Announcing the new KH gear for June 2012

[danger_uni]

If it has a molded knee cup with stretch nylon on top, then it's the new version =)

[svzurich]

I see now the old were 1100 denier ballistics and the new arm and leg are 1200 denier ballistics! I have both and am good.

I'll keep my eyes peeled on UDC and Compulsion Cycles for the new frame and cranks!

[DavidHood]

Originally Posted by MJS

I think the 110/137 dual-hole cranks are going to be awesome for 36ers, one set of cranks for road and muni!

+1. I learned to Coker on 150/125s but it wasn't long before I switched to 125/110s. Switched back to 150s to learn how to Schlumpf. Now I'm ready to move down to 137s on my geared KH36. Don't see myself going much shorter and maintaining enough leverage to climb even the slightest hill in high gear. And, I might actually enjoy riding (without all the wobble) in low gear again! I really prefer to spin shorter cranks when touring. Plus, my size 10 FiveTens will reach the button on 137s so I don't end up riding on my toes like I do on 150s.

[vookash]

Originally Posted by danger_uni

I personally have not used the D'brake to retrofit Spirit cranks to a frame. But Roger Davies has, and I understand from him that it works to install it on the right side. If someone does this, please post here with photos =)

Kris

I'm not sure about D'brake, but Mountainuni UCM is designed to work on the right side.

[johnfoss]

Those new cranks (and rotor) are gorgeous works of art. The sexiest unicycle cranks I've ever seen. Beautiful industrial design; my compliments to the designers!

That setup is starting to cement in my mind the future replacement for my aging (no brakes!) Wilder MUni. We're going to ride the Downieville trail again in two days (and I still have no brakes!).

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

I sweat so much that the seats were getting funky and the hardware was rotting.

Eww. But I guess I'd be having the same problems if I lived in the Southeast...

Originally Posted by ally1776

Is the shape the reason for the 125s going to 127? Now sure how I feel about the change, hopefully it's very subtle.

I challenge anyone to detect a 2mm difference in crank length. It reminds me of the big argument a few years back when we changed the minimum racing crank length (for 20" wheels) from 102mm to 100 to accommodate the new splined cranks on the market. People argued it would be unfair to the kids (20" racing is all kids) with the 102mm cranks. Silly.

[lo275]

do you have any picture with the Starfighter brake lever extension installed on a brack to see what it's look like ?

[OutdoorJunkie]

Originally Posted by danger_uni

A few people I'd like to thank:
Carl Hoyer for his work at krisholm.com
Terry MacLachlan and Rob Moore (former Raceface cranks engineer) for detailed design on the cranks
Jeff Putnam of MountainUni. I've been thinking about crank-mount disk brakes for 10 years, but I'd like to acknowledge that Jeff was the first to commercially release this type of system. It's hard to be first, and I want to acknowledge his efforts.

Let me know what you think...=)

Kris

Brilliant improvements Kris! I will buy some spirit disc cranks sometime when I get a disc brake! They look great, the drawings do not do them justice! They are a realy great mass too

Why do you recommend a 160mm rotor? And can you not run a smaller rotor than 160mm with the KH setup?

Everything looks so great.

So the moment cranks are not going to be produced anymore right?

It is very cool to hear that a former Raceface cranks engineer helped design the cranks!

You really help the sport grow and progress majorly Kris, you deserve so much credit for this!

FYI on your website there are a few mistakes

http://www.krisholm.com/khu/kh26 -"Attention to detail and the use of high-end materials and construction set KH unicycles apart. With a high strength-weight ratio, the KH24 is a versatile mountain unicycle that excels for all mountain and cross-country trails."

Also on the KH26 page the different descriptions list different tyres for the uni, such as "High volume, Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6" tire " under Features and "WTB Stout 2.3" wide tire" under specifications and then their is the picture with a Maxxis High roller tyre haha

[UAC]

Congratulations Kris - yet again you developed great stuff!

I like the new bits but wish the brake was mounted on the left of the unicycle. I sidehop to the right and can land on the disk :|

Additionally, I am curious if anything other than disk mounting related updates were applied to the frames (e.g. crown width, shape and clearance to tire).
How about the hubs - are they exactly the same as before?

Would also like to see a photo with the Starfighter mounted...

@Kris, what disk brake did give you the most satisfying results yet?

By the way, I am not quite satisfied with the braking power given by the rim brake (HS33). Tried both standard (black) and red original pads but there doesn't seem to be a big difference. Do you guys have any recommendations of better pads?...I heard Plasmatics are good for smooth rims (not grinded)...

Thanks

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by OutdoorJunkie

Brilliant improvements Kris! I will buy some spirit disc cranks sometime when I get a disc brake! They look great, the drawings do not do them justice! They are a realy great mass too

Why do you recommend a 160mm rotor? And can you not run a smaller rotor than 160mm with the KH setup?

Everything looks so great.

So the moment cranks are not going to be produced anymore right?

It is very cool to hear that a former Raceface cranks engineer helped design the cranks!

You really help the sport grow and progress majorly Kris, you deserve so much credit for this!

FYI on your website there are a few mistakes

http://www.krisholm.com/khu/kh26 -"Attention to detail and the use of high-end materials and construction set KH unicycles apart. With a high strength-weight ratio, the KH24 is a versatile mountain unicycle that excels for all mountain and cross-country trails."

Also on the KH26 page the different descriptions list different tyres for the uni, such as "High volume, Maxxis Ardent 26x2.6" tire " under Features and "WTB Stout 2.3" wide tire" under specifications and then their is the picture with a Maxxis High roller tyre haha

Thanks for catching those typos! Much appreciated. They should be fixed now on the site. About the KH26: neither tire spec was correct. The KH26 is coming with the Maxxis High Roller 26x2.5" tire. I really like this tire for All Mountain riding - even the single wall is well supported on the wide rim, the tread pattern is really good for Muni, and it has a good balance of volume and weight (under 1000 grams).

Fitting the rotor between the crank, frame, and spokes on the inside, is a challenge. The tolerances have to be just right, and the curve of the inside face on the crank has to be just right to clear the caliper and still maintain strengh. Anyone who has done detailed solids modelling should appreciate the complex curves on the inside face where the rotor spider blends into the crank.

A disk caliper will probably hit the rotor on a 140 mm rotor size. 160 works well - decent braking power and it stays out of the way. Personally I would move to a more powerful brake before I chose to increase the rotor size, if I wanted more power.

It was great working with the Raceface Engineer. Rob was responsible for designing the Raceface Atlas cranks, and brought a wealth of knowledge to the project. In particular it helped ensure that weight and strength were intentional (e.g. we weren't just trying to make it as light as possible, or as strong as possible - we had a specific target strength and weight we wanted), and that some details weren't overlooked. For example, if you look carefully the amount of metal around the pedal hole, it's not symmetrical - the thickness varies to reduce metal where it's not needed and increase it where the pedal hole is most likely to develop stress fractures. The intent is to produce cranks that are strong enough for 99% of riders, but not 100%. Moment cranks were strong enough for 100% of riders, which meant they were >25% too heavy for 99% of riders as well. RaceFace went through the same transition when they moved from the Diabolus Cranks to the Atlas Cranks.

Yes, Moment cranks are discontinued.

K.

[Philippe]

Hello Kris,
on your site the pic of the kh24 the crank with disc hole is on the left, opposite to disk caliper mounts on the frame...

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by UAC

Congratulations Kris - yet again you developed great stuff!

I like the new bits but wish the brake was mounted on the left of the unicycle. I sidehop to the right and can land on the disk :|

Additionally, I am curious if anything other than disk mounting related updates were applied to the frames (e.g. crown width, shape and clearance to tire).
How about the hubs - are they exactly the same as before?

Would also like to see a photo with the Starfighter mounted...

@Kris, what disk brake did give you the most satisfying results yet?

By the way, I am not quite satisfied with the braking power given by the rim brake (HS33). Tried both standard (black) and red original pads but there doesn't seem to be a big difference. Do you guys have any recommendations of better pads?...I heard Plasmatics are good for smooth rims (not grinded)...

Thanks

The disk-mount crank system has to be on the right side, because the rotor has to be to the right of the calliper. The only way to put a crank-mount system on the left side would be to flip the frame around so that the calliper was on the forward side of the frame. Personally if I was doing a lot of trials on my KH24, or if I regularly sent my unicycling tumbling down the hill through rocky terrain, I'd probably stick with Magura rim brakes. But for trail riding, so far I've never damaged the rotor and have no reluctance using it. Plus if it is damaged it is not really an expensive replacement and is available at any bike shop.

The hubs are the same as before, in terms of everything you see on the outside. On the Moment hubs, the flanges are pressed onto splines on the axle in a similar way that the spindle presses onto the right crank on high-end mountain bike cranks. It's a very strong system but it is critical that the press-fit is tight. I've made some internal changes to the spline interface, and visited the factory in Taichung last November to check on how it was being pressed on, to make sure that the fit is tight and reliable. All of this applies to the hubs already available now, in the shops (e.g. it is not new for June). So for June, yes - no change.

Attached are photos with the Starfighter installed on a Magura Marta brake.

Frames are unchanged except for"
IS disk mount on the right fork blade
20 mm bearing housings - 2 mm width reduction on the outside face

Personally I've used the 2010 Magura Marta, 2010 Bengal Helix, 2011 Shimano BR-M575, and an older Shimano BR-M765 hydraulic disk brake. All work OK; I don't really have a favourite yet.

Plasmatic pads are good but can be squeeky; personally I like the red pads for my Magura setup. Braking power is better if the pads and rim are cleaned and de-greased (e.g. Simple Green or Dawn dish detergent).

K.

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by Philippe

Hello Kris,
on your site the pic of the kh24 the crank with disc hole is on the left, opposite to disk caliper mounts on the frame...

Oh no, you're right and I can't believe I didn't notice that. I had someone take those photos in Taiwan, in advance, and it looks like they put the wheel backwards in the frame. Classic mistake =(. Will fix that as soon as I can get new photos taken.

[MuniAddict]

Kris, what crank size are you currently using with your G26er?

[danger_uni]

Currently 150's. If I lived in a place with smoother trails I might switch to 137's but right now the 150's are working for me.

[toracyclist]

how much are the new pads?