Have been putting in a lot of Kms on my 24" Guni up mt Majura and Mt Ainslie here in canberra in preperation for Unicon. Shifting is getting easier and easier and hill climbing in high gear is supprisingly viable. I am doing lots of the climbs that i have been riding on my other non geared wheelset and the extra weight has not hindered me at all (not sure if i am just getting fitter or if the non-rotating weight of the hub is negligable).
One side effect of all the climbing i have been doing is that i snapped the reinforcment plate on my KH fusion seat. I ordered a CF seat base which should be here soon so i’m looking forwad to a stiffer more rigid feel when i’m off the seat and cranking it on some big climbs.
Rocky single track in high gear is a blast as long as you keep your weight over the front of the wheel, if you get behind it and have to backpedal to keep your control the torque gets to be a bit too much and you loose all your speed and control.
Its interesting how quickly you can adjust to something so completely different. I was riding on a fire road the other day and wanted to change up a gear only to find that i already was in high gear!
These hubs are strong, but how big of an impact can they handle?
How likely would it be for a poorly landed 5ft drop to damage the hub?
Is the hub more susceptible to damage in high gear?
Basically I’m curious when the hub does get damaged from high loads, is it going to simply bend the axle, or will the locking interface be damaged possibly causing the cranks to freewheel?
There is a little bit of play during normal riding and my fear when landing drops is that whatever is between the axle and hub casing is going to break.
Anyone know anything more definite regarding the hub’s strength besides what is stated in the user manual?
Today while riding along on my 36" (ungeared), I met a guy riding a geared unicycle. First time I have ever met another person riding a unicycle:). We chatted for a bit and the he took off. It really got me thinking about a geared hub for my 24" or maybe my 29". Here is my dilemma. I am very nervous about shifting with my feet. I have a hard time just straightening out my foot if it is crooked on the pedal. If I never get comfortable shifting while riding, is it okay dismount and shift by hand? Low gear for hills and then high for down/flat? I’m not sure I’ll get the shifting thing down. All I know is that this guy was riding a small wheel quite fast to get to the mountain to climb. I find this very appealing.
I’ve only had 1 experience with Geared hub, It was awesome:) It was a KH36 with 137mm cranks, It took my a couple of revs to be able to shift it, and couple of revs to be able to ride it in High gear. It was really fast and awesome to ride:) One day I’ll own a Schlumpf hub:p
I mean, there is probably the perfect balance of terrain where it would become unbearable to constantly dismount to shift, but I think those situations are the minority.
Even with a 29" guni you can ride many small hills in high gear, so you’d only really need to shift for steep and or prolonged climbs. Or if you are tired.
And with a 24" guni in high gear it’d be like riding a 36" so you’d only ever shift down for REALLY steep stuff. I would say that 24" is too low for pavement riding, but if you fancied super short cranks on your 36er but still needed to climb a few hills it could work for ya.
Yep, you can get off and shift by hand. That’s a good way to start out and just get the hang of riding in high gear. That’s how I started. There will come a day when you get dissatisfied with that and you’ll start shifting on the fly. What a beautiful day that is.
Geoff
I want one and almost sprung for it but for $1400… I just can’t justify it. I have 4 uni’s, 2 Muni’s, 1 learner and a 36-er and I just started in November…so I haven’t been too cost-concerned, but $1400…I don’t want to do it… but I do…
Ha ha. you’re worse than me. I just bought my 8th unicycle but I started way back last March. I’m going to get a schlumph. I’m already old and need to enjoy what’s left of my pre-geriatric ability. It will take me three months before I can order it but I’m going to have it for the summer. That’s the goal anyway. YOU CAN JUSTIFY IT!
I just had a lovely ride, on my KH29 Guni, on quiet rolling cart paths on a nearby closed golf course. That hub is awesome; every time I ride it I like it more.
I’ve been riding muni since August 2009. I love it and can see myself doing it until I physically can’t.
I ride a 24" Onza muni that I got used. It’s great, but sometimes I want to go faster. A bigger wheel would help with that, but I think that would impede my progress on more technical trails. A geared hub seems like a good answer. (assuming I bought a KH24)
Sometimes I put off purchases even when I can more or less afford it. Years later when I finally buy it, I find myself wishing I had done so years ago. Buying a Schlumpf two years from now could mean I have two years less to get my money’s worth and two years of missed fun. On the other hand, perhaps in two years they’ll be significantly cheaper or have some new features.
I got a promotion and will therefore be getting a big bonus this year. Thinking about getting a geared hub, but I am not sure what I would put it on. I have a KH24, KH29 and KH36. The idea of a geared 36 is intriguing, but scares me a bit. The speed would be a thrill, but UPDing at 20mph would be bad. My favorite riding is Muni, so maybe a guni 24 or 26. The 26 would require a whole new uni. Anyone have thoughts on 24 vs 26 guni for Muni?
Buy it! Just buy it. Best unicycle purchase I ever made. I’ve got mine on my 36". It’s hard to go wrong on whatever unicycle you put it on, except for maybe a 20". That would be a little silly. Yeah, falling at 20 mph would be scary, but you don’t have to do that. I have to work hard to get going that fast. And then it’s only briefly in relatively safe conditions where I’m concentrating really hard. Usually I’m only going about 20 kmh in high gear.
Just go for it. Besides if you guys buy enough of them, then maybe the price will go down and I’ll be able to afford a second one.
Geoff
I got my Schlumpf hub last April (2009) and since then I rode about 900 km on that 29" Guni. But right now I am thinking of getting a second hub for my KH36.
I still want to keep my geared KH29 because it is optimal for XC and fast riding. But with a geared KH36 I will (hopefully) be much faster on the road, especially when doing marathons.
I am fully aware that I need much more training because riding a 36" in high gear can be very exhausting (and it is already on the 29").
Unfortunately I still need to wait for a few months because these hubs are so expensive.
