What makes ISIS less scary to change than square taper?
Ok, I’ve not changed ISIS cranks, but I’ve changed the old KH 8 Splined ones, and those are just a case of undoing the bolts and slipping them off.
Winding in a crank extractor and tightening it tighter and tighter when nothing seems to be moving and knowing you’re about to wreck a delicate piece of Swiss engineering if anything goes wrong scares the crap out of me. I’ve only done it once, but that was enough for me.
Even normal square taper hubs get me in to a sweat when changing the cranks.
STM
Yeah, with the set up I am using and most ISIS cranks…I do not think that the cranks self extract. You still need to use a crank puller. I just need to get a new crank puller that will work with ISIS hubs if I am ever going to switch my cranks out.
Wow! A geared 29er seems like the perfect size for both XC/light MUni and long distance/communting! Lightweight, nimble and strong, and when in high gear, gives it an effective wheel diameter of 43.5"! This alone makes it easily faster than a standard coker and much less cumbersome! I’m sold!
Under the right circumstances and terrain it can be easily faster than a standard Coker. However, from experience riding with other Coker riders, there’s times when they are just faster. Some times the terrain isn’t suitable for high gear, in which case you’re playing catch-up on a 29er whilst the 36ers are getting away.
I don’t think that there will ever be one single unicycle that is always the best and fastest at everything. A 29 guni, however, is a fantastic compromise and probably as close as we’ll get. At least for now.
STM
Hey Sid! Good to hear from yah.
I got my geared KH hub into my Nimbus 36 on Tuesday night. I’ve done two one hour rides on it at lunch with Chuck on his geared KH 36.
IMHO, I’ve seen the future of unicycling and it is geared. I absolutely love my geared 36’er. But, just like starting to unicycle, there is a learning curve. I’m not yet hitting shifts 100%, but it isn’t difficult to learn how, and I’m sure I’ll get better.
So, my take on your dilemma: get a geared 36’er if you want the fastest touring machine, and get a geared 29’er if you want a very fast machine that is more portable than a 36" wheel.
-corbin
Hey, I’m going to totally second Corbin: Geared 36 is the way to go. Some have said here that long cranks will tire you out faster, but, honestly, if you’re using long cranks on a geared 36, you’ll be spinning a lot more slowly than even on a geared 29 for any given speed. Granted, long cranks while spinning fast definitely tire you out, but long cranks and 60-80 RPM are just golden. I think the argument that long cranks are tiring hinges on the assumption that you’ll be spinning at the same cadence for a given ground speed, and, with geared hubs and big wheels, that doesn’t hold water.
I actually think longer cranks and slower spin are better than a faster spin with shorter cranks, because you’re able to use more of your muscle and spread the load with the better leg extension. On my bike I have 175 cranks and always choose a gear that keeps me between 80 and 100 RPM, and I can do a spontaneous century here or there and feel great afterwards, with a clean thorough exercise of the entire lengths of my legs. On my ungeared 36 with 125s (and even moreso with 102s), it felt like all the work was being concentrated in my quads (top of leg) right behind my knees. Now I can get that bike-workout feeling from my geared 36, and go faster all the same. I think for touring longevity longer cranks and slower cadence (for the same mechanical advantage at the pedal, i.e. same ‘gear ratio’) are going to be the winner, which would leave you on a geared 36 with 150 cranks probably spinning a cool easy 80-90 RPM for around 15mph. (which I think is a pretty decent touring speed for a unicycle, IMHO). I have no doubt that it’d be doable to hold an easy 15mph spin on a geared 36 with 150 cranks for 40, 50, 60, 80 miles at a time, leaving you ready for more the next day on a big touring ride. And if you want to go fast, it’s more than likely very possible with a bit of work to hold 18-20 over flat ground. (I haven’t done this for a long period of time yet, but I can do it for the occasional couple-miles-at-a-time-between-the-burrito-shop-and-office opportunities I’ve had, and it doesn’t feel that bad.)
Doing 15 mph on my geared 36 feels like a relaxing, easy cruise, and I’m on 165 cranks. I’m planning on going 150 or 137 very soon, as 165 is way too long, but I’m totally sold on a geared 36. Maybe 137 will be too short, but I have to find out. I’m anticipating ending up on 150 cranks after trying out the different lengths.
Edit: What crank length I end up on is irrelevant, though… I think that a geared 36 would be your best bet for easy speed on a tour, and, for me, it’d be worth the cumber. (Considering I already have one :)) I could totally understand wanting a geared 29 over a geared 36, though, if space and luggability are a concern. That said, I’d get the 36 and put a KH schlumpf hub in it.
THAT said, I don’t think that an equivalent wheel size much higher than 54 would be a good idea, except for very very flat ground and/or downhills; 54" seems to be just easy enough to control on flat ground to be fast. (But maybe that’s because I’m still in the falling-in-love-and-getting-used-to-it stage).
Thank you.
I keep reading testamonials that a geared 36er is basically no faster than a fixed gear (1:1) 36er.
Here’s the thread-look at post #5, 6 from both Ken Looi and Roger from UDC (UK) I think it’s safe to regard them as authorities on 36er’s. and unicycling in general. Geared 29 for Ride the Lobster
I’ve read those testimonials, too… I think you should try it, though. At least over the distances I’ve ridden so far (i.e. under 15 miles) I’m definitely way faster on my geared 36 with 165s than I was on my ungeared with 125s and 102s. These faster speeds feel very sustainable, but, obviously, as I haven’t tried huge distances yet, I can’t be sure.
Perhaps it’s different for different people?
Due to the small cranks, I’m probably slower in first gear climbing some of the less-steep hills, but over flat ground there’s no contest in the under-20 mile range. For me! So this is all IMHO of course; people can disagree (and I’ve only had my geared uni for a week!)
I’ve ridden the same ride on a fixed 36’er and a geared 36’er. So far, I am faster on the geared 36’er. I can’t put it more simply than that. I don’t know what makes a person an authority on it, and it may be different for everyone.
corbin
Well, I meant that Ken Looi is an amazing rider and knows his stuff, and yes, it’s only his opinion, but because of his experience and notariety as a great rider, I give his comments considerable weight. But as you and Chuck imply, everybody’s different, therefore results may vary lol!
LOL, yeah, Ken Looi is WAY more amazing a rider than probably all three of you, me, and Corbin put together, and I bet he could keep up with us on our geared 36ers on his ungeared with 102. 
I think it depends a lot on the terrain. I think very hilly terrain actually favors a fixed gear with shorter cranks over a long crank Schlumpf setup. The reason is that there’s quite a gap in gearing between 1:1 and 1.5:1. So, with a geared hub, you end up gearing down on really steep sections and spinning a lower cadence than the fixed gear. Plus, there’s the added complexity and time of shifting and transitioning to the new gear.
On long flat stretches of road, though, there’s no doubt in my mind that geared up is faster than fixed.
Haha true, just as Tiger Woods could use the cheapest set of old, used clubs bought at a garage sale, and blow away the average golfer’s butt who’s using the most customized, expensive clubs available!
One issue I don’t see being addressed is that of comfort. To me, comfort was the biggest issue over the entirety of the tour… and the biggest contributor to my comfort, besides a good seat, was a short pair of cranks.
It seems like one would want longer cranks with a guni. Hence, you’re losing a measure of comfort in riding 137s, say, instead of 110s or 102s. How’s that going to work out on a “long day”?
Not to be a nay-sayer, but I don’t see any of the above issues being a problem with a 36er, except rider confidence… and that’s just a matter of practice, IMHO. We used all manners of transport in 'Nam and there wasn’t any problems lugging my 36er around, be it packed or assembled.
I think you are right, but I think most discomfort is caused by the high spinning speed (cadence) required for long cranks. With a geared hub, you have a lower spinning speed, and therefore more comfort.
However, I have yet to do a long ride to see if this is true. Come ride with us tomorrow morning! I think Kevin is coming too. (granted, it’ll be a short coker muni ride).
corbin
IMHO, you’ve hit the nail on the head! I was noticing that exact effect on my rides with Corbin. I think I’ll make sure to have my old ungeared 36 built up with my 102 or 114mm cranks for the hillier sections of RTL, just for the nasty rollers.
Regarding crank length and comfort, on my bike I can easily ride 100 miles, and have ridden 180-210 in a day, with 175mm cranks, and it’s way more comfortable than riding for extended periods on my 102s or 125s. I think it all comes down to your cadence. Naturally, 137 cranks at cadences required by an ungeared unicycle will destroy all but the stupidly strong monsters by the end of the day, but 137/150 cranks at the lower cadences of a Guni (especially a 36er), IMHO, will be more comfortable than higher cadences at 102 or 110mm. Yes, one will be pushing a higher gear, but cadence will be lower and one be able to use more of the range of motion in one’s leg. (For me, I think this means less fatigue and more power.) Of course, I could be wrong. I have to go on some long rides to see. This is my hypothesis…
BTW, @maestro8, you’re in Sunnyvale, and me and Corbin are in Cupertino! I don’t know who you are, but you’re most likely on Corbin’s bluetreesoft MUni list. Me and Corbin (and hopefully others) are doing Coker Muni tomorrow morning, and you should come. If you don’t want to spend the gas money, I can give you a ride out there!
Corbin and I seem to be mirroring each other’s thoughts, lol. :D. We both said pretty much exactly the same things, including inviting maestro8 to ride with us, heh. We were both writing at the same time, even!
They are indeed both authorities, but they are also two of the fastest riders I have ever ridden with. Both Ken and Roger can cruise for hours at a cadence I find hard to maintain for more than a few minutes.
Us mere mortals may find that either the geared or ungeared is significantly faster. My hunch though is that this will not be the case. I’ve done experiments in the past with different crank lengths and wheel sizes (29 vs 36) over a relatively hilly course and the verdict was that they all were capable of the same average speed over a hilly course. The perceived speed and comfort level varied markedly, along with the cadence required, but the actual time take to complete the loop was the same. A smaller, lighter wheel can be pushed around faster. If you are fit and strong enough that you can maintain a fast cadence you may find precious little difference between a 29er and a 36er over a varied course.
When I get my geared 29er I’ll run some more experiments to compare it against an ungeared 29er and ungeared 36, with a bunch of different crank lengths.