Schlumpf shifting techniques

I have never had accidental shifts, but I am also paranoid about that.
What I do is screw in the left button more than the right button, so
that it is harder to downshift. If the button is closer to the crank
and not a lot is sticking out, then the chance of an accidental shift
is decreased. This does, however, make my downshifts less successfull
on average, but missing every other downshift is a lot better than
accidentally shifting at 20mph. Plus, with the geared 29, I hardly
find myself shifting anyway.

I used to do the rub method by angling my foot in and letting it rub
the button as I pedaled, but I find it less consistent than my new
method, which is hard to explain. I sort of angle my foot in and then
twist my foot so my ankle moves out away from the crank and then (with
my foot still angled) give the button a good kick with the inside of my
heel/foot. This method seems to engage the gear a lot better than the
rub method and it works great with both 125s and 150s. I guess it
helps to have big feet when using a schlumpf with long cranks though,
my riding shoes are 11.5 US.


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siafirede

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Regarding downshifting, I've found that I've learned to shift my hips
back ever so slightly as I downshift, kind of like I would if I were
gliding or wheel walking. That way I don't fall off the front waiting
for the low gear to engage. Also, I shift with a heel kick going down,
whereas I use a heel roll going up.

The other thing that I've found myself doing sometimes is shifting with
the foot off of the pedal while the non-shifting foot rides one-footed
for a fraction of the pedal stroke. I suspect this technique might be
more useful when I switch to longer cranks. (I haven't had a chance to
try since RTL because my hub is being worked on.)


--
phlegm
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I'm still learning to ride a KH guni, not ready to try shifting. (The
weather, a bad cold, and work have kept me off the beauty.)
Unfortunately I have bad habit of dragging my heel on the crank arm, so
I'm paranoid that I'm gonna accidentally shift the guni. On top of that
I had managed to mess up the allen hole of the guni crank bolt in my new
KH geared hub.

Since I didn't know how long the wait would be to get a replacement
guni crank bolt from schlumpf, I looked for a local solution. Turns out
that by drilling a 1/4 inch hole lengthwise through a standard KH crank
bolt, it could be used in place of the guni crank bolt. The 1/4 inch
hole prevents the shift rod from being damaged. With the drilled bolt
you can not mount the shift buttons, but that worked out well for me
because; I didn't want to shift on the fly yet, and it left no
possibility of an accidental shift. Manual shifting can be done by
pushing the shifter with a thin rod through the 1/4 inch crank hole.

Turns out I received the new guni crank bolt from schlumpf in 8
calendar days Wow, So Fast!!!!!!!! So the drilled standard KH bolt
wasn't all that necessary.

Disclaimers:
I only mention the drilling of the KH crank bolt in case it's a handy
solution for someone else. I am no expert on the working of a guni, so
while it seems to me a working modification, I don't know that it isn't
harmful to that 'worth it's weight in gold' hub. I have used it for a
very short distance of riding without any apparent damage. Also drilling
the stainless steel KH crank bolt will likely ruin a couple drill bits.
As for disabling the shifting, I expect that not installing the shift
buttons with the special guni crank bolts (I have not tried that) would
provide the same result.

Given that I messed up the allen hole in the guni bolt while tightening
the cranks, I'm thinking it may good to use the drilled KH crank bolt to
initially seat and tighten the cranks on. The drilled KH bolt uses a
larger allen wrench size and I haven't messed one of those up. Then
when the cranks are on tight, replace the drilled bolt with the guni
bolt.


--
Chrashing

Regards,
Ken

I've been flying.......
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I shift like Corbin. But I need 2-5 revolutions if I want to shift down.
I think my left feet needs more training.
The speed ist between 10 and 13 mph.
I use the 125 or 145 Quax cranks at my 36". That are straight cranks.
If I remember right, I have only one accidental shift during a short
downhill.
During normal rides on streets or soft graval I have no problems.


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JLo

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I'm now always shifting with my heel, no more ankle-bone action.

The pegs on the pedals make it tricky to rotate your foot and nab the
button. If you're having trouble you might try some less-aggressive
pedals, at least till you get the hang of it. Lightening up the amount
of pressure you apply to the pedals also makes it easier.

ro


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rolandisimo
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rolandisimo;1159790 wrote:
I'm now always shifting with my heel, no more ankle-bone action.

The pegs on the pedals make it tricky to rotate your foot and nab the
button. If you're having trouble you might try some less-aggressive
pedals, at least till you get the hang of it. Lightening up the amount
of pressure you apply to the pedals also makes it easier.

ro



Good thinking. I used to do the ankle method, but the heel gives you a
safer and more predictable shift.

As far as aggressive pedals are concerned, I am using MG-1s which are
quite sticky, but I use a trail running shoe that doesn't have a sole
made for sticking to platform pedals. MG-1s plus trail running shoes
(with a pull lace system) work quite well for me.

Playing with how far the buttons stick out also will help shifting. I
found that moving the button as little as one rotation out sometimes
makes a world of a difference.


--
siafirede

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