First long distance geared 36'er ride with KH schlumpf hub

Howdy all,
I did a quick write up of a ride last weekend and posted it on my
blog:

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com/blog/?p=302

For those of you who don't like clicking on links, here's a copy
below.

--corbin

------------------------------------------------------------

Last Saturday we did "Scalisis's Death Ride" -- a 57 mile ride with
5000'ish feet of climbing. We started at Tom Holub's house, rode 30'ish
miles to the base of Mount Diablo, and then climbed to the top of Mt
Diablo (3,849'). The ride started out with six people, but it ended up
with just three of us on geared unicycles. Tom on his geared KH 29'er,
Mike on his geared Nimbus 36'er with the older Schlumpf road hub and
myself on my geared 36'er with the KH Schlumpf hub.

This was the first long distance ride on my Nimbus 36 with a the KH
geared muni hub. The geared 36 is an amazing unicycle. I can cruise at
15 mph on flat ground with no effort. I can do sprints at a sustained
faster pace (I'd say 17mph, but I haven't tested that out). I can
descend at a madding pace -- 21-22 MPH sustained, if it is a smooth
light downhill and I'm really paying attention. Going down Mt Daiblo I
was averaging 17-18 mph (which is pretty fast down that hill), and
slowing down to about 16 mph for the corners (which have a 15 mph speed
limit sign for cars). My top speed of the day was about 24.3 mph -- and
I wasn't particularly trying to go fast, it was just a speed I hit
while going down a hill. All with 150 mm dual drill KH cranks.

The geared unicycle adds more comfort to my riding. With 150mm cranks I
have the power to eat up hills, but maintain a comfortable cadence
while in high gear. Since my legs are doing less up and down motion, I
find that I get less leg pain -- especially when at higher speeds,
which would sometimes cause my right leg to ache. My bottom felt a
little better than usual after such a long ride; the additional force
required to move the wheel actually helps relieve pressure from your
butt.

Things I noticed: Tom was faster going up Mt Diablo with his geared
29'er / 125mm cranks. The 29'er is really a better machine for such a
steep climb. I could go faster on the flats/descents -- but that may
also be do to my riding style. Learning to shift is essential; I'm
getting fairly proficient at it, and hit the shift within a few tries.
I generally shift at 10 mph (up or down). We were in geared up mode
most of the day, except for a few hills that required shifting.

A brake is really required for a geared 36'er (but Mike survived
without one). Mike has the older Schlumpf hub, and it isn't as wide as
the muni hub. The wheel has a significant amount of play due to the hub
not being sufficiently wide enough, and it will be hard for him to get
a brake that doesn't rub. The KH hub does NOT have this problem. I
should also mention that Tom does really well on his guni 29'er without
a brake, but he's also a really strong rider.

Problems: my right crank kept getting loose. I torqued it up to 30
ft/pounds the next night, and hopefully that will help resolve that
problem.

For those that are curious, here is the route:

First half:

http://tinyurl.com/3mrtuh

Second half:

http://tinyurl.com/5dea7f

corbin


--
corbin

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com
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Very interesting post.

It seems that most people with the KH/Schlumpf hub are having their
right crank come loose a lot.

Mine hasn't really had this problem anymore now that it has settled.

Have you ever noticed when you shift from low gear to high gear when
going downhill it doesnt always egage right away...but rather stays in
low gear for quite a long time until you put a lot of forward force on
the cranks? Last weekend I was testing it and I was able to do at
least 10 full rotations in low gear and then put some forward force
into it and it finally engaged.

Was anyone on an ungeared 36 for the ride, and how did they do? I
would think between a geared 29, a geared 36, and an ungeared 36, that
the ungeared 36 could climb the mountain faster, but I guess that
depends on the slope, what was the gradient?

Did you ride the geared 36 down the mountain in high gear or low gear?
Having a brake seems necessary for a guni, especially a 36, but I still
have yet to figure out how to attach my brake lever with my set up so I
haven't put it on yet.


--
siafirede

'DCuni' (http://www.dcuni.com/blog) - my blog about Unicycling in
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corbin wrote:
I can cruise at 15 mph on flat ground with no effort. I can do sprints
at a sustained faster pace (I'd say 17mph, but I haven't tested that
out). I can descend at a madding pace -- 21-22 MPH sustained, if it is
a smooth light downhill and I'm really paying attention.


Thanks for the write-up. Are you saying that you don't have to "pay
attention" if you cruise 15 mph on flat ground? I still have to "pay
attention" on my geared 29'er at any speed, whereas the (ungeared)
Coker rides itself.


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Klaas Bil
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siafirede wrote:
Very interesting post.

It seems that most people with the KH/Schlumpf hub are having their
right crank come loose a lot.

Mine hasn't really had this problem anymore now that it has settled.

Have you ever noticed when you shift from low gear to high gear when
going downhill it doesnt always egage right away...but rather stays in
low gear for quite a long time until you put a lot of forward force on
the cranks? Last weekend I was testing it and I was able to do at
least 10 full rotations in low gear and then put some forward force
into it and it finally engaged.

Was anyone on an ungeared 36 for the ride, and how did they do? I
would think between a geared 29, a geared 36, and an ungeared 36, that
the ungeared 36 could climb the mountain faster, but I guess that
depends on the slope, what was the gradient?

Did you ride the geared 36 down the mountain in high gear or low gear?
Having a brake seems necessary for a guni, especially a 36, but I still
have yet to figure out how to attach my brake lever with my set up so I
haven't put it on yet.



I had a crash on this ride, on the uphill, when shifting to the higher
gear for a flat section. The shift appeared to work, and I started to
pick up speed, got about two full revolutions, and then lost it off the
front. When I picked up the uni, it had shifted back into 1:1 mode.

I climbed almost entirely in 1:1 mode, only shifting to high gear on
the one flat section. My opinion is that a 29er is faster than a 36er,
geared or ungeared, on the climb up Mount Diablo, simply because it's a
pure hill climb and you're carrying 2 pounds less wheel weight.

The bottom half of the mountain averages about 5% grade, the top half
about 7% (and the last 100 meters, 14%). Even on the bottom half, 1:1
mode with 125mm cranks is faster for me than geared mode with either
125mm or 140mm cranks (I've tried both). On the top half, 1:1 mode is
necessary.

On the way down, my setup was a little sub-optimal for the 7% grade; I
felt I had to put a fair amount of muscle into controlling myself.
However, this was my first big ride on this setup, so it may be that
I'll be fine after a little more practice. On the 5% grade downhill, I
was flying, little braking required at all.


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tholub
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Yeah I also have trouble controlling the downhills in highgear on those
gradients. It really does take a lot of muscle to control it and I
need to get a brake set up. On my ride last weekend on the descent of
the mountain I shifted into lowgear just so my legs wouldnt hurt as
much and I could control it better.

What cranks do you have on your 29? Are you using the dual drilled
moments or some light weight qu-ax isis ones?

That is weird about your crash...I have never had that scenario happen
to me, but I think that these shifting problems are due to the way we
shift. With the 125mm cranks you can get away with sliding your foot
inward and using your inside of your foot/ankle as it comes down, but
with the longer cranks you are forced to give it a good whack with your
heel. Although, I think the problem I posted has to do with the lack
of enough forward force on a downhill to engage the shift.


--
siafirede

'DCuni' (http://www.dcuni.com/blog) - my blog about Unicycling in
Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland

James = my name
'This' (http://www.myspace.com/clawsout) = my myspace
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siafirede wrote:

Have you ever noticed when you shift from low gear to high gear when
going downhill it doesnt always egage right away...but rather stays in
low gear for quite a long time until you put a lot of forward force on
the cranks?




No -- I've notice the opposite, which Chuck also was noticing. If I
keep pressure on the cranks, then it won't shift until I let up
slightly. But I have done several revs before that happened, and
sometimes keep "trying" to shift without realizing it did shift and
just had not clicked over yet.


siafirede wrote:
Was anyone on an ungeared 36 for the ride, and how did they do?



Jim started out on his ungeared 36, but he's still getting used to it,
and building up his fitness. Other than that, it was just us three on
gunis.


siafirede wrote:
Did you ride the geared 36 down the mountain in high gear or low gear?



High gear, of course! I wouldn't use anything else. It is very nice in
high gear downhills, and easily manageable if you have a brake.


siafirede wrote:
Having a brake seems necessary for a guni, especially a 36, but I still
have yet to figure out how to attach my brake lever with my set up so I
haven't put it on yet.



What uni? the 29'er or a 36?

corbin


--
corbin

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com
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corbin wrote:
The geared 36 is an amazing unicycle. I can cruise at 15 mph on flat
ground with no effort.

I've got a ways to go then. I can finally cruise at 15mph, but there is
plenty of effort!

Congratulations on what sounded like a great "death ride." Also thanks
to Mike S. for his advice on riding the geared 36. Now I've ridden up
to Folsom Dam and back twice, doing all the downhill in high gear with
no brakes, and no problems. It's definitely not as steep as the top
half of Mt. Diablo!

Note: That last bit of the Diablo climb is definitely more than 100m
long; I'd say more like 250 or so. I remember it well!


--
johnfoss

John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
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Perhaps a different button shape would help?


--
U-Turn

Weep in the dojo... laugh on the battlefield.
-- Dave Stockton
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Klaas Bil wrote:
Thanks for the write-up. Are you saying that you don't have to "pay
attention" if you cruise 15 mph on flat ground? I still have to "pay
attention" on my geared 29'er at any speed, whereas the (ungeared)
Coker rides itself.



Yes, that is correct. 15mph is an easy speed for me where I can be
looking around at other things.

corbin


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corbin

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siafirede wrote:
Yeah I also have trouble controlling the downhills in highgear on those
gradients. It really does take a lot of muscle to control it and I
need to get a brake set up. On my ride last weekend on the descent of
the mountain I shifted into lowgear just so my legs wouldnt hurt as
much and I could control it better.

What cranks do you have on your 29? Are you using the dual drilled
moments or some light weight qu-ax isis ones?

That is weird about your crash...I have never had that scenario happen
to me, but I think that these shifting problems are due to the way we
shift. With the 125mm cranks you can get away with sliding your foot
inward and using your inside of your foot/ankle as it comes down, but
with the longer cranks you are forced to give it a good whack with your
heel. Although, I think the problem I posted has to do with the lack
of enough forward force on a downhill to engage the shift.



Right now I'm using the dual-drilled KH cranks in the 125mm hole, but
I'll probably get a set of Qu-ax for RTL.

Corbin actually feels the opposite about shifting, that it doesn't
really shift until you reduce pressure. I think it's sufficient to say
that shifting is still somewhat messy. I'm going to do a day of
shifting practice this weekend, I hope I'll be more confident after
that.


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tholub
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