Having just fitted my KH29G with Sinz cranks and Mountainuni setup, I’ve gone from “every-time” shifting to missing the click quite often. The KH cranks and Sinz have almost exactly the same Q-factor, but KH cranks flare in a concave shape and Sinz flare in a convex shape. The convex Sinz cranks sort of “hide” the button a little, especially the pedal side of the button, and make it harder to hit.
Yet another challenge to overcome!
I am waiting for the arrival of my 36 guni. I think that I will be in good shape for getting the hang of it quickly. I have ridden my unguni 36 a lot on flat and hilly with 110s. I have also gotten pretty proficient at shifting my 24 guni on rough trails.
Yes, to shift or not to shift… My weekday morning trail ride involves lots of shifting. There are lots of ups and downs and small wash crossings. On the wash crossings, I have gotten to the point where I wait until almost the last moment to shift down before hitting the uphill. I also find that I am more comfortable now grinding through short technical sections in high gear that I would normally find easier in low. All of that keeps things moving faster, unless I miss that last minute shift or upd because high is too hard. My best time to finish the loop is still on my 29er. I think the 24 guni would win on a less technical route.
I have had the issue of accidental shifts. One of those incidents ended with stitches in my knee. I upgraded my leg protection, and I am now very careful to adjust the position of my left foot away from the button when I am moving fast in high.
Shifting technique is nothing more than personal preference.
Accuracy is required no matter what shift technique you use as with the speed the cranks are usually rotating (not to mention everything else going on when you’re on the trail) there is only a small window of opportunity to nail the shift.
Bottom line is clean, reliable shifts can be made a few ways. Don’t be a sheep, there is no one ‘proper technique’ to life including gear shifting - use whatever works best for you 
Fwiw, my own aim with the off road GUni was to ride it like a two speed mountain bike, where plenty of shifting back and forth just happens as part of the ride. Where there’s the impulse to shift gears, whether due to terrain, cadence etc, and the shift follows naturally - the shift technique that worked for me was geared around achieving that, and imo anyway just about got there.
Hope you enjoy the 36’er GUni Andy.
Fwiw I found shifting gears on the 36’er had a much more fluid feel compared to smaller wheels. The momentum of the big wheel really seemed to smooth out the shifts, absorbing delays/changes etc
36’er GUni are such cool things, but not being into road riding I didn’t feel I was making the most of the hub.
I ordered my Schlumpf!
Happy Derby Day from Louisville Kentucky! Come on down next year! Bring a 26” GUni for miles of trails at Cherokee (designed by Frederick Law Olmsted) and Waverly parks. Bring a 36er for the 100 miles (due by 2015, funded 95%, completed 30%) of paved bike path connecting our network of parks. These paths are the reason I chose to put my Schlumpf hub in a 36er. I cover some ground on my 36” Nimbus (disc) Impulse with which I swear to never part but a geared hub will extend my reach down the path. My kids (16” Torker CX) play a lot of sports so, when I get a couple hours to ride, I am out the door and up the road. As they get older I may find 20 minutes (Jeep CJ time) to find the trailhead more often. Then I want a 26” GUni like you guys. Bronson said I am in the same “weeks to a month” batch with Terry and Ben. Can I just tell you how excited I am to finally, after reading this thread daily for two years, participate in the conversation?
Florian warranties the hub for 5 years which is $300 (plus $hipping in worst case scenario) per year. This is me, justifying the $1500 expense to my wife. I went through a UDC reseller using the genuine stock KH parts (except for Shadow HandleBar) that it was so beautifully designed to use. My frame (KH36) has a 2mm high bearing housing lip, which does not require any modification. My crankarms (KH ISIS Moment 165/137) are “recommended” (and as far as I can tell the only ones sanctioned). My goal was to keep customization to a minimum but I must admit I really love the smooth modulation of disc brakes on my Impulse (my top speeds to date have been gradual downhill riding that brake) so I know it won’t be long before I give in (from Switzerland to California via Georgia and on to Boston?) to MountainUni’s UniCaliperMount Sinz/Disc kit. If you are in the market for a used set of Magura brakes in a couple years, I’m your man. Too bad I couldn’t get the logistics down initially. I’m running out of time.
I noticed that frame sway climbing up hills in second gear for the first time yesterday. (I’m only doing road at this point.) I feel like I have to pull hard on the seat handle when pushing on the pedals. It’s very different than when climbing the same hills on my ungeared 36. I’ll try to sit more upright, but the key to climbing for me is leaning forward. The other thing I had to get used to was dismounting. I would dismount expecting to hop off the same way I do on the 36. I guess the similar feeling of pedaling a large wheel tricked me into getting off the 26 expecting to fall farther to the ground. It caught me off guard the first couple of times.
I didn’t get to go riding today. I had class up north that required the whole day 
. I rode a neglected motorcycle instead :). Tomorrow I will treat myself to both an off road ride and road ride. It IS mother’s day after all. Don’t forget to talk to your moms.
Absolutely. And with the shoes in that video, the Five-Ten Carver, it is very comfortable to shift with the ankle. Before I had these shoes, I shifted with my heels and just like muniaddict described, sometimes I stepped on the crank and had an UPD.
UPDs while shifting are very rare now, with the Five-Ten carver.
We are currently seeking Florian Schlumpf’s approval for use of a 6mm aluminum spacer on one side with the cranks mounted at a low torque such as this illustration demonstrates. This technique has been in practice with a Schlumpf hub for over a year with no ill effects upon the hub. Several Schlumpf hub users are doing this currently.
Loving my Schlumpf!
Today I took my first dirt ride on my Schlumpf 26. Went out on my favorite xc route for my 36er. Wow, this thing is amazing! In high gear it’s a little faster than the 36er. The thing I found most surprising is that with a cadence about the same as my usual on the 36, the wheel had similar stability characterisitcs to the 36. Once I got comfortable and let the fear go, I was able to cruise over some pretty rocky terrain at full speed, just letting the wheel maintain it’s inertia. Yahoooooo! I wonder if any of the engineer-physicist types around here have ever calculated the rotational inertia of a smaller geared wheel vs. a 36? I suppose it makes sense that a smaller wheel spinning faster could have similar rotational inertia as a larger wheel.
Climbing, of course, is much easier on the guni when in low gear. The speed of the 36er, and climbing characteristics of the 26, each at the push of a button!
As for shifting, it went really well - much better than I expected. I’m pretty comfortable riding my 36er in the dirt, and I think that helped a lot. Anyhow, bunches of shifts, and I only UPD’d on one downshift while I was already into a hill. I also got my first accidental downshift, which sent me flying, but I landed on my feet laughing. One slightly painful UPD when I tried to push through a rock garden in high gear, and I ended up bailing a couple times when I got going too fast. Overall, I’m really impressed with how smooth the shifting feels, and I’m now able to switch gears on the fly without having to slow way down first.
I had started with the hub in a 29" wheel, but I now agree with others’ statements about that being an awkward size. It’s not much faster on the road than an ungeared 36, and less comfortable, with low gear too low for the road. And for muni, high gear is too high, and low gear not really low enough. I had hoped it would work as a compromise machine for both road and muni use, but that didn’t really work. If I had to pick one ungeared uni it would probably be a 29, but that doesn’t translate to the geared hub.
So 26 muni-guni (m’guni?) seems just right to me. Game changer? Oh yeah. 
Beware the dark side of the Schlumpf.
But there is a down side to the Schlumpf.
I’ve got one of my sons riding with me regularly, and two more learning.
I suspect riding slow with them on ungeared unis could start feeling a bit . . . lacking. Which means I may have to buy three more Schlumpf hubs. 
So beware of the dark, addictive, side of the Schlumpf.
@ Unishark- That is a poignant observation about the only downside of schlumpfing. Since going geared with my muni I have ridden more with bicyclists than I have with other unicyclists. The upside is that a lot of mountain bike events become doable- and their availability and occurrence is much more accessible than unicycle specific events.
In terms of endurance XC it is the only viable option out there atm (it is not catered for at any of the Unicons/EUC etc). I have competed in 2, 50km races (Karapoti 2011 and 2010 3 ring circus, a 4 hr enduro (68.5km), and the 113km highland fling. I’ll be competing in my 2nd 100km+ xc bike race in a few months. Compare that to the pretty lame <10km races that occur at your local national championships (which here in Oz only occur once every 2 years) and you’ll start to notice the incredibly small niche we are in.
By all means get amongst it- I have only had positive experiences from my engagement with the bicycling community. The events are great, you get into new trail systems and push your boundaries like no other unicycle specific event. Just know that you might not be riding with another unicyclist for a long time…
Mark
New
Just got my schlumpf…going to fit it to My KH29 with 150mm cranks to start 
@napalm - Yes, riding in mountain bike events is something I certainly might try. I figure finishing the event would be an achievement in itself, and I’d consider not finishing last to be a victory. If I advance as much this year as I did last year, I figure next year for riding with/against mountain bikers.
I’ve been thinking more about my “dark side” comment. If my kids end up being enthusiastic enough that it’s worth it to get them Schlumpfs, that’s a pretty good problem for me to have. Besides, gunis are still a lot less expensive than many other “family that plays together stays together” toys like motorcycles, etc.
Regardless of wheel size, I think you’ll love it!
Just give yourself some time to learn shifting, and be prepared to fall off the back on your first upshift, and off the front on your first downshift.
Also, a mistake I made was riding too much and too hard when I first got mine (also originally in my KH29 wheel). I had a prior calf/achilles injury that really flared up from the added strain of riding in high gear, and it put me mostly out of riding for about two months. I’m just now finishing up physical therapy and getting back into riding, but still on short rides only.
Nice video, looks pretty easy 
So is it the side of shoe at the ankle or is it the sole?
Can you shift on the up stroke or is that too weird?
I can’t wait until my wheel is done!!
I’d second this. Pushing harder in second gear does put higher/different stresses on your knees compared to the fast spinning of an ungeared uni. It makes it a lot more important to balance out your leg muscles (e.g. hamstring and glutes) and stretch your iliotibial band, to avoid issues like patella femoral syndrome or achilles tendonitis.
Kris
That pretty much exactly mirrors the stretches and exercises I’ve been given in physical therapy.
You might try shorter cranks also
I find for myself that longer cranks contribute to this both geared and ungeared.
I’m now running 125s on a 36 KH guni and really liking it. It forces me to shift down instead of forcing a higher gear and the stress that comes with lugging along on hills standing on the pedals pulling up on the handle to keep going.
Next I think I’m going to try 110s.
On my 200+ mile ride I found myself forced to switch from 150 to 125 to minimize knee pain at 120 miles and it allowed for a finish.
My shifts have a higher success rate on shorter cranks too. Some times dozens of shifts in a row up and down.
Joe
Well, inertia is proportional to mass – chances are your 26 has less inertia than the 36, since the tube and tire on a 36 are so heavy.
corbin
