Schlumpf hubs: general discussion.

[tholub]

Originally Posted by uniShark

Um, guys, let's keep in mind that no unicycle is a practical choice for transportation. It's about having fun, no? For those who want to maximize speed and don't mind the extra weight, expense, and maintenance that goes with a geared hub, then a guni certainly may be the only uni that "makes sense." However, for those of us that choose to keep it simple, lighter, cheaper, easier to maintain, and are OK with not maximizing speed on easy parts of the trail and/or don't bother with those trails, an ungeared uni may make more sense.
The Schlumpf hub is an amazing piece of engineering, and most of the time they perform really well (unfortunately it's a year-long PITA when they don't). But they're not for everyone -- and that's OK; to each their own.

It really depends on your terrain and your interests. If your trails are easy, it is a lot more fun to go fast than to go slow. But when I'm out riding my geared 29er on trails, I ride it in low gear a lot more than high gear, because I'd rather ride the most difficult line in flow than to have to skip it because I came up on it too fast in high gear.

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by uniShark

Um, guys, let's keep in mind that no unicycle is a practical choice for transportation. It's about having fun, no? For those who want to maximize speed and don't mind the extra weight, expense, and maintenance that goes with a geared hub, then a guni certainly may be the only uni that "makes sense." However, for those of us that choose to keep it simple, lighter, cheaper, easier to maintain, and are OK with not maximizing speed on easy parts of the trail and/or don't bother with those trails, an ungeared uni may make more sense.
The Schlumpf hub is an amazing piece of engineering, and most of the time they perform really well (unfortunately it's a year-long PITA when they don't). But they're not for everyone -- and that's OK; to each their own.

Also well said. And I ride all my Unis and love all of them! But I think for a lot of GUni enthusiasts, once you've "gone Schlumpf", it's very hard to go back! (To an ungeared equivalent wheel size.)

[Carey]

But then, unigeezer...you are widely acknowledged as somewhat crazy anyway. :-)

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by Carey

But then, unigeezer...you are widely acknowledged as somewhat crazy anyway. :-)

But in good way!

[uniShark]

Originally Posted by Carey

But then, unigeezer...you are widely acknowledged as somewhat crazy anyway. :-)

I think all unicyclists are widely considered to be crazy.

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by uniShark

I think all unicyclists are widely considered to be crazy.

So were a lot of people who started out with an idea and went on to bring great great inventions and innovations to the world! I wonder what people thought when they saw the first "jogger"! Probably that he was running away from the scene of a crime, lol!

[napalm]

Once you feel the wind in your face, and are snaking your way down a sweet single track trail at 25km/hr, narrowly dodging trees as you corner and thundering over root systems- then you'll understand why, one the whole, schlumpf owners are a bit fanatical. If all you have ever known is single speed Muni then I don't think you could understand how much of a game changer it is. If my schlumpf broke, I'd happily buy a new one while my old one got repaired- I simply could not stand going back to a SS wheel. And if for some reason they become unavailable to buy- I think i would move onto Mountain biking as a sport.
Mark

[uniShark]

Originally Posted by napalm

Once you feel the wind in your face, and are snaking your way down a sweet single track trail at 25km/hr, narrowly dodging trees as you corner and thundering over root systems- then you'll understand why, one the whole, schlumpf owners are a bit fanatical. If all you have ever known is single speed Muni then I don't think you could understand how much of a game changer it is. If my schlumpf broke, I'd happily buy a new one while my old one got repaired- I simply could not stand going back to a SS wheel. And if for some reason they become unavailable to buy- I think i would move onto Mountain biking as a sport.
Mark

I can relate, I did have a guni. Main reason I sold it was that I found myself avoiding riding with my son so I could go feel the guni wind. That's not good. So I cut off the guni addiction cold turkey. I'm just getting back to riding again after injury, but am actually looking forward to returning to the simplicity of single gear and spending time with my son more. Also, I think having a major injury literally a couple weeks after I turned 40 (although not caused by speed), has led me to have a lower desire for pushing the speed limit on a uncicyle (or recumbent or motorcycle).

If I were still 24, I'd still have my guni, for at least a couple reasons: 1) I wouldn't have kids that I should be spending time with; and 2) I wouldn't be concerned about injury because I'd still be invincible.

[DavidHood]

Originally Posted by uniShark

I found myself avoiding riding with my son so I could go feel the guni wind.

Same here. The whole reason I got back into unicycles after a 20 year hiatus was to spend more time outside putting around the cul-de-sac with the kids. I quickly sold my 24", got a 36er, geared up, and it was like, see ya! Even a "short" ride is miles up the road where the kids have no business joining me weaving thru traffic.

Now that I've got a 26" MUni, I am back to spending more time closer to home. I'm designing my own personal Mountain B*ke trail in my back yard. Haven't quite talked my wife into cutting big banked turns in her pristine landscape. A work in progress. Some people might put in a swimming pool but my idea of money spent would be to have the professional trail builders in my area build me a motocross arena complete with banked turns, jumps, and whoop-ti-do's.

[Tucson Uni]

Higher next time

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by Tucson Uni

Higher next time

Yeah drops in high gear are fun! What tire are you running? Can't tell if it's an Ardent (2.4 or 2.6) or Duro 3.0. And is that the standard KH drilled 48mm rim?

[Tucson Uni]

24x3 DUro
This actually not a drop. It catching air off a 2 foot ramp up with a gentle slope off the backside.

[MuniAddict]

Originally Posted by Tucson Uni

24x3 DUro
This actually not a drop. It catching air off a 2 foot ramp up with a gentle slope off the backside.

I thought about running the duro but wanted to keep the weight down. But I'm used to it now so maybe I'll try the duro which would definitely be better on tech terrain than the 2.4 folding bead I'm using currently.

[Tucson Uni]

How much heavier is the 26x3 than the 24x3? I have contemplated switching to a 26X2.4 for the lighter set-up. I do like having the cushy ride of the 24x3 when going fast over rocky trails. Well, rocky trails are really all I have to ride in AZ

[DavidHood]

Originally Posted by Tucson Uni

How much heavier is the 26x3 than the 24x3? I have contemplated switching to a 26X2.4 for the lighter set-up. I do like having the cushy ride of the 24x3 when going fast over rocky trails. Well, rocky trails are really all I have to ride in AZ

I can attest to the 26x3 being a much more "cushy" ride than the 26x2.5 I talk about in this post. Then you can do some before and after photo comparison in this thread. I hope Terry (someone with the leg power to push it with ease) tries a 26x3 on his GUni. Double the weight in hub and now nearly double the weight in tire. Like the Oregon (as far as the 3" Duro compares to a 3.8" Larry) on (geared) steroids! I'd loan him my 26x3 Duro but I am still contemplating switching back.