Thanks for posting the picture of the Karver. It really looks like the optimal shoe. Usually I shift with the heel but it is easier to shift with the ankle - if it is padded. Because the carver has the padding only on the side of the crank, it should work very well.
I don’t like the design of the Karver very much but I can live with it.
And: The shoe is available in UK size 12 (German 47), so it will be very comfortable for me.
After all, I just ordered a pair 
Those Karvers do look nice. Just ordered a pair too. Only $89.95 w/free shipping on Amazon. If they work well I’ll take them to Mongolia.
They cost 115 € here 
Hmmm, Nathan - this sounded like a good deal, but I can’t find them for that price on Amazon. Anything special to search for?
The price was $109.95 on the site but when I bought them, a miraculous $20 “Promotion” was applied - I don’t know why but didn’t ask or complain!
First trail ride on the 24 guni this morning. What a blast! It went pretty well. I still need to get more consistent on hitting the shifts. After riding the 29er a lot, I notice the lack of pedal clearance and suffered a few UPDs from pedal bashing. Thinking about 135s for the clearance, but they may make steep climbs too hard. I found that I could power up mild climbs in high gear (much faster than low gear, but feel the burn). Low gear on the 24 feels like a granny gear after a lot of 29er (thinking 26 guni in my future - maybe). I had about 3 accidental downshifts when I was cruising in high. One of these was at high speed and sent me running. All-in-all a good time.
Added the handlebar and brake this afternoon. Hope to get out this weekend and try it out. I can’t see myself with both hands on the handle on the rough trails I ride, so I have one curved bar end that will let me grab on the side or out in front. Feels good in the driveway, I’ll see what it’s like on the trail.
You might want to re-arrange the brake so it’s more protected by the handle. The way it’s set up now, the brake handle may take the brunt of a fall, resulting in brake breakage.
cool Tuscon!
yeah I agree the lack of pedal clearance on the 24 takes some getting used to after riding larger wheels. It’s really the only thing that bugs me from time to time on the 24 with 150’s. I really like the feel of spinning 137 cranks, maybe one day might change to those on the GUni to gain a bit of clearance… I love the 150’s in high gear tho, especially cranking on them at low cadence in high gear, very bike like feel. nothing shorter for me than 137’s - have tried shorter and just don’t find spinning tiny circles that enjoyable/satisfying.
1:1 on a 24 sure does feel slow after a 29’er but for me once I adjusted back to it and accepted the difference when riding it was no worries e.g. no point rushing a climb on a 24. It’s actually fun now to know that regardless of where I’m riding with the 24 I should be able to give anything a go… limitation being me!
After riding in high gear a lot on the 24, 1:1 on the 29’er doesn’t feel as satisfying, same for 1:1 on a 36’er. I went for a ride on the 29’er the other day and it was like arghh… this section would be more fun in high gear on the 24, or I’d rather be in 1:1 on the 24 for this steep climb etc - though if the GUni was out of action I’m sure the mojo would return regardless of uni, gears etc - in the end I’m happy just to be out riding.
The things I do really like though about the 24 GUni include being able to ride it like a 2 speed MTB bike throughout a ride. High gear is so usable and versatile off road on the 24, unlike on larger wheels. Any time I start to spin too quickly in low gear, it’s time for high gear, and in high gear you are still able to do lots of stuff, and crawl along so slowly if needed. LOTS of gear shifting, similar to being out on an MTB ride - you’re always up and down through gears, it’s a fun element of the ride. It’s a bummer the GUni only has the two gears to pick from, and spaced relatively widely but hey!
The Karvers really suits the 2 speed MTB style of GUni riding too. with the large padded contact area on the shift side of the shoe you don’t have to be precise when shifting like you do with the heel or plan ahead - with the Karvers you can just go for it as needed.
I also really love the feel/ride/stability/performance of the 3.0 tire on the 24". Put a 3.0 tire on a 26 and dang it feels heavy, put something skinnier on a 26 and you sort of wish it felt like a 3.0. Love the strong, solid feel of the 24" wheel too, and more practically like being lower to the ground, not just for stability but also for head clearance.
24 vs 26 for a GUni is probably the trickiest uni build decision I reckon, not huge differences but each still having pro’s and con’s. I think regardless of the off road GUni wheel size there’ll always be times, trails etc where it’s not the optimum setup… where a wheel size up or down, a different crank length etc would’ve been ‘better’ but hey I’ve just got the one geared hub and I’m not out there racing against the clock, just having fun and overall the 24 GUni suits the trails I enjoy riding most.
guilty as charged, though they are my lucky socks and as such have no fashion requirement 
I don’t really care that the lace covers on the Karvers look goofy. It’s that the lace covers are too large, too stiff, too wide, mounted to velcro strips that are way too bulky. Other than that they rock and roll. I moaned about this back in September and had been meaning to make my own lace covers for the Karvers (or pick the velcro strips off entirely and not use lace covers at all)… but I’ve gotten over it!
Hey,
Just got a pair of Karvers too, to replace my 5.10 Impact High’s. I agree that the lace cover could be less stiff but I like that it’s there - more convenient than tucking the laces away and nice for winter muddy riding. Negative on both these and the Impacts is that they are hot and take forever to dry if they get wet, but the grip is unbeatable and the inside ankle coverage definitely makes shifting nice. The fairly wide tread also seems to be pretty stable for reducing risk of sprained ankles during wipeouts.
Kris
Trying to tighten my cranks after the first ride as suggested. I got the gold button off, but I cannot get the silver button loose. After reading about somebody losing a button, I put some blue loctite on the button threads. I am guessing that is my problem. Any advice on how to get the button loose?
You really do not need loctite for the buttons, I hardly tighten mine and they never come loose, the crank bolts are another story. As far as taking it off…I think Ken (gizmoduck) had a screw tightened too much and did something clever to get it out, I would check through his posts to see if you can find it.
OK, after a lot of “screwing” around, I finally got the button off. The cranks are tightened down and everything is back together. Phew! I think those cranks are on there for good now. When I torqued the second crank down, I noticed that the bit was hard to pull out. I am worried that the crank bolt is getting a little stripped. No experimenting with other lengths. The dual 125/150s on there are staying.
Yep, that is the common problem with the crank bolts. It isn’t a matter of tightening it too much. Not sure if it is weak metal or just because it is 6mm instead of 8mm, but it is my only complaint with my hub so far.
My brake is similarly out in the front (even more so, with my extended handle). Surprisingly, I have yet to brake it by falling – even after a 1000 or so miles on the geared 24. However, I have my brake on a little adapter thing, which is slightly loose and moves a bit in hard crashes. I think that saves my brake from breaking.
Ironically, two days ago I snapped the magura line at the pad location when I was sticking it in the bed of my truck.
corbin
I have about 20 miles on mine. I should tighten the cranks. Here’s a question to show my mechanical ignorance 
. Do I need to loosen them first and then tighten them? Can I just put the torque wrench on and tighten it? I’m not sure if there are any rules about using the torque wrench other than I was told it was better not to loosen bolts with it.
My crank’s “slippage” problem seems to be fixed. Thanks for all the above advice. How often should I tighten cranks and bearing caps? I can probably look this up somewhere, but I’m hoping for a quick answer:D.
No need to loosen first, just cinch them down to the prescribed torque. I am up early tomorrow to try out my new brake and handlebar set-up on a trail that I think is made for guni.
You are quicker than I. I’m still riding with white knuckles on the seat handle. Today’s ride was more relaxed than the previous two days, though I’m still tense. I can’t imagine going off road in high gear yet. I did put my new seat and brakes on tonight. I would like to get a handle for it. I don’t like my brake forward with the handle though. I would like a handle that lets me keep the brake under the seat. Thanks for the torque info.
You need to get Pete (lunicycle) to make you one of his custom bars, which have the brake under the seat.
