The 'schlumpf' experience- to a non user

General
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I have been riding a geared 24 for about 2 years and a geared 36 for about a year. I ride my geared 24 exclusively on easy to moderately technical singletrack. I love going fast on the easy sections, and with experience, have learned to ride over a lot of obstacles in high gear. There are sections of trail that I ride with ease now, that I didn’t think were possible when I first started riding geared muni. I find it to be fun, exciting, and a great challenge. I do some muni on my 36, but would not be able to ride it on the same trails that I ride on my 24 guni. I can downshift for the harder uphills/downhills on the guni, which I cannot do on the 36. Also, I am more comfortable going fast on single track on the 24 than on the 36. This is mostly due to being lower to the ground. Also, the 24 guni is more manueverable, even in high. Another advantage is that the fatter, softer wheel on the 24 really absorbs the bumps, whereas, on the 36 the bumps are more jarring. I still have a straight 24 for serious tech DH.

Also, I completed a 111 mile ride under 9 hours on my geared 36 (after 6 months of riding it) in under 9 hours. No way could I do that ungeared.

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All that said, you need to be a skilled rider before setting off to ride geared. Riding my 36 with 110mm cranks was a great prep for riding my geared 36 with 150mm cranks.

23

When a guni’s in 1:1 does it ride the same as a non-guni; are the difficulties that have been mentioned only evident when in the higher gear?

24

I believe that there is a little play in the pedals; I know it is heavier.

Scott

25

Yah you get a tiny bit of play in the hub even when in 1:1

You get used to it but it sort of feels like you have a crank or pedal a little bit loose all the time.

26

A lot of people here making small issues seem like really big ones.

Pedal slop: Minimal at best and not noticeable once you are riding- if you are a big fan of hopping stuff then you might feel it. Then again, static/side hops on a geared muni is more hindered by the weight then the small degree of pedal slop.

Maintenance: It is not hard taking out a grub screw and squirting in a little grease every 6 months. Honestly, as long as you are not a mechanical dip shit they are very simple to install and look after. A bike that is ridden half as hard as my geared muni is would need new cables, pads, and much more tweaking to keep it in top condition than my geared muni requires.

Twitchyness: Directly correlated to the amount of time the rider has spent on the machine. Your riding technique will need to change a little bit to get that same smooth pedaling that you previously had on your unfixed machine but it will come back with time. The same goes for the frame/lever effect. I don’t notice this at all- even when climbing in high gear. it is probably helped by my use of a substantial handlebar.

Shifting: A few people complaining about the gear ratios, and trouble with shifting- again, it is related to how much time you have invested in perfecting the new skill. It is a new skill and it needs to be honed so don’t think you will go straight be being a better, faster rider just because you have a geared uni. It took me a long time and a lot of practice to harness the potential of a geared uni in a Muni setting: for a long time you will be slower (due to missed shifts, UPDs in high etc). Once you get to a point where you can shift every 1/2 pedal revolution if you want then you are going to be much better off than if you need 4 or 5 attempts to get the shift to engage. This confidence with shifting (hitting shifts on the first go and anticipating the gear change with appropriate balance/cadence regulation) makes the riding experience much more enjoyable- but it takes time.

So- what does it give you? You won’t be faster initially, it takes a bit of know how to set up and maintain, it is heavy, expensive and difficult. What it does give you is an all in one machine that can do all. That means no deciding which uni to take on the trail- or the frustration of having to skip sections of the trail because you are on the wrong machine.

For me though, there are a lot of good reasons to go geared for a uni. I have been riding unis for a long time now- the geared unicycle took me down a notch. It forced me to develop new skills and me gave back that sensation of devoting my whole mental focus to the task at hand that I haven’t had since I started to learn about 10 years ago. You need to be reading more of the trail, in order to anticipate shifts, reading finer detail in the trail (if you are riding it in high gear), and you need to have an acute sense of body awareness to execute a shift, at speed, at the right time, in order to clear a section of trail. The other reason is it turns unicycling into a viable machine for riding long distances. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of MTB enduro races of up to 110km- distances that are all but masochistic on anything but a geared uni.

Some people don’t like it because it is hard- others do. Those that stick with it get the rewards in the end.

Mark

1 Like
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Hear, hear!

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How to describe the Schlumpf experience to someone that hasn’t ridden one? In a word:

Sluggish.

That’s what it boils down to for me. There’s more to it of course, as has been well described above. But the overall ride requires more effort to push the gear, along with the few pounds of extra hub, and the friction of the drivetrain.

Once you get through all of that, you’re not only going faster, but pedaling slower! That’s part of the reward. But there’s a major other part for me, which is the challenge. I would venture to guess that most of us unicycle enthusiasts do it, in part, for the challenge. So after many years of riding all sorts of unicycle, the Schlumpf brings a whole new challenge, with the special reward of higher speeds/slower pedaling.

I’m still learning to shift the beast. I’m sure I would improve a lot faster with a smaller wheel, but I’m on a 36" with a handle I don’t want to drop. So I’m pretty conservative with the shifting (and afraid to practice brake coasting, like Corbin Dunn and Beau Hoover do).

The cost vs. breakdown vs. time-to-get-fixed issue is also part of the equation. It’s a major investment in time as well as money. When mine broke, it was a very long time before I was riding my new one, with scant communication from the factory to let me know everything was okay.

The pedal slop is very noticeable when you first ride one; from my years of previous experience it nagged at me like a loose crank arm. Even though my fore-brain knew it was okay, my hind-brain kept wanting me to stop riding before I ruined the crank! But after a little while you stop noticing it. It doesn’t affect me a bit.

There is also the extra weight. Not so noticeable for 36" road riding, but very noticeable when I take it offroad. Enough that I’d probably prefer riding my old, square taper, ungeared Coker on the trails instead.

While a minority of cyclists are very into the technical, most more casual riders are more in the dip category. :slight_smile:

I think when the original writer mentioned twitchyness, he was talking about how the wheel is more responsive in low gear. In that sense, twitchy is a good thing. In high gear, your wheel is very non-twitchy, or sluggish.

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The crank and bearing situation is not analogous to anything on a bike; bike parts outside of the extreme cutting edge have much more reasonable tolerances. I’ve been working on bikes for 20+ years and I’ve never needed a torque wrench until I got a Schlumpf.

I’ve been riding a Schlumpf for five years now. Have thousands of miles on it, on and off road, did Ride The Lobster (team came in sixth, I came in eighth in the time trial), did two California MUni Weekends. And shifting still sucks. Shifting shouldn’t have to be a skill, and it shouldn’t be something you have to do with your feet. Some people get to the point where it’s natural. Some people get to the point where wheel walking is natural, too, but I never have and I’m pretty sure I never will.

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For once I agree with you Tom :slight_smile:

It is fiddly- not just squirting oil in it every six months. You need special tools every time you take the cranks off, you need to get everything at the right torque (in 20yrs of racing bikes, I never felt the need for a torque wrench). Still haven’t figured out how to get a torque wrench into the bearing bolts once with the disc rotor is in situ. And if breaks down after 2000km, and needs to be sent to Switzerland for maintenance and then rebuilt.

I was one of the first in the world to get a Schlumpf, I’ve come 2nd and 3rd in the Unicon Marathon on a Schlumpf, I’ve set a world record on one, but I would never ride one for the sake of it. If I want to go fast, bikes more fun.

Regarding shifting- it would be like having only a 1 and 1.5 gear ratio on a bike, and raving about how great it shifts once you get the ‘skill’ to do it.

31

I didn’t put it in such big caps, but that’s essentially my main issue with the Schlumpf.

It feels like you are riding a 30kg downhill mountainbike on the road. It’s no fun.

An Unguni doesn’t go as fast, but feels more like riding a track bike.

So really what I’m getting at is how it ‘feels’. A tractor might be able to go faster than I can run, but it’s going to feel slow compared to running.

32

I will add my opinion here

just to give a little background.
I learnt to ride many years ago, I learnt to ride a 20 inch uni and very little more. no tricks no Muni, nothing.
However returning to unicycling I started geting into various new areas of unicycling, hockey, trials and Muni. this was about 2 yrs ago

my first purchase was a decent trials.
then within 6 months of my renewed intrest in unicycling i had bought a schlumpf (build into a 26 inch wheel)

and thats it. I have 2 unicycles

I enjoy the trials, but the Schlumpf I LOVE.

this has really been the purchase which has enthused me again and got me craving time out on the uni, and really loving riding again.

I found learning to ride the schlumpf as challenging, and as rewarding as learning to ride a Uni first time around.
I think the fact i wasn’t a veteran Municyclist, didnt have ideas about what this should feel like or what i should be able to do helped, rather than hindered.
I have since gone back and ridden non geared muni. and the lightness is wierd, fun and easy to hop and throw the uni around, but I wont be hurrying to buy another non geared wheel.

am I faster than great Muni riders on non geared hubs? im pretty sure im not.
But I have an absolute hoot zooming to the trail head in high gear. even if I stay in low gear all the time on the trail (try not to) having the high gear for movement to or between trails makes the whole activity more practical for me.

plus there is the storage.
I live in a TINY flat, i have no garage to store my 24, 26, 29 and 36
so my G26 stays on my balcony, and thats the Uni I grab for road rides, off road rides, and mixed rides.

If you have the resources available buy a Schlumpf.

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The Payoff would be that you are riding a two speed unicycle, so like riding a 20" giraffe, it’s not that you can’t ride a normal 20" and perform as well or better, but that you are doing it and you find it to be interesting enough to enjoy.

Since selling my guni I have gotten into 36er muni. Am I more efficient or faster? Not really. Is it harder than a smaller wheel? Most of the time it is. Do I like it better than a small wheel? Yes and no, but I do enjoy it quite a bit.

No amount of discussion will change people’s opinions, so just get one, it’s the only way you’ll know.

It’s just money.

Don’t get a guni because you want to go faster or because it will make you a better rider, get a guni because you want to try some different.

I just got a UW, it is so ridiculously hard that I am even more amazed by the kid riding one in the UDC video; and so far I totally suck on it :o

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I note a couple interesting things in this discussion: nobody really passionately hates the Schlumpf hubs, but there are those of us that don’t think they’re generally worth the downsides - including GizmoDuck who owns three! There are definitely some who are passionate about insisting on how wonderful they are. I’ve been that passionate in the past about stuff I spent a lot of money on, and I admit now it wasn’t always a very objective opinion, because I needed to justify the expense to myself.

I thought of three more beyond my earlier post:

  1. Shifting gears is really fun and satisfying when you get it right, so riding a guni can be rewarding just for mastering that skill (but wasn’t enough challenge/reward for me to keep the guni just for that).

  2. A guni is really the only way to come close to being able to race against bikes, or other gunis (racing is not my thing, and I’ve found a 36 to be fine for casual rides with bikes).

  3. Bragging rights. I’ve got to admit that having the “best”, most expensive unicycle was probably part of what motivated me to get the Schlumpf hub (I got over it).

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The “payoff” for many of us GUni owners is that once you get accustomed to riding one, it opens up a whole new world of adventure, versatility and fun. :slight_smile:

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I think the “payoff”, for many of us GUni owners, is that once you get accustomed to riding one, (like when we first learned to ride a regular uni) it opens up a whole new world of adventure, versatility and fun. And of course, for a new challenge. The GUni just allows you to take it to the next level(s). And, as we all know, if it were easy, it would have two wheels. :slight_smile:

37

I really like to ride tech DH which is not as accessible to me as XC rides, especially for morning rides during the week. I used to ride those trails on my 29er, which was much more fun than the 24. Even on the 29er, they were starting to get a little boring. The trails are not well suited for a 36. So the Guni Muni has made those XC rides fun and challenging.

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Don’t get me wrong- I think they have their place. But the thread author was asking for opinions, and I was trying to provide some balance.

It depends what you are after. If, like me, you got into unicycling because of the simplicity, lightweight, zero-maintenance, and bombproofness of a unicycle, then it’s not for you. I like the fact that unicycles are the most basic means of transport ever invented. It’s a very elegant and uncomplicated machine.

You really need a GUni if you want to race against bikes, or against other GUni riders. That is the only reason I have three.

If you want a GUni just for the sake of going fast, then it would work for you also. For me, if I wanted to go fast, I’d rather ride my bike. It’s like a GUni rider asking an Unguni rider why would you ride an Unguni when you can ride a GUni? I ask exactly the same thing of GUni riders. Why ride a GUni when you can ride a bike? Bikes are faster, have a more efficient range of gears, lighter and generally more fun to hack around with.

A GUni feels like a slow heavy bike, an Unguni doesn’t feel like a bike at all, which is why I ride them.

I’ve no doubt that over time, the technology will make GUnis as pleasurable to ride as bikes, but for now, they’re a bit clunky and the worst of both worlds.

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I want to agree with Ken in most respects here - that Schlumpfs (36 esp) are a bit ungainly and miss out on some of the unique charm of unicycles… though also I haven’t ridden a non-geared unicycle regularly since getting a Schlumpf - but maybe I should try it again!

I do, however, like Schlumpf 36 riding combined with road bike riding as it means my leg muscles are trained more interchangeably (and just more). A downside to riding ungeared is the short cranks mean you get quite different work on your legs, and can’t so easily use the benefits of training on both one and two wheels.

In terms of performance I’ve found being geared up gives me about a 5-10% increase in cruising and top-end speed - vital for racing but not much different in terms of transport or touring. I’ve covered just as long distances ungeared as using a Schlumpf. Being geared up probably reduces repetitive strain injury though (I’ve abused my joints and tendons in both ways).

On the original question - it feels dead weird to start with, and always has a different feel due to the frame pulling/pushing you around when you accelerate or decelerate; but it’s not a big deal and fairly easily coped with after a few rides.

Conclusion - worth it? Yes, overall it’s nice to ride geared up. Lots of people have found they enjoy it.

Just my 2 cents/gears. There may be some internal contradictions, but hey.

Sam

Ken: you’re welcome to use whatever words you want to, and I’m sure everyone does know what you mean by ‘Unguni’, but I feel like it’s worth noting that no-one else ever uses it. :wink:

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All words aside, this video shows why I love to ride my Schlumpf :smiley: