 cranks, I didn’t manage to stay on the guni when it engaged.

Then I decided to switch to the 137mm holes but this time I was just unable to reach the button while riding.
The loop was 6km long, I finished by few attempts of starting on 2nd gear with the help of some trees or something to mount on the uni, cause for a reason I don’t totally understand I’m unable to free mount this 26er when it is engaged.
After few tries I was able to ride at 2nd gear, imagining I’m on my 36er, and this is exactly what it feels like, excepted that the seat is much lower.

Also I didn’t like at all the zero saddle, not only it is hard for the butt, but also I find that I have near zero lateral control when I try to ride without holding the handlebar.
I sold it this morning, I will use the kh freeride of my 36er which is more comfortable than the more recent free ride that is on my 29er.

I just received a 620gm schwalbe super moto 26x2.35 tyre, a FOSS tube and a pair of 127 spirit cranks (single hole) that will probably be easier for switching and a little faster in low gear, but with this knee issue I should stay on the 137 and shouldn’t use the 2nd gear for a while (excepted for training to switch gear).
Thing is a 26er with 137 cranks is so slow (low gear) after being used to a 29er with 125 cranks or shorter, but I must avoid any pain or stop to ride as soon as I feel it, which exclude any ride with other unicyclists until I recover from this injury.

knee issues can last very long…
I had just found a way to avoid ITB syndrome (by lowering the seat on all my unicycles) and this other kind of (internal) knee pain kicked in 2 months ago after having changed a 650gm 29" tyre (super moto) for a 1200gm tyre (hookworm) and since it is even worst than the ITB pain, cause it triggers very much sooner…
I immediately put back the super moto but this was too late.
Later I rode my new kh 26" muni (fixed hub, knard 26x3 tyre) with pierrox but the pained invited itself after 4km and made the rest of the ride very unpleasant and much painful at the end…
Very much tight knee brace could be a help, have to figure out which one to buy.

The more I have unicycles the less I can ride, this doesn’t sound very fair! :frowning:

so far I have read 30 pages of this thread and the testimony of one of you guys (uniShark) 5 years ago makes me understand that riding engaged may be not for now, and that 26er guni is probably more accurate in my case than a 29er or a 32er guni.

I also think that putting my pedal extenders on the 137 holes could help for learning to switch (thanks to my duck feet)
I’ll give it a try latter.

1634

Great write-up!
Here’s a suggestion on shifting – your heel is not the only way to shift. You can also shift with your ankle. (But it helps to have high-top shoes.) This is how I do it. I find it more “natural” for my riding than heel shifting. Changing crank lengths doesn’t affect it very much, either.
Good luck!

1635

That’s how I shift - or at least it was when I last rode my guni. I was working on trying to heel shift as it seems like it ought to be better, but find it a lot harder. I have small (UK7, US8) feet, so find it tricky reaching the button - I have 140 cranks on which I can just about manage with, though I have to shift my feet back a bit on the pedals compared to how I’d normally ride. I’ve tried 125 cranks which make shifting a lot easier, but I find it too hard riding and controlling the guni with that length - that’s on a 29er (and I’m still a relative novice on the Schlumpf).

Which brings me onto what I alluded to at the start - I’ve not ridden the guni for 8 or 9 months, because last time I rode I got problems with my back (the first time I did that on the guni it stopped me doing any uni riding at all for almost a month). I need to work on my core strength to cope with the extra demands - I was fine when I first rode it, but have lost a lot of fitness since then. Unfortunately various health problems have meant I’m even less strong now. The point I’m making? It seems a bad idea to learn to ride a guni when you’re carrying an injury as it’s pretty tough on the body - at least when you’re learning, I’m sure the experts only have to use the same small corrections I do when riding ungeared.

1636

I would get another frame. Mine was temporary, until I could make one. It destroyed the bearings, not even joking! I can’t find the picture though.

I’d invest in a new frame too!

1637

To be honest the only reason I was holding out on gearing up my 36er was because I thought the 2016 hub would be usable in my current frame. If that’s not the case I might start keeping my eye out for available older ones (though I understand they’re like gold dust round here…)

1638

Teaser …

1639

Just changed :
-muni tyre 1200+gm 26x2.4 Continental Der Baron
-the tube
-the seat (kh zero)

Old config:

for:

-Slick 620gm 26x2.35 Schwalbe Super Moto
-FOSS tube
-Old Kh freeride

Stayed on 110/137 spirit (though I received 127 spirit) on the 137 hole for now
Added my 27mm pedal extenders (just ordered 21mm ones).

New config:

Despite my knee issues (pain at the very beginning, or in the best case after very few km unless I ride a 19er), I gave this lighter and more comfortable configuration a few minutes try on my parking, just to see if the pedal stroke is light on 1:1 and if it is easier to trigger the up shift button thanks to the pedal extenders and the answers are yes and yes.

I rediscovered the light pedaling of my non geared 29er which has the 29" version of the super moto tyre and a FOSS tube, but with 125 cranks.
I can even tel that despite the heaviness of the Schlumpf hub, in 1:1 this G26 (thanks to a smallest wheel and the 137 cranks) makes the pedaling is even easier.
This is a happy and hopeful test cause it may mean that I should be able to ride this unicyle soon for a little longer period before feeling the pain, and this would be better than not unicycling at all.

Even if it works I don’t plan to ride in high gear before I fully recover from my knee issue.
But I plan to train the shifting process, and on my parking I gave it few tries.

On my first ride yesterday I was unable to shift while pedaling when the pedals were on the 137 hole, but this time thanks to the pedal extenders I was successful about 3 or 4 times (even if I didn’t manage to stay on the unicycle once on second shift).
27mm pedal extenders could be a bit too long for this process, so I ordered 21mm ones which should make this process a bit easier.

I also found that with this lighter wheel starting from second gear was also easier (pedaling faster too), but I still have to use a wall to get on the unicycle and start when it is in second gear.

And well the fusion free ride is so much more comfortable than the zero, and I can ride without holding the handle bar as easily as if I hold it (in first gear), which was not the case with the zero.

As a conclusion: :slight_smile:

1640

Thanks for this advice. When I train to shift in static (holding a wall at home without really pedaling) I tend to shift with a inner part of my shoo that is localized between the heel and the ankle, but for now I find it hard to do it in real situation, maybe I must use my plastic pedals that have no pins, cause it’s like my feet are locked to the pedals, maybe because it scares me and makes me not relaxed enough :smiley:

Second test ride

The purpose of this test ride was to see how my left knee reacts to the lighter configuration of my guni and it’s like it reacts pretty well.
I rode about 4.5km in first gear without feeling the pain, especially when I was focused on having a light pedal stroke.

Then I trained the 2nd gear for about 2km.
Wasn’t able to trigger at the fly but this time I managed to freemount in 2nd gear without holding any support, and used a little 200 meters downhill road that I rode about 10 times in second gear.

Wow, I’m already addicted to the 2nd gear, the fear of falling, this contradictory feeling of speed relatively to the pedal stroke, this weird but interesting fight to keep balance when the wheel wants to go further and faster than the seat.
Don’t know if the slightly downhill increases this feeling but it’s like flying.
I was comparing the G26 to a non geared 36er in the first place, but this is something else.
Despite I was seated much lower than my 36er, the sensation of flying was higher.
I m’ scared to pedal faster (reached 18.9km/h= 12 miles/h) but I feel that I could in theory go even much faster if I manage to pedal as fast as I do when I ride about 15-16km/h (10 miles/h) in first gear (about my max cruising speed with 137 cranks on a 26er) cause this means I would reach 30kmh (15-16 miles/h) in 2nd gear with the same pedaling speed.

I now clearly see that 26" and 137 cranks are a great combo to learn to ride a geared unicycle.

Each time I was arrived at the end of the street I UPD and manually shifted to 1:1 to ride uphill to the starting point.
First time I did that I felt forward on my fingers while free mounting. The difference in behavior between 1:1.54 and 1:1 for the same unicycle is kinda tricky.
For now my brain doesn’t understand what I am asking him to figure out :smiley:

Surprisingly my knee didn’t hurt at all during this 2nd gear training while the stress is supposed to be 1.54 times higher, it’s like it needs to be warmed with a light 1:1 ride for few km before asking it to deal with higher stress.
It sucks, I’m not 20 but I’m only 42 …

1641

This is exactly what I felt and was explaining on my previous post :slight_smile:
(even if I don’t shift in the fly yet)

1642

3rd ride on the G26/spirit 137
After a 4.7 km warming ride in 1st gear (while I was feeling a bit more the knee pain that last time after about 3km maybe because of much wind, so more pressure on the pedals for balance) I started to train directly in 2n gear for a little while and then started to seriously try to shift on the fly.

This time I didn’t put the 27mm pedal extenders and tried several feet positions to shift and eventually managed about 5 or 6 times to shift AND to stay on the unicycle once in 2nd gear and I found that this part was much more easy than I was expecting.
What I still find hard and random is to reach this gold button, and it costed me two bad UPD because of not knowing when I will indeed push it, but I had all my protection gear, so nothing bad.

I am feeling like giving the spirit 127 a try cause shifting on the fly with 137mm cranks is a very good trip but I’m not sure I will end by finding the “reaching the gold button” game easy and predictable, at least with the shoes I own.

127 would also be more adapted to the 1st gear since this g26 will be a road/sidewalk unicycle, and I presume shifting will be more predictable.
Plus I’m not a big fan of long cranks (and consider 137 as long ones) excepted for muni or 36er.

What I don’t know is how much harder riding in 2nd gear will be compared to 137m cranks, knowing that I use a very light slick tyre (super moto 26x2.35) and FOSS tube.

Well, the better way to know it is to try right?
If I find it too hard or too painful I’ll come back to the 137 with another pair of shoes or something to make mine more large around the ankle.

The mysterious thing is that for the second time, as soon as I started to train in 2nd gear, which requires much stronger pedal stroke, I don’t feel anymore my knee pain !
Any Idea why?

1643

Who is the tallest unicyclist

So now we know who is the world’s tallest unicyclist. Jamie in high gear.

Edit: this only makes sense if you know Jamie.

1644

Same day, from 137 cranks to 127

Well I had a brand new pair of spirit 127 under hand and after my ride of this afternoon with 137 cranks I planed to give it a try, and I was curious about the whole “changing cranks protocol” with the proper tools, torque wrench, loctite and so on…
So I did it and then, after having mounted the spirit 127 and set the seat 2cm higher, it was hard to resist the temptation of tying it before the night falls.

So, I did a 20-30 min session on my parking and found it way easier to shift on the fly.
I also liked more the pedaling feeling in 1st gear and once in 2nd gear I didn’t find it harder to peal or to keep balance.
It’s like I definitely prefer 127 over the 137.

After few tries I was able to shift up and to shift down (which I never did until then) few meters further once I had slowed down, and without falling.
I was successful a certain amount of times (about 10 times or more but I can’t do it at will for now).
Was quite satisfied with that.

Hitting the shift down button appears to be easier and less random than the gold one, maybe because it is more deeply screwed inside the crank than the gold one.

So far I have read 80 pages (1190 posts) of this thread.
Since I have read that the recommended torque (40-50Nm) often appears to be too much, I only used 35Nm torque for this first try, so my cranks are further away from the frame than recommended (I can put more than one credit card between crank and frame, maybe two), because of this I couldn’t screw the gold button as deep in the crank as the silver one, cause if I did it their wasn’t any “game” left when the gold button was pushed in.

Anyway, I will try to tight the cranks a bit more so that I can fit only one credit cart between crank and frame, this will allow to screw the buttons a bit more if I need.

Their is another thing I noticed on my two test rides of today:
it happened several times with the 137 cranks as well as the 127.
I look at my buttons while pedaling when I try to shift so I clearly see what happens when I successfully hits one of the buttons, and what I noticed is that sometimes the gold buttons is pushed in but nearly immediately goes back to it’s initial position, like if the silver button was pushed in by my left foot.
It happens very fast so I can’t tell what’s really happening.
Do you guys think it is what happens or does it mean that the shift button is not screwed in enough ?

Edit:
On this short ride I also had this feeling that by going from 137 cranks to 127 (and with a 2cm higher saddle) I passed from riding a g26 to a g29

1645

Be careful with the bolded. The proper way to install the buttons is to loosen the tiny lag bolt in the middle, screw on the button to the desired position, and then to tighten the lag bolt. If you just screw the button on until it stops, it won’t be tight enough and at some point you’ll lose it.

On your second point, it’s definitely possible for the button to push in and not really shift. It’s one of the frustrating things about the hub. But if it’s a problem with the position of the button, it would be because the button is positioned too far in, not because it’s not far enough in. If the button is hitting the crank bolt when you push it, it’s too far in (or the crank is too far out).

1646

Yes, thanks for this precision, maybe I’m not very clear with my broken English but this is actually how I set the buttons.

The too far crank explanation could fit my second ride with the 127, but the 110/137 spirit cranks that were mounted in the first place were very close to the frame and the button wasn’t hitting the crank once pushed in, and I have noticed this thing too so it must be something else.
Do you mean that instantaneous shifting/unshifting (without real shifting) is a common issue among unicyclists that ride guni?

I still have 30 pages of this thread to read but so far I haven’t read this kind of report.

1647

anybody have instructions for repacking the bearings on the side of the hub, or advice? It sounds like some grit has gotten behind the seals, and I’m not keen on breaking the whole wheelbuild down to ship off the hub to get it serviced… unless that’s truly what it takes.

1648

Photos please

1649

Yes, it is common for the button to go in and then pop back out. Well, perhaps not common, but I see it sometimes. It happens less now that I’m more reliable when shifting but I still notice it.

Hitting the button more authoritatively, and relaxing your pressure on the pedals for a moment after hitting it, will improve your shifting success.

1650

I completely agree. A “tentative” or weak button hit often means a missed shift and a UPD for me. Relaxing the pressure (especially on the downshift) on the pedals means the gears won’t lock up (also another UPD opportunity), and the shift will go smoothly.

1651

There’s really nothing to see. Everything looks normal of course, but there’s a definite gritty sound when you turn the wheel. It has fresh gear goo in it, and my guess is that it’s coming from the outer bearings, not inside the hub itself. I just want some guidance whether that’s something I should even tackle. It seems like those bearings should be easy enough to repack.

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1652

I am not a Schlumpf owner (yet!) - 2016 is the year.
When reading your above issue about gritty sounding bearings I recalled seeing a video Terry made a while back. Maybe this is something you have already seens - anyway it does clearly show him regreasing the bearings.

Hope it helps:)