Yup the jump to 1.5 is very big, especially on a 36 … it would be great if he made a 1.25 and then did a service exchange scheme to get the 1.5 when you have mastered the 1.25 
Initially I found that riding GMUni with too much psi was bouncing me all over the place, and I was getting that GUni-specific “rocking fore/aft effect”. This would have a very tiring effect on me since it was taking most of my focus, strength and constant balance corrections. After dropping the psi a bit, all those things pretty much disappeared, and it also allowed me to ride faster over rough terrain with much more confidence, and enjoy the GUni experience to its fullest! And there’s nothing quite like letting her go all out on the smoother singletrack sections! 
I have been riding my 24 gmuni for almost 2 years now, and I love it! It is true that the geared hub is no magic speed bullet. It takes strength and skill to ride it well, and there is a learning curve. There are lots of sections of trail that I would always shift to low for, that I am now blasting up/through in high gear. I feel in full control of the beast in high gear, and there are lots of uphills and technical sections that I can handle now. I have even started to get comfortable catching air off rocks and humps in high. Riding my 36 guni has improved my leg strength. A couple of times recently, I have found myself trying to shift up on the 24 gmuni, and realized that I was already in high! No way that I would want to dumb it down to a lower ratio. The 24x3 really cushions the high gear riding. I have contemplated switching to a 26, but worry I would miss the cushy ride at high speed over rocks. My 29er used to be my main ride (except for serious DH). Now, I always find myself reaching for the 24 gmuni instead.
Funny thing how when I was a big proponent of the 29 that there was a certain member of the forum who was selling his 29er in favor of riding a 26. The situation is repeating itself with him dropping the gmuni and touting the 29er. 
Now who’s being greedy 
I still find the 26" to be a better size for muni, but the 29" is smoother and more comfortable for longer rides. It did take a while to adjust to a taller wheel, I think riding a Larry on the Conundrum was a lot of help. I finally have a fixed 26" again, so now I’m switching back and forth between the 29 and 26, the Oregon is resting 
A guni is a wonderous thing for those who can make use of it, I just don’t have the trails to really ride that fast unless I want to ride roads; our public lands in Tennessee are limited so we have few double track areas.
Thinking about the riding I did this past week, all of it was “abrupt”, classic Appalachia, rooty and rocky, nothing flowing or smooth, so a single gear was just right all the time; there is a certain hill that I would have liked to have had a reduced gearing…
I kick myself for not “understanding” how a guni rides, maybe I jumped the gun, but then it’s practically impossible to know a guni without having ridden one, so I guess it was a worthwhile “trial” that only cost me a couple hundred dollars.
Honestly, I am so pleased with my new Oracle disc brake hubs (26 and 29), that selling the guni was like getting out from under a bad debt, now I can afford a new 36er for muni once the new Walts Works off road tire is available. I’m thinking an Oracle disc brake hub wold be a nice match
Now about the 3 gear hub 1:0.727, 1:1, 1:1.375, anyone?
i’ve the schlumpf in turtle’s V 36" which is nice on the road (even i don’t ride it often). an other one is in a 29" wheel, this is ok for XC (also i don’t ride that very often and i don’t like it), now i’ve also a 26" schlumpf muni with disc brake, and this one i love! low gear for hardcore technical stuff and second gear if there is an easy trail. somtimes i think 1.5 is a bit to much but mostly i like it. what a bit dangerous is, that in rough terrain sometimes i change gear by accident… not funny … today i had also a highspeed UPD in highgear because a crank got loose and i didn’t feel it, the hub somehow stopped amd med too a little bit later. scary…
I had some bad wipeouts because of accidental downshifts on rough ground. This happened mostly when I was using the 125 hole. I now use the 150 hole and I am careful about my foot position, and I have not had an accidental downshift in a long time.
luckely i had my full face helmet on and all the protection (because i knew that beast is fast!)
see on the pic, that’s how it looks with the helmet on… i don’t wanna know how it would look without…
Is there any visible impact on the helmet? If yes, show pics. Just to get an impression what your head would look like without wearing a helmet.
you can see only a little bit… maybe i’ll put a pic on tomorrow… but i’ve got a small footage from the UPD, it’s only in a few minutes…
enjoy:
As I was cranking my way up one of the many steep trail sections this morning at Fullerton loop, my right crank totally slipped and pitched me off the front in a flash! This was my third 11.3 mile ride at this trail in just 4 days, but after the first ride I checked my cranks and they needed just a little tightening.
I didn’t think they would need tightening again so soon, and I thought it was a bearing cap slip. I checked the caps and they were fine, then I checked the right crank it it was almost OFF the splined axle! I couldn’t believe it, as this had never happened since I started riding my G26er more than a year ago!
So I just figured it must have gotten loose from the dozens and dozens of steep climbs I had done at this trail over such a short time. I had never put my GUni through this much continual steep climbing. I’m lucky I didn’t loose the shift button! I think I’ll put some more locktite on the bolts! :o
Turtle, watching that video footage of your fall made my stomach hurt!
Glad you’re okay, you launched pretty far, looked like 4-5 meters from start to finish.
Yeah, that’s too fast for me, I already have my share of traumatic injuries.
Need One!
Doing the same trail today on my kh 29er, (ungeared) it turned out that Kris was right, when he told me that he doubted it would be easier to climb steep hills on an ungeared 29er, vs a G26er (in 1:1). Let me emphasize that while this is the result I got, it may be a different story for other riders.
And since the 29er is ungeared, its top speeds are considerably lower than my geared 26er, which becomes a virtual 39er in high. And up/down shifting the G26er also adds variety to the ride, keeping it interesting. It’s no wonder Kris prefers this setup.
My 29er will still be a decent backup MUni in case my geared uni ever fails or falls apart! So, For me, the G26er is just the ideal combination of high speed and efficient 1:1 climbing, and overall, the most fun you can have on one wheel!
Terry, that’s a little like comparing apples and oranges.
Certainly the larger wheel with the same crank lengths will climb differently, it takes more effort to roll a larger diameter wheel, but the advantage of a 29er over a 26er is not just about climbing one hill, it’s about the total ride.
I have been riding my fixed 26er exclusively for the past two weeks. In comparison to my 29er, I have found that some hills are easier and some hills are harder, the 26er is easier to ride on certain types of rough terrain, while the 29er is easier to ride on terrain where a larger diameter wheel “bridges” the obstacles.
The reason I do not like riding a 26er for long rides is that it is a slow wheel and tends to be more twitchy and less “terrain absorbing” than a 29er, hence my decision to build a 26guni; I was hoping that two wheel sizes in one would be a worthy combo. As with all unicycle wheel sizes, fixed or guni, there is always a compromise.
Now that I have sold the guni, I have made my 29er more rough terrain capable by returning to long cranks, so with 165/135’s in the 165 position my 29er climbs as well as my 26er with 150’s, then when I’m on a flatter trail I can switch crank positions for smoother spin while retaining the trail absorbing advantages of a larger wheel.
One thing I really like about the 29er is the flow of that wheel size through single track terrain, this is not something I have found on a 26er, which is the reason I originally changed to a 29er. For now I am using my 26er on shorter rides when I plan on doing steeper downhills or for when I’m wore out from excessive 29er riding. The 29er is still my go to uni for day to day riding
In fact, I am about to pull the trigger on a new 29er tire 
…and Monday I bought the fixins for my Oregon 36 er 
Maybe you need to put longer cranks on your 29er and try that comparison again?
The “total ride” is precisely why I LOVE my GUni! My main point was that my G26er does double duty by making climbing easier than my 29er, and the fact that it’s much faster. I love the variety and extreme versatility of having a 26er and 39er in one uni! And as I mentioned, it’s no mystery to me why Kris loves this setup. It’s simply ideal in so many ways, imo.
Different strokes for different folks…maybe you and Tholub should race
Shorter strokes than a 29er in 1:1, longer in high! 
All duty
Since coming back from my heel stress fracture last July I’ve been experimenting a bit with my KH24 GUni.
During the early months following my injury, when I couldn’t run but was allowed to ride on benign terrain i.e. pavement, gravel roads, etc… but no proper MUni, I decided to just use the Maxxis Hookworm 24x2.5 tire for everything. Why not, it’s a good road tire and that was mostly the terrain I was riding with a few short jaunts on easier XC trails from time to time.
I got really comfortable using this “road” tire for EVERYTHING that once I could start back to riding more proper MUni I decided why not stick with what I have? To my surprise I’ve had pretty good success riding the same old trails I used to ride but now with the “road” tire rather than a “proper” trail tire.
I know, blasphemy right? 
Well to me it’s all well worth it because I have days where I just like to zone out and cruise along some of the paved pedestrian paths or roads at work in high gear. At other times I like to ride XC MUni or more technical trails. In the past I was of the mind set that I MUST swap the tire out to a trail tire to ride MUni; now I’m not so sure. To me riding offroad with the higher PSI road tire is akin to riding my fully rigid mountain bike offroad. Totally doable and a unique experience but w/o the plush suspension much like what a lower PSI trail tire gives to the MUni experience. Both equally doable and both unique experiences.
Granted the road tire most likely won’t fair well in extremely wet or muddy trail conditions but that’s alright with me because most likely I won’t be riding in those conditions anyhow! Hey, I’m already NOT a fair weather runner!
So far so good, I’m really liking being able to just ride ONE uni for everything. May not work for some or most but it’s working really well for me. Give it a shot!
Rob
I bet you’d have trouble on the short but steep hillclimbs in my area with the hookworm, even with fairly dry conditions.
Are you climbing much with it?