Geared KH36! (with Kris's prototype 36" frame!)

Hey everybody!! I finished putting together my 36 with the Kris
Holm/Schlumpf hub a couple days ago, and have gone on a couple rides
with it already, and I have to say it is AMAZING. Some observations:

High gear is quite crazy... I can cruise maybe 3-4 mph faster than on
my ungeared coker with 102s, but it's decently scary, and any
irregularities in the road really hurts my speed, because I end up
choosing to slow down rather than attempt to accelerate over them. I'm
100% certain that with some time and with some riding, my speed will
increase just due to the fact that I'll have geared coker riding in my
muscle memory. Gotta go out and ride! On flat ground, I've pedaled it
up to 21-22 (ish), but on downhills, I've probably only ever hit 20.
18mph feels quite natural and sustainable. I think I need shorter
cranks...

With 165 cranks, I bounce too much. Florian sent me the 165 Moments
instead of both pairs of dual-drilled cranks (125-150 // 137-165) like
I ordered, but at least he charged me for what he shipped me; all I
gotta do is get me some shorter cranks now. And seriously, it's not
even a big deal, because riding this thing is so amazing that I just
don't care at all right now!

The slop is really good: though it's very noticeable when riding
slowly, it blends in entirely while you're actually riding somewhere.

The hub is beautiful! It really looks so cool... Kris and Florian did
an amazing job making this thing, and if you have the money and end up
buying one, I guarantee you won't regret it. It's a work of art!

Descending in high gear without a brake for a long period of time will
destroy your quads! ... I rode up and down Mt. Diablo (10 miles and
3,200ish feet) two days ago and still feel like jello when I walk. (I
hadn't gone on a bike or uni ride for about 3 weeks prior to that, but
still, usually nothing taxes my muscles like that, even after being
that long out of it).

XC MUni on a 36 inch wheel with a splined hub and long cranks is just
godly! You can roll over just about anything, yet the long cranks give
you all the torque you need to power up some pretty steep hills in low
gear.

Shifting on the fly seemed impossible initially, and then I figured it
out... you hit the button with the butt of your heel as the pedal goes
down in front of the hub. After maybe 30 attempts to shift since 2 days
ago, I can shift about 80% of the times I attempt it, with one
"attempt" being defined as "take as many pedal revolutions as is
required in order to get the button to pop in." Usually, to shift, I'll
twist my heel in and end up hitting the button three or four times
before I actually get it to pop in and shift the hub.

Shifting at speed seems better than shifting going very slowly, due to
the small period of freewheeling when the hub is "between gears". When
you're moving with a little bit of speed, the cranks lock in much more
quickly, sometimes so quickly that you don't even realize that they
were just freewheeling on you for a fraction of a second. I've only
ever fallen due to a shift when I've been going really slowly (though I
haven't ridden much yet, of course!)

The frame is beautiful, and LIGHT! It's stiff as hell, and when I ride
muni with it, it feels like I'm on a real muni and not on a 36er.
Except for the speed, of course! I can't believe how much lighter the
KH36 frame is than my old Nimbus. Guess that's the difference between
aluminum and steel! The seat tube is a bit long, but that's because
it's a prototype. Kris warned me about this, and luckly, I'm tall
enough so that I can have the seat at the proper height and not be
stuck with it too high, so, for me, it makes no difference. It just
means that not too many shorter people will be able to ride it.

and.... PICTURES!!
http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall#100535 is the link to the whole album
(on me .Mac Web Gallery). Here are a few for those who don't want to
click:

[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0468/web.jpg]
[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0435/web.jpg]
[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0494/web.jpg]


--
chuckaeronut

Cycling: It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.
Unicycling: It doesn't get easier; you just do tougher stuff.
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Wow that looks amazing. I want to try it but I think I am too short


--
Spencer Hochberg

UniFlatland.com
BedfordUnicycles.ca
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Im in love, and its time to start saving my money up for one of those
hubs.


--
Jerrick

-i am christian, and i ride for christ.
check out my 'gallery' (http://tinyurl.com/2zfklh).
member of the 'mris' (http://tinyurl.com/jjjnz).
just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. where
there's love and inspiration, i don't think you can go wrong.
~jerrick-
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wow that is awesome, cant wait till they come out and i have the money,
id love one. i envy you!!!


--
1-wheeled-grape

Scott,

Chris-"james is naming your unicycle a girls name replacement for
girlfriends?"
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Chuck's visiting Santa Cruz for a short bit, and we are going to do a
Coker muni ride on Saturday. Anyone in the area is welcome to join us.
email me for details.

corbin


--
corbin

http://www.corbinstreehouse.com
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How much is that setup, minus the T7?


--
MuniAddict

'My videos:' (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ttt8699)
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Where/how did you get it? You mentioned that's it's a prototype, so do
you know when it will be available to the GP?


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MuniAddict

'My videos:' (http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=ttt8699)
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What a beauty!

Could you drill a 36er rim like a 19" rim for weight loss? I think this
would be a good way to lose weight.


--
Danni

'Sliver Trials Course'
(http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64079)
'Calgary Trials Vid!'
(http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=jUq7cjs9BbA)

Looking for a new 19" CC, a studded Luna or a Muni? Shoot me a PM!
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@Danni: I'm sure you could drill the rim out and have it survive, but
given the way I break just about everything I touch, I'm definitely not
going to do it to my rim. You can definitely drill an Airfoil rim...
ask Ken Looi (GizmoDuck) about that, I think he drilled his. UDC's
stealth rim, which is what I'm running, is a bit lighter and I don't
think I'd want to drill it. I'll leave it to Ken to try!

hey, the Terry: The hub and cranks ended up being $1476 total straight
from Florian, which seems a bit high ($1268 hub, $75 cranks, then
shipping?... maybe he charged me more due to the weak dollar? I was too
excited to look at the receipt and think too hard about it, and I still
haven't now that I'm sane again). The rim and tire together are just
over $160, the frame (shipping in late June, far as I know) will be
$200? I paid Kris $140 for this prototype (140 including the shipping).
The seat is $54 on UDC I think, the seatpost is $20, the spokes are $2
each ($72 total), and I paid $50 for the pedals on eBay. Added up...
hmmers... that makes $1,952 plus the tube. Just under $2000 is my
answer.

As for where I got the frame... I originally emailed Florian with some
questions about the hub, and after Florian got back to me, Kris replied
with some more information. This resulted in a little conversation,
where it came up that I wouldn't be able to run the hub in my Nimbus 36
without welding on new bearing holders, and (not knowing he was working
on a KH36 frame) I said "guess I'll have to wait for your KH36 to come
out, eh? ." When he messaged me back, he told me he had a prototype
sitting in his office that was perfectly good except for too high of a
crown, and that if I was tall, it'd work out... and he sold it to me
for $140!

I am supremely crazy lucky to have been able to get this frame, and
Kris, if you are reading this, THANK YOU! Your unicycle hardware is
just beautiful. Like my Macintosh and Cannondale. The effort you put
into making a superior product really shows, and I know I'm riding
something that's really loved by the person who created it. BTW, Up
here in Northern California, I've had hard core, elitist,
gotta-shave-the-two-grams road cyclists look at my cranks and say "are
those made especially for unicycles?? They're beautiful!"

I can't wait until I'm a good enough rider to fully even take advantage
of this beast. It's going to be super fun getting there!


--
chuckaeronut

Cycling: It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.
Unicycling: It doesn't get easier; you just do tougher stuff.
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MuniAddict wrote:
Where/how did you get it? You mentioned that's it's a prototype, so do
you know when it will be available to the GP?


I think I read something about it being available sometime in the
summer, but not in time for RTL.

Edit: Also, That uni looks absolutely amazing!


--
CoreTechs

UNICYCLE FOR CHRIST
In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti


Mikefule wrote:
As an alternative hypothesis of equal validity, God did not design us to
ride unicycles.
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