I wonder how many G29er owners might disagree with the underlined quote above. But I ordered the G26er with the ardent 2.6, which is the same set up Kris uses. I’m pretty excited about this whole new G-world I’ll be entering!
One issue I can think of would be figuring out how to mount the brake lever if I also want to get the KH handle. (short version like KH uses). If it’s mounted on the handle, (on the tubing below the “T”, just under the front of the saddle) it puts the lever almost out of reach because it’s so far below where it usually is when mounted on the traditional brake mount. There’s really nowhere else to mount it, that I can think of anyway.
IMO, at first you really miss having the brake lever directly on the handle. Then you start to get used to it, and soon it feels really normal, even preferred. It’s worth trying out the brake positioned on the T-bar (between the bar ends) for quite an extended period, on lots of types of terrain, before making a final decision.
The only kinds of riding I’d still prefer to have it on the saddle handle are the kinds where I’d also prefer not to have a handle at all - freeriding on my singlespeed K24.
I do suggest cutting the T-bar narrower (mine is 120 mm wide, rather than the 150 it comes with) if you mount it low and close to the saddle, to avoid hitting it with your knees. For the furthest back position, flip the slotted tube mount so the seatpost clamp is towards the back. Also, when the T-bar is close to the saddle, it moves the tube angle up, which means you can angle the bar-ends down, bringing the brake lever closer to your fingers. Definitely it’s worth playing around quite a bit with the 3 aspects of adjustability on the T-bar (length, angle of the bar, and angle of the bar-ends).
Can you post some pics of your G26er with the brake? If mounted to the T bar would the standard 18" maggie main line need to be longer? UDC has just 2 lengths that I know of; 18" & 30". But some pics of your setup would be great!
Attached are two photos. This is the closest I’d use. Furthest would be maybe 3 cm further out (e.g. the length of the extra tube sticking out the back). Mounting it fairly low lets me lean on it, and having it close to the saddle means that I can pull straight up on the handle to unweight over bumps.
This setup uses an 18" brake line on my KH26. It is pretty much at the limit of fitting, with one wrap around the seatpost tube. If I was taller I’d need a longer brakeline.
Yes - those are close to the appearance of the new gloves. The photo shows a prototype with grey palms; production are black.
There’s one more new item in the photo; can you spot it? =)
I have zero experience myself. I’m only reiterating things both Ken and Joe have posted on this site several times. This is also assumuning we are talking about a G29 Muni.
At the time I read their statements, soon after (Ithink ~1-1.5 years) Florian released the original cotterless hub, Ken and Joe were amung the few riders running geared and the only ones doing a fair amount of it off road that I know of. I didn’t at the time, but now I know Kris was also probably testing the prototype splined G-hub over rough terrain then, I think just on a 24 at that time.
I posted some close-up pics of my preferred t-bar setup on the 26" in this German thread: Euer setup
You might want to give that a try before shortening the bar too much.
I’ve got my T bar set up on my KH24 almost like Kris’s. Handlebar works great for going in high gear and climbing in normal gear. I’ve gotten used to using the handlebar with the brake on the downhills when I need it. Great setup. I cutoff a lot of the excess T Bar but left enough that I can adjust it further out if I ever need to (going to full on road mode with my road slicks perhaps?).
NOTE I don’t know if it’s been mentioned already, but more than likely you’re going to want to trim off some of the ends on the top of the T, with the bar ends that close to the saddle you’ll probably hit them with your knees on the stock setup. I cut off perhaps 1/2" on either side of the top of the T and that eliminated the knee bump problem but still left enough room to get both hands on there easily.
[I just wish I had more time/places to ride! Once again I’m in running training mode, this time for the Badwater 135 in July so not much time to ride, just some XC days… Still I’m going to be out in Colorado in late July (after Badwater) and have some fun rides planned, including another 14er descent!]
I’m not sure what I’ve said in the past, but having now spent a bit of time both a 29’er GUni and 29’er Unguni…I hope I don’t contradict myself.
I’d say each has its place.
My preference for commuting, travelling and unitouring is a 29" Unguni, usually with 100mm cranks. That gets me up to speed on the flat without being too uncomfortable, and I can climb pretty well with it. It’s lightweight and easy to travel with, and near bombproof (pretty important for Unitouring). It’s my everyday Uni. Slap on 145 or 150mm cranks and it’s a pretty good XC Uni too.
The Gunis (I have a 29" and 36") usually only come out for racing. I have done one unitour on a 29" Guni (Induni 2009), but it was because I happened to have it with me rather than a conscious decision. I like things that are simple and 100% reliable. Not that a well maintained GUni can’t be reliable, but if you have problems with it- losing buttons, leaking oil, or any mechanical problem it is more difficult to deal with.
On the road, a 29" GUni/125mm is pretty fast. I find the low gear a little bit too low for most things, but I haven’t tried shorter cranks, so there might be a bit of bias there. It’s more like a single speed unicycle than a two speed (ie, I stay in high gear all the time when riding on road).
Off-Road, I’ve used the 29’er Guni/150mm a few times. I like the high gear for flat gravel roads. If I had a choice of an XC Guni though, I’d probably go for a 26" GUni- I think it would give a more useful range of gearing. The high gear is just a little too high, and the low gear is also just a little too high on a 29"/150mm GUni.
I haven’t tried a 24" Guni- that’s probably something Napalm and Corbin could comment on.
This is all pretty subjective of course- it depends on your riding style and terrain.
I rode in a multilap eight hour endurance race today, one half of the ride was on a KH29 FR x 2.4 Ardent running 170 cranks, the second half of the ride was on a Surly Conundrum x 3.8 Larry running 170 cranks.
I started on the 29er, I was strong and riding well, felt like the tall wheel and narrow tire were perfect choices for the mix of single and double track, no problems with climbs through rocky and rooty section, did very well in the mud.
For lap two I pulled out the Surly/Larry, what a beast, it was probably a mistake, but once we were down the trail there was no turning back. The Surly/arry is a lot of uni, requires a lot of power and concentration, which is hard when you’re tired.
Compared to the 29er/Ardent, I found that the Larry was a smoother over roots and rocks, as you’d expect, about the same for climbing, maybe a tad less nimble, and downhill was actually a little more challenging as the Larry tends to move around on it’s own, whereas the Ardent tracks nicely and takes feedback better.
The 29er/Ardent was a better choice for a race, not to skinny for technical muni, fast enough that I was able to hang with bikers on the climbs, light and nimble so it doen’t wear you out. I wouldn’t hesitate to ride the 29er on any trail unless it was like a West Shore DH run.
That Ardent 29 x 2.4 is sweet, running 20psi and it handles so well, kills it is the mud, no rim hits, and really fast.
Sounds like a fun but challenging event. 170’s seem like they’d just be super long for an 8 hour race! Your legs must’ve been tired just from spinning in such big circles!
Had you given thought o using shorter cranks, or having dual holes? I would think 150’s would be plenty long for a wide variety of terrain and climbing as well. But again, it’s personal preference.
Forgot to ask, were there any other unicyclists in the event, and how many miles did you cover in the 8 hours? Can you give more details about the event, and maybe a link to a course map and where it was held? And did you get any pics or video of your riding? Congrats on the race!
