Good to have you back on the forums- and welcome to the geared Muni club! I saw your vid the other day and it looks as though you have picked up the geared riding and shifting really quickly. I know for me, once I got gears my rides got so much longer- my old riding loops started to look like warm up runs and I couldn’t ride with other unicyclists (because generally they were too slow!).
You touched on the issue of weight and you can still do some things to cut it down. Those speedplay pedals are absolute behemoths and could be replaced with a lighter alternative. I really like the feel of low profile pedals and went for a set of addict knockout pedals and couldn’t ask for more grip (I also have the 5:10 Sam Hill shoes). The wellgo Mg1s are a tad lighter but have a smaller platform, one less pin, and are taller. There are a heap of other lightweight, low profile pedals out there at the moment that could suit.
You could also look at running your tyre tubeless. I did this for a while about 6 months ago and immediately felt a difference in rotational weight- most of the benefits were to be had in hill climbing. I changed to a DH inner tube for the Karapoti in NZ and haven’t had the time to swap back just yet.
Another option, which is a bit more involved, would be to get your moment cranks machined. They are so sturdy that you do not risk part failure if you go getting the rear machined out if it, or drill some holes all the way through.
Hey Mark, nice hearing from you. Wow, we must be on the same wavelength! Earlier today, I swapped my drilliums out for pedals I use on my 36er. They are much lighter, Primo (non sealed) magnesium pedals. When switching the pedals, I also discovered that one of the inserts on my 125/150 moments was loose (I had used epoxy in place of the ring that fits there due to bad threads) and it came out with the pedal! So I took the single holed 150’s off my 24 MUni–which I had already drilled holes (about 5mm deep) in the back–and put those on. I may just drill them all the way through, but I’m not really sure if that would save any noticeable weight.
In an effort to save even more weight, I also realized that the maxxis ardent 26x2.6 weighs a whopping 2.8 pounds! So, searching high and low for a lighter tire that would still hold up well under technical riding, I found several in the 1.2-1.8 pound range, which will shave off at least a pound, or more! Btw, I’ve thought about going tubeless, but in the meantime I am running a very light non-dh tube which has worked out perfectly fine so far.
I’m actually on my way out the door soon to my LBS, where I’ll be swapping my 2.6 for a Panaracer Fire 2.4. It weighs almost precisely 1 full pound less than the ardent, but still has a good, aggressive tread pattern So overall, this should shave close to 1.5 pounds off rotational weight, which should help a lot on climbs and overall maneuverability.
Had a high-speed UPD on the 36 guni this week. According to my Forerunner, I was going around 15mph. I landed on my feet and stayed upright. Amazingly, I only took like 2 steps before I stopped. My foot and big toe hurt a little, but other than that I was fine.
Hey Terry, just get a 26 x 2.4 Ardent, it’s the same design as the 29 x 2.4, but 2/3 the weight of the 26 x 2.6 and has the same tread and nearly the same volume, only difference is a kevlar bead and a slightly lighter weight side wall.
To cut crank weight, consider some Venture II’s, really nice cranks, work well on the geared hub. come in 125, 150, 165. They’re quite a bit lighter than Moments and the low Q spins very nice.
Lighter yet on the pedals, try some Odyssey Twisted PC, light, strong, inexpensive, lots of color choices
I have recently dropped down to 137 Moments to see if I can get a smoother transition between high and low gear and to minimize the tendency for the uni to overexagerate corrections while peddlng; following Napalm’s path to enlightenment…
Thanks for the tips Ben! Although I just bought a 2.4 tire yesterday, the Panaracer “Fire” FR, (Expensive!) I went ahead and also just ordered the Ardent 2.4 with the Kevlar bead. I did this since I really love the 2.6 ardent tread design and it really has very low rolling resistance.
I found it on sale for only $21.98, which is dirt cheap, especially since Kev beads are almost always more $$ than the wire beat counterparts. The sale is only good through 9/5/11.
And I also think I will try the Venture cranks, although the zero Q may lead to some accidental shifts! :o
When I first started riding with my KH/Schlumpf hub I adjusted the shift knobs as per directions, but that was when I was using my 150s on my KH24. With my small feet I had issues shifting on the fly. I could still shift successfully but it took a lot more work and changing of foot position. Kind of a headache!
Fast forward to this past June when I finally decided to try 137s on my KH24 as per Kris Holm’s advice from a couple years ago. Wow! So much smoother all around and so much easier to shift, almost too easy! So it was getting to the point that I started having a lot of accidental up-shifts. I know others have done this too, but I decided to go with asymmetrically adjusted shift knobs. Since the up shift isn’t as critical as the down shift (at least for me) I adjusted the upshift knob inwards a couple millimeters more than the downshift knob. Now much better, a bit tougher to upshift, but not really all that, at least I don’t have all the accidental upshifts.
I’ll have to try the duct tape on the shiftknob idea, never really had any issues with debris in that area from the two year’s I’ve been using my hub. I think the way I shift I might wear off the tape pretty quickly.
Terry, that’s a great price on the Ardent, almost pulled the trigger on it myself, but I’m going to wait and see how the whole guni think works out before dropping more $$ on a 26er.
I still find my 29er to be my uni of choice for most everything, esp cuz it is so light and quick/nimble.
On the Ventures, I didn’t find the low Q to be a problem, but if you do, then just set the button in further.
Since the price on the Ardent (2.4 Kev) was more than half off, and the fact that I will be needing more 26er tires in the future, I thought I should snatch one up since it’s a great tire at a super low price. And I was thinking that since my GUni has pretty much replaced my 29er, that I should just sell it. But then I realized that the GUni hub does have a finite life span, and that when it does finally fail, (after the warranty runs out) at least I’ll still have my kh 29er; light, nimble and ready to roll…again!
I was looking at the venture (black) and the venture ll. The first is $55 and the ll’s are $65. UDC claims they are 40% stronger than the regular, and they also give the weight of the ll’s, but not the regular ventures (150’s). Does anyone know if there is a weight difference between them, or is the only difference the strength increase?
Good to have you back Unigeezer! I understand your hiatus (given the choice of write a post or ride, always choose ride) but I was a bit concerned because I finally bought a Schlumpf hub and, being severely mechanical challenged, now more than ever, I treasure your “technical” notes and videos.
Say it ain’t so! The Speedplay Drillium pedals are collecting dust? I know they are ridiculous on a 36er but I absolutely love Drilliums on my Impulse. Coupled with the Stealth rubber on m 5.10 Impact High shoes is like (i can only imagine) being clipped in. I went with the “Wellgo clear polycarbonate with blue anodized steel pins and spindle” as Kris intended on my new KH36 because I need to be able to change foot placement to shift gears and that just wasn’t happening with those Drilliums.
Interesting to see you abbreviating like that. I always thought I would call it “my new KH36G”. Short, concise, and to the point. I want to be in on the ground floor on this naming convention thing.
Thanks David, it’s good to be back And welcome to Club “GUni”!
The dirlluims are alive and well, and simply went back to where it all began…to my KH 24!
For super short I call it 2G, or G2 (for 2 gears, and also a play on “3G” network and T mobile’s G2X). But “3G” is actually the most accurate…for how much it all cost!!! :o
Or to make it easy for the uninitiated, my Two-speed MUni Machine! (“TSMM”)
Hilarious! I’m calling it my 3.4K for what it cost just don’t call it that in front of my wife!. My inner accountant tells me that K, when capitalized, stands for 1000. Plus, it’s just two letters from G and those are HI.
Ridden by someone of your caliber, King (see auto sig) would certainly qualify as a MUni but I ride the asphalt so under me it’s the GUni who hops the occasional curb. Besides, M is way too far from G
Terri, I only have experience with the V II, but they seem to be pretty well made, not sure how they’re differ structurally, the descriptions suggest that both cranks are the same grade of aluminum.
Btw, I just got back from a muni ride on the 26 guni running 135 Moments. It was a game changer for me, not only do I have far less bobble when shifting up and down, but shifts are esier to reach and stability/climbing remains as good as it was with the 150’s.
I’m going to get a couple more rides in before next week’s Black Bear race, but if things keep going well, then I’ll be on the guni
Hey, I’d keep that 29, you never know when you’ll want it and; knock on wood, you never know when you’ll need it
Well, I’m already sans pads, just using wrist guards. Lycra, got it,I used to be a biker so I don’t mind my stuff being in the limelight, but I do wear overshorts to protect the lycra.
I have been getting simpler over time, current short set up is the Sugoi Turbo Jammer, it’s a lycra compression short with a jock, so it keeps the jewels centered, which prevents rub and “jewel drift”. The shorts do not have a pad, which works well for me since the pads tend to take up room and cause rubbing. I find the KH Freeride seats have more than enough padding.
So have you tried 125s on your 24 guni? I don’t think they’d be enough crank for a 26guni, but I may find out
I’m looking for onza tensile 140s, which have become rare, barring my finding a set, it may be tire to have my Moments drilled out
@NurseBen: Ha! I knew you’d come around to the shorter crank length. Of course your running 137s on a 26 and I on a 24, but it’s all relative I guess. The 26er is the tall man’s 24 (I’m relatively short I guess at 5’ 8").
Getting ready to do a 50 mile road ride on my KH24 GUni in a couple of weeks, have done a couple of 50km+ rough gravel road rides the past two weeks relatively fast (2h 59m and 2h 41m) so I think I’m ready. Next month will be my attempt to finally make the Century Ride list when I aim to ride the entire Silver Comet - Chief Ladiga Rail Trail which is almost a 100 miles point to point w/o vehicular traffic. Pretty excited, though I’d rather be out riding rough trails!
yep been running 125mm on my 24" gmuni for the last year and a half for all my riding. That has included 4 50-60km and 2 100km+ enduro mountain bike races. 125s are not only good for the easier stuff either. I did a quick time at the Karapoti Challenge (read: massive climbs and technical descents) in really tough muddy conditions.
When I upgrade to a 26" i’ll stick with the 125s initially and just try to cut rotational weight- tubeless, lighter cranks, tyre etc. If I find that it is still not enough I’ll give the 137s a go.
@Munisano- good luck with those races. Do a write up for us once you are done!
I rode my 26" GUNI for about a year with 125’s, including a tour of mongolia and riding in china afterwards. This experience converted me from using longer cranks (I used to run 150’s on my 24" and 29", now run 125’s on both).
137’s are the longest cranks I am currently running on any of my unis, as I’ve recently switched to 137’s on my 36er GUNI. I experimented with 125’s for a while on the geared 36" wheel, but i find 125’s just a tad bit too short, and I find 150’s a tad bit too long. Happy medium, 137’s!
I will update after I get some more km’s into my legs with the 137mm cranks in high gear on the big wheel.
I quite like 150s for most guni rides I did with my g29. With the new g26 I will be running 150mm cranks (dual hole though so I can try 125 if I want) and I think that will be perfect. With the g36, I will be using 150s, I don’t think I have gone for a ride where I thought smaller cranks on the g36 would be better while using 150s.
For road riding, I have never seen evidence of smaller cranks on a g36 beating out 150mm on a g36. The fastest riders seem to be using 150s, with a few people prefering 125s, but from what I remember historically with the last few major races 150 or 145s have been at the top.
For muni/xc, I have seen evidence of the smaller cranks winning with geared munis. Mark = crazy fast with those 125s, and easily one of the best XC riders. I think a big part of being able to use the smaller cranks with gmuni is having a usable brake…I have never been able to get my set up right in that regard and I need to get better at braking.
For my new set ups I will be using the good ol’ 150mm cranks for the g36 again, and for my g26 I will be using 150mm as well. I can’t see myself going shorter on the g36, but I can see myself going to 137s on the g26 depending on how it goes.
:o
My inner accountant tells me that K, when capitalized, stands for 1000. Plus, it’s just two letters from G and those are HI.
