Ride 2
G-KH26 is now fully set up with Magura HS33 (changed to blue tube and bled myself - that was “fun”). Decided to leave well along with this nice uni-build and run rim brakes as I don’t think I’ll be needing disc brakes for what I plan to do any time soon.
From more testing of 1:1.5, it’s an amazing ride in high gear but…
My simple summery after today’s first proper ride along my favourite path is that a G-Uni is:
Absolutely terrifying
Absolutely achievable 
Absolutely enjoyable 
I suspect that the achievable and enjoyable sides will come up in volume and drown out the fear I had today. But unicycling without a bit of terror here and there wouldn’t be the challenge we all enjoy right? So I’m going to embrace the fear of high gear and go with it.
Today, I rode to warm up in 1:1 and then was thinking.
How would it feel to shift over to 1:1.5 with my heel?
And I half-tested the action, thinking nothing would happen having read it’s super hard to do. But it changed and I rode three revolutions when sadly my brain kicked into its gear - and that’s when I wiped out fast and flat on the road in front of me. Silly brain.
It’s a case of needing a new lexicon of muscle responses to the terrain, all for riding in high gear.
I can ride on a flat rode no issues - but my reflexes for any root or incline or bump, are still hard wired to exert pressure form a 1:1 gear mind set. The rest of the day’s ride felt like living in terror - but happily I ended the trip by forcing myself to test shift again in an empty car park… this time consciously - and I was pleased to again hit the super amazing sensation of having more torque in the wheel than normal (I’d shifted to high). But I wiped out again shortly after it shifted.
Main takeaway is that high gear on paper doesn’t sound much but it really is a big jump in real money / wheel terms. I think I finally realised the notion of going from 26” to a virtual 39”.
It’s just takes a lot of tumbles I feel to learn this shifting malarkey.
Going to try more riding start in high gear without shifting more to get that feeling fully soaked into my muscles - and likely change the slightly slick tyre (Hookworm) for something more knobbly, as today I feel I was in part fighting that tyre in ways I’m not used to from other more MUni-ish kitted out wheels I have around me.
Fingers crossed for some more successful stages ahead. I sense next time I try the shifting up I’ll wipe out a few more times but then it’ll start to click.