29'ers and crank lengths

[Enoch]

My buddiy recently bought a 29. We both have been riding it and comparing it tour 24 KH mUnis. We have 165's and 170 cranks on our 24's. I completely understand why you would want 150's on a 29 if you ride the street, but does it make sense to use a crank that short if all you plan on doing is rough trail riding?

We keep having a problem with the 29 just stalling and dumping us over the littlest twig and roots. Will longer cranks help with this?

[johnfoss]

I completely understand why you would want 150's on a 29 if you ride the street, but does it make sense to use a crank that short if all you plan on doing is rough trail riding? It depends how rough. Really. If it's the *same* trails, you should have longer cranks on your 29 than on your 24. That said, I'm running 160s or 145s on my 24, and 160s (currently) on my 29, though I seldom ride the 29 as I've been using a Coker.

We keep having a problem with the 29 just stalling and dumping us over the littlest twig and roots. Will longer cranks help with this?Possibly, but little bumps you can see are a matter of technique. The bumps will still be the same if your cranks are longer; technique is what you use to keep you rolling over them.

[jamessd]

The way i see it is, if you have shorter cranks on a bigger unicycle you will have less leverage over bumps, but the wheel size should compensate for that and roll over them.

I cope fine doing muni on my kh29 with 150s... but it all depends on what sort of muni you ride I suppose.

post 2000!

[Enoch]

Possibly, but little bumps you can see are a matter of technique. The bumps will still be the same if your cranks are longer; technique is what you use to keep you rolling over them.


3 of use tried this thing and we all said the same thing. It just seems to stall in the smallest dip or undulation on the trail. When we go back and look at what dumped us and we can't believe how minor it is. It does fine on the bigger stuff you can really see. I'm wondering if it the difference in tires, We have the 3.0 Duro on our 24's they seem to monster truck right over everything, Skinny little Weirwolf with low pressure on the 29. I got some 175's cranks I may try on it also.

[phlegm]

We keep having a problem with the 29 just stalling and dumping us over the littlest twig and roots. Will longer cranks help with this?

I think longer (than 152 mm) cranks will make it worse because they will teach you to slow down to clear little bumps. What you need to do is learn to carry your speed through them.

In my experience, cranks in the 137-152 mm range are the most ideal for 29er MUni. Anything too rough for a 29er with 152s is also too rough for the available wheels/tires.

[maestro8]

Will longer cranks help with this?
No size crank will help you when you post unicycling questions in the "Just Conversation" forum.

Please post these questions in Rec.Sport.Unicycling (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3).

Yet again, forum veterans are responding to misplaced threads. For shame! Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

[Enoch]

No size crank will help you when you post unicycling questions in the "Just Conversation" forum.

Please post these questions in Rec.Sport.Unicycling (http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3).

Yet again, forum veterans are responding to misplaced threads. For shame! Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.



Sorry Dude, give it a rest. It was a missplaced post, maybe I can get the mod to move it, before you pee on yourself.

Must be hard to live in such a inperfect world

I do thank " The Veterans" for their help.

[legtod2]

Holey crap, how do you guys use such long cranks without buggering up your knee's?

Don't your knees get sore after a ride ?

I love my 125's both on and off road. They speed thru the bumps and trails.

And best part is the knee's are fine.

[gkmac]

Sorry Dude, give it a rest. It was a missplaced post, maybe I can get the mod to move it, before you pee on yourself.You can ask the mod to move it. Whether it will actually get moved or not is a completely different matter...

[siafirede]

My buddiy recently bought a 29. We both have been riding it and comparing it tour 24 KH mUnis. We have 165's and 170 cranks on our 24's. I completely understand why you would want 150's on a 29 if you ride the street, but does it make sense to use a crank that short if all you plan on doing is rough trail riding?



I would stick with the 150s. You really don't want anything longer than that, even for muni.

Something else to consider would be a tire with more volume, which will help a lot with going over things offroad. What kind of tire do you currently have on your 29er? I love the Kenda Navegal for offroad, it made a world of a difference switching to that from the nanoraptor.

EDIT: I see that you already posted that you have the Weirwolf. I still think that the Navegal will be better than the Weirwolf b/c those WTB tires are so thin (especially the sidewalls).

[johnfoss]

It just seems to stall in the smallest dip or undulation on the trail. When we go back and look at what dumped us and we can't believe how minor it is. It does fine on the bigger stuff you can really see.When the little stuff knocks you off it's usually because of pedal position. The same bump without your cranks vertical and you'll roll right through it. In other words, technique. Technique will improve with practice, as will your ability to read the trail. There will always be invisible bumps (and gaps in concentration), but you'll learn to spot more and more of them.

Exact crank size recommendations are not particularly useful unless you know what the terrain is. I have 160s on my 29" because whatever I had on there before was too short for the technical terrain I wanted to ride through. But on easier trails I'm using 125mm cranks on a Coker.

[Mikefule]

If you apply the leverage rule too literally, then the equivalent of 6" cranks on a 24" uni is 9" cranks on a Coker. How many of your ride Coker with 228mm cranks?

The style of riding is different. My 28 with almost no tyre to speak of will often roll over stuff although I use only 114mm cranks. I only suffer on steep hills, especially descents.

[maestro8]

Sorry Dude, give it a rest. It was a missplaced post, maybe I can get the mod to move it, before you pee on yourself.
Thanks for your advice, but no thanks. I'm on a mission from God (http://www.drbongs.co.uk/images/blues-brother-metal-sign.jpg)by.

Although I'm a bit older than most in these fora, I have never experienced incontinence. Shame on you for suggesting such a thing!

Must be hard to live in such a inperfect world
If everyone does their part, no matter how small, to encourage excellence, this world will become a better place.

If you accept imperfection, then you're destined for a life of mediocrity.

[Enoch]

When the little stuff knocks you off it's usually because of pedal position.


That seems to be the issue, I was pretty tired, been riding single track for several hours when I jumped on the 29. I kept getting caught in little undulations on the trail with the crank arm around the 1 o clock position where you are just pushing straight into the crank. Didn't know if longer arms would help a little to get it thru the rotation. Bad/sloppy technic may be the case.

I'm usually pretty good about keeping momentum. Expert level MTB rider, and I usually ride Single Speed 29's.There all about momentum too.

Thanks everyone for their help.

[Enoch]

You can ask the mod to move it. Whether it will actually get moved or not is a completely different matter...

Thanks for the suggestion, I sent a P.M. to the Mod as soon as the Water Walker cried foul.

[maestro8]

Thanks for the suggestion, I sent a P.M. to the Mod as soon as the Water Walker cried foul.

Without referees there'd be no Superbowl.

Without standards committees there'd be no Internet.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

[johnfoss]

Without referees there'd be no Superbowl.Without Janet Jackson and partner there wouldn't be wardrobe malfunctions. I'm still wondering. If it was a malfunction, what was that costume *supposed* to do? :p

[entropy]

I would stick with the 150s. You really don't want anything longer than that, even for muni.

[...]

EDIT: I see that you already posted that you have the Weirwolf. I still think that the Navegal will be better than the Weirwolf b/c those WTB tires are so thin (especially the sidewalls).
I agree with the Nevegal choice - the Weirwolf is thin as paper and complete junk.

I've been running 175s on my 29er for a long time, and prefer the length over anything shorter. Let's just say that the terrain around here is unique. ;)

[pkittle]

I have 165s on my KH24 and 125/150 dbl-holes on the KH29. After putting the WTB Stout on the 29er (which has a pretty significant weight penalty over the Exiwolf I'd been running), I've been thinking about getting a set of the 165/137s for it.

The trails I ride are pretty rocky and rough, and at first I thought I'd made a mistake in even buying the 29er. But it didn't take long to adapt to the bigger wheel and shorter cranks. Just keep riding it, especially when you're fresh, and you'll get the feel. The speed, especially, is noticeably more fun than the 24; it feels much more like biking. Of course, I don't have a particularly fast cadence, so if you're pedaling like an expert XC racer already, your speed on the 24 is probably already faster than me on the 29.

[Enoch]

I've been running 175s on my 29er for a long time, and prefer the length over anything shorter. Let's just say that the terrain around here is unique. ;)


I rounded up some old Shimano 175mm cranks off a old MTB bike, and took the 29 out for a test drive in the woods. The 175's definately helped ME with the dead spot. No they are not as fast, Not even close, Q factor also grew a full inch, but I can climb up alot of steep stuff way better. We have alot of short quick ups and downs here and the trails are VERY tight and twisty. The 175's didn't feel weird, it felt kinda good to be turning a big circle, just like the big circles I turn on my MTB. I did notice how slow I could go also( I can make this thing move at a turtles pace), downhill control was off the hook, I was able to lower the seat a good bit, thus giving a lower center of gravity/ ride feel. I think for the trail riding that I do, 170's may be the way to go. Going slow with a ton of extra leverage did not seem to be a bad thing for me.

I ditched the Exi, and stuck on a Geax Suguaro I had laying around. It has the biggest Volume of the current Knobby tires according to our MTB Tire GURU Shiggy, here 's a Linky... http://mtbtires.com/specs/700.html This is a good smooth rolling small knobby tire with a fairly soft compound. It also didn't seem to fold as bad as the WTB Exi.and it is much lighter with a Kevlar bead. Just for the record with all these changes the Uni weighed in under 12 lbs.which felt pretty light when riding and jumping.

Thanks again for evey ones helpful comments

[dondi]

For distance riding and hill climbing there is no substitute:D

[phlegm]

Glad you like the 175s. We like to argue a lot about crank length here. The best thing is to figure out what works for you. ;)

I ditched the Exi, and stuck on a Geax Suguaro I had laying around. It has the biggest Volume of the current Knobby tires according to our MTB Tire GURU Shiggy, here 's a Linky... http://mtbtires.com/specs/700.html This is a good smooth rolling small knobby tire with a fairly soft compound. It also didn't seem to fold as bad as the WTB Exi.and it is much lighter with a Kevlar bead. Just for the record with all these changes the Uni weighed in under 12 lbs.which felt pretty light when riding and jumping.

The Geax looks pretty cool, and the lightness is enticing. (http://www.geax.com/vedit/pagina.asp~pagina~1991) What kind of tire pressure are you running?

[Enoch]

The Geax looks pretty cool, and the lightness is enticing. (http://www.geax.com/vedit/pagina.asp~pagina~1991) What kind of tire pressure are you running?

I think I ended up around 25, it had a nice pooch to it, but when I hopped on it, it didn't bottom. Seemd to deal with our rooty single track pretty good. the sidewalls were definately a improvement over the Exi.

[U-Turn]

It's way true that crank length is an individual thing. I don't like short cranks much. However, it's humbling when I see people with short cranks flow over and climb things I can't leverage with my longer ones. And Mike Tierney is in/famous as a short guy with shortish legs who does long, tough mountain trips on a 36" with long cranks.

One of the primary things is being up on your legs, using them to absorb the bumps. By being fresher and lowering your seat you've made that factor much more in your favor.

Also, going back to the crank length you have on your MB is useful for now, since your legs and body are used to trail decision-making with that size circle. With time and practice you'll have more innate skill with other crank sizes too, and will have more of a choice.

[johnfoss]

We have alot of short quick ups and downs here and the trails are VERY tight and twisty.Sounds like a blast. Where is that?

[Enoch]

Sounds like a blast. Where is that?

Charlotte N.C., just a few miles from you...:D :D :D Here's a few pictures showing some rollers each dip is about 10-15 feet deep , they drop in and up real fast for about a full mile of the trail.

Have a few pictures

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/Enoch562/CopyofDoubleDip.jpg?t=1211592694

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/Enoch562/CopyofYeaHaw.jpg?t=1211592741

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/Enoch562/CopyofUPandAround.jpg?t=1211592786

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/Enoch562/CopyofIdleGreen.jpg?t=1211592829

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll312/Enoch562/CopyofGreenLine.jpg?t=1211592879

[kerosian]

The trails around me are very similiar to the ones in NC, all kinds of flowy ups and downs and twists and turns. I've been around there before, which trail is that?

[Enoch]

The trails around me are very similiar to the ones in NC, all kinds of flowy ups and downs and twists and turns. I've been around there before, which trail is that?


Sherman Branch. 11.2 miles and 90% single track

[johnfoss]

Nice trails! Believe it or not, when I moved away from Long Island in 1994, we had the choice of Charlotte or Sacramento. We chose the warmer one...

[Mikefule]

Nice photos. :) Quite similar to parts of where I ride in Sherwood forest.