In order to maintain forward/backwards balance (and eliminate a UPD) the heavier wheel has the advantage because you reduce the likelihood of exceeding the maximum pedaling speed before regaining balance.
But in high gear Iām far, far away from my maximum pedaling speed, so thatās not a limiting factor.
I think the lighter the wheel, the easier it is to ākickā the wheel forward, thereby re-establishing balance. I think we have to agree to disagree on this subject. So far, Iāve always preferred a lighter wheel. Will soon have the opportunity for another ātestā: Today, the new 36er TPU tube from www.einradshop.ch was delivered, so there will be some weight to be saved, even if itās not a whole lot.
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I think this is the first part of the process of owning a Schlumpf. Thatās the hating of it.
I mean sheer fear and detestation of the sensation of high gear.
I donāt think I really enjoyed it or glimpsed a sense of the magic until Iād endured 50 hours of attempting to ride in high gear. This period was hard as I wasnāt riding those hours in high gear - with most in 1:1. But I had the option to test myself if I could.
Iāve realised that if Schlumpf geared unicycles were a super simple enhanced experience of standard unicycling - theyād probably be way more popular. As in (barring the cost) the barrier or entry skill wise is that a fixed wheel is just easier for 95% of people (myself included)
But the item or experience or the possibilities it can offer become indispensable to riders who have pushed past the steep learning curve or have extremely good skills and riding technique already that the fear is just minimised due to this: then theyāre in that elite club where riding a geared wheel isnāt really that much harder and the speed options let them fly.
For mere mortals such as myself - the fact is Iām a very nervous and basic rider; but Iām stubborn in the sense I will not quit or remove the belief that one day Iāll be good at 1:1.5. Good in the sense I just ride without fear.
Iāve been there from time to time and it is a happy place. But Iām always feeling way way safer on a fixed wheel or in 1:1.
So why do it to oneself?
Isnāt unicycling in general a stubborn sport where we just want to defy gravity and the hard earth as we balance on a wheel at fun velocities? Yes: and I have convinced myself that Iāll never quit my focus on Schlumpf-riding as a personal ambition, identity, club I want to be a life long member of - no matter how scared or challenged I feel.
I got tattoos to lock me into the passion and I believe Iād quit unicycling as a whole should the whole project fail and I give up.
But I wonāt. And I donāt think one should really contemplate the option until at least 100hours of dealing with the ridiculous sensation of high gearing your way around.
If youāre lucky and find it easy - great. But I really donāt find it easier than fixed wheels.
It does however open a whole new lexicon of muscle and mental re-wiring that is somehow alluring. And a major byproduct of wrestling with 1:1.5 is that you improve your skills in 1:1.
I may still be a timid and mediocre 1:1.5 rider - but it has without a doubt made me a better rider in general.
All aspects of riding in high gear are different - the body positioning, de-weighting the saddle, handle bar usage, braking via the pedals, quick reactions.
I think your body is likely still learning that its reflexes need to be in a whole new language to all parts of the process. Even when Iāve been riding in high gear for a decent period of time, clocking up the meters, I have experienced the body not really being sure of where it is and how it can control what it is doing. (Not how I feel in 1:1)ā¦
But those magical glimpses that keep me firming hooked on this odd challenge have come when the body does learn how to tackle rapid changes in the terrain in high gear or when Iāve managed to pass a group of people and dogs with control - or where Iāve recognised I can speed up to faster than my highest 1:1 speed, or most critically when Iāve relaxed in to the fact that I needed to put my body weight on my toes more and lean into the forward void space and trust the gearing with work for me - both with forward drive and with equal braking options.
A few months back I had my best series of improvements regarding shifting up - and it was again a process of mind over matter. A great sense of coping with the unexpected and also a kind of mechanical sense of actioning a machine while bridging the lexicon of muscle vocabulary that one needs to use for 1:1 and then up to 1:1.5.
1:1 is like speaking my native English.
1:1.5 is like speaking my non native Czech
This long post is to basically say - donāt give up if thatās what youāre toying with. Ideally enjoy hating the whole process - as just like learning unicycling before one could do that, something always clicks and you donāt want to miss that moment 
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Me: Please summarize the text above.
ChatGPT:
The text describes the authorās personal experience with learning to ride a Schlumpf-geared unicycle, which involves shifting between high and low gears. The initial phase is challenging, filled with fear and frustration as the author struggles with high gear (1:1.5) and prefers the safety of the low gear (1:1). Despite feeling like a nervous and basic rider, the author is determined not to quit and continues to push through the steep learning curve.
The process is compared to learning a new language, where mastering high gear requires rewiring both the body and mind. The author reflects on how struggling with high gear improves their overall unicycling skills. The satisfaction comes from moments when the rider gains better control, speeds up, and begins to trust the gearing system. The post encourages others not to give up and to embrace the challenge, as persistence eventually leads to breakthroughs and a deeper connection with the sport.
Me: Make it shorter.
ChatGPT:
The author shares their challenging experience learning to ride a Schlumpf-geared unicycle, struggling with fear and difficulty in high gear (1:1.5). Despite being a nervous rider, they are determined to keep going, as the process improves their overall unicycling skills. The journey is compared to learning a new language, where persistence eventually leads to moments of mastery. The author encourages others not to quit, as breakthroughs come with time and effort.
Me to @mindbalance: Thank you, you opinion does matter to me.
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Me: This is a forum where people write stuff - long and short so take it or leave it.
ChatGPT is for the birds - meaning use your LLMs for your own fun, but thereās zero need to run my words though that and then post it here.
I get it. Iām verbose or detailed or too long for your eyeballs.
But it isnāt necessary or kind to share this back to the author, me.
Again I wonder if this place is just degenerating and one should just call it quits with sharing any viewpoint.
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Man, thatās offensive. Calling names is for a kindergarten, right?
People are different, and use different tools too, so take it or leave it.
Iāll repeat, that your opinion does matter to me, and this is not any kind of a joke or irony. It does. I watched a few of your videos, and I am OK with your style, I take it. Thank you. I do watch these videos with 1.25-1.50x though, but thatās me and my style. I respect your time and your style, but value my time too (sometimes 
).
As for the summaries, do you think this misrepresents your message? I am respectfully curious.
Thanks Felix, this is such a great description of the process as I have found it (and Iāve not got half as far through it as you have), with some really good analogies. Itās an encouragement for me and anyone else working their way along the learning curve to keep at it and work through the challenges. I think you capture the battle well, and itās good to hear from you as someone who hasnāt found the process easy. Itās always great to hear from the elite riders (thatās one of the amazing benefits of the small and generous unicycling community), but I can all too easily think I must be making a meal of it and other people donāt find it as difficult. Your post tells it from the non-expert rider perspective, and I really appreciate that. At present Iām not getting all that many unicycling opportunities and havenāt even shifted up to high gear in months due to knowing I may well just UPD (on top of our running dog!), and I donāt recall that Iāve ever successfully downshifted yet. But I know it will come in due course - thank you for encouraging me to keep the hope
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Thatās good to know 
, I had a feeling that Iām not the only one to think they might struggle with such a huge travel per pedal revolution.
If this is the ballpark, itāll take quite a while for me to get thereā¦
Itās certainly not for everyone, for various reasons. But in my opinion cost is the most limiting factor. I think a lot of people who use the uni as a means of transportation are curious and would like to test such a hub and see if it works for them. But most shy away because of the price tag.
I sure hope to get to that point someday; if not, there is no reason for me to keep the hub. At the moment I feel like it could be easier to adapt to somewhat shorter cranks and to learn to climb the hills in my neighborhood with the non-geared 29er. By using shorter cranks I would also gain the ability to ride at higher speeds on the flats, if I desire to do so.
Weāre different, here, I donāt have this kind of ambitions. I do think it is a cool piece of kit and I do think itās cool to have the skills to ride it in high gear. But my motivation to buy one was not primarily to grow as a unicyclist. It was foremost to either ride at my usual speed of the 29er (around 14-15km/h), but at a lower cadence, or to ride at my max save cadence (around 120rpm) but at a higher speed.
Maybe I started this journey with wrong assumptions. Read: I should have done the math first. High speeds are kinda scary and require me to wear the complete set of protectors that I have. That takes away some of the charm of the unicycle for me - I canāt just step out the door, grab the thing and ride away. It means changing clothes and put on the whole shebang of protectors before I can get started. And given the short distances that I usually ride, I will not be able to be faster overall, despite riding a faster uni. I wasnāt really aware of this when I ordered the Schlumpf.
Well, I have the hub, and I will continue to try to get along with it. Iām just not so sure anymore that I have the physical presuppositions to really succeed.
Fully agree on this one, it can only be positive for the rider as a whole.
Yes and no. Of course Iām still in the process of learning and adapting; I think Iāve only done about 3km in high gear, so far. Itās just that after the way I UPDād Iām not sure anymore that my physical (and mental, given that Iām not the āfull sendā type) predispositions will allow me to ever really take advantage of the hub.
Will not give up soon, promised!
Maybe I should start out with longer cranks. The reason why I didnāt start with my Venture 165s right away is that I feared to accidentally hit the shift button (plus they are currently on the 36er), so I ordered some 150mm KH Spirits. Their form factor not only leads to an increased Q factor (not what I was looking for), but it also protects the shifting knob from being accidentally hit by the heel. Iāve since realised (but need to investigate properly) that this is rather unlikely with 165mm cranks; my feet are probably too short for this to happen when using such long cranks. On the other hand, the increased lever would allow for better control of the beast in high gear.
Anyway, there is still a long way to go, but itās the same for many of us. Thanks for the encouragement!
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Rode the Schlumpf uni again in second gear, today. It rook me 4 or 5 tries to freemount in high gear, and riding it was a pain. Then, after one of those Schlumpf related out-of-the-blue-UPDs I continued in 1:1 for a while (not because I was frustrated, but because I was about to enter the town and needed to be able to ride slowly and in a controlled manner).
Then, on my way back home, there was a long straight where I practised riding in second gear again, and for the first time it felt kinda relaxed. I rode at about 14-15km/h and had no UPD 
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This might be a bit off-topic but i was wondering what your opinions are on using a geared 36" on a ca 530 km ride i was thinking of doing next summer. Would this be advantageous compared to a ungeared 36" with for example 100 mm cranks (maybe even 75mm for some parts).
Thanks
You replied to my post, but probably just because it happened to be the last one.
In case you indeed wanted my opinion, well, here it is: a geared 36er and a 36er with 110mm cranks both are suicidal, but I donāt know which will be the better choice to bite the dust in the most effective way.
Hope that was helpful
Wheelou (running 150mm cranks on my 26er fatty, my g29er and my 36er, but slowly trying shorter cranks)
Thanks, I am open to all opinions although I have to disagree as I now mainly use 100mm cranks and as of writing this comment I am still alive 
Regarding 75mm i have done a total of around 200 km, but it was a bit too much for my knees on the āhillsā.
Within this 530 km ride I might with some luck have a chance at breaking Sam Wakelingās long standing 24 hour record.
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Thatās just pure luck! 
I know Iām biased towards long cranksĀ°, but I try shorter ones every few months, so not all hope is lostā¦
Are you planning an official go at the 24h record??? That wouild be pretty big news, in my opinion. Anyway, all the best for your trip.
Ā° theyāre what works best with my current skill and fitness levels. But Iām slowly progressing on both of them - thatās what allows me to slowly go shorter.
About the choice of uni for long trips, I would say that a geared hub is better, but short cranks on a fixed hub might be good too if you ride exclusively on flat roads.
When you speak of a 530 km ride, do you plan to go for one ride (no or barely any break) or a several day long trip ?
I have myself done a 800 km trip last summer over 7 days. It was rather flat (less than 4000 m uphill), but I was really happy to have my schlumpf, since it allowed me to go uphill easily and go fast on flat, easy parts.
Now about the 24 hours WR, do you plan to beat it during your trip ? If so, it is very likely that it wonāt be approvable. The rules ask for a closed loop to be done several times and mesured precisely. You also need to be seen at any time of the loop by officials. However, I really want to see people trying it.
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Well as aurelian said there needs to be lots of official officials and such so it would probably not be an official official go.
Yes i was thinking a single ride of around 30 hours, i might not really try for the record but it would be fun to get it āaccidentallyā
I hope youāre aware that a 30h ride is even moe suicidal than your silly crank choices
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Well, with all the ferries and such my 144km ride on 36"/75mm took around 11 hours which is basically the same as 30 so itll probably be just fine
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Wow, all that is pretty impressive, I am really curious about your previous long rides such as this one. Could you tell us more about it ?
EDIT : I just found your strava account while looking at Adrienās 24h ride. I feel like you will definitely need several long rides before attempting 520 km. I have myself done quite many long rides (12 times [100; 160[, one 160 km, one 200+ and one 350 (including a 4 hours break)). And even though 100+ km rides are a piece of cake, going for more than 12 hours is really hard. So going for 30h seems quite undoable seeing what I just saw on strava. However, with proper training it might be doable (but definitely do at least 200 km and a whole night on the uni before trying I know that in Norway āone nightā doesnāt always make sense)
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yeah iāve only done one other 100.3 km ride, lots of training is coming up once the snow melts which is already in good progress as it is currently +10c 
here! Unfortunatly the winter weather is quite unpredictable
Once i get it together an almost achievable training schedule might look something like doing a 25-35 km ride every weekday and perhaps at least a 100km every weekend with one rest day.
At this latitude the most sunlight is around 20 hours in june so at night it is not actually dark at all (even without midnight sun), of course being a great advantage in such a ride
As of now there is only 5 hours 39 minutes of daylight so most rides are in the dark