2007 KHU Factory Team

[cathwood]

Sorry to be a bit dense. but what does being part of the KHU factory team entail?

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by cathwood

Sorry to be a bit dense. but what does being part of the KHU factory team entail?

Good question. The simplest answer is that KHU provides a bit of support to help these riders do the thing they do best- ride- without having to worry so much about the cost of equipment. In exchange, I hope that they will help grow the sport through inspiring others to ride, and hopefully that will be good for business.

The more complicated answer is- what do companies (not just KHU) look for in a sponsored rider? After 10 years of sponsored riding I could talk for a long time about that but the main things are:

1) Riders who are motivated to ride because they love to ride and are good at it. Riding is the objective, and while sponsorship helps with this, getting sponsored isn't a goal unto itself for these people.

2) Riders who are good with people and who are good communicators through media, demos, or any other way of getting the word out about our sport. Being a good rider is only 50% of pro-riding, maybe less.

3) Riders who actually like KH gear- no fake promotion here.

Cheers,

Kris

[Danni]

I was wondering when the KH geared hub would come out and how much it would cost.
Still can't believe I'm talking to Kris Holm!
You were the one who got me into this!

[danger_uni]

The geared hub R&D is back in action after some delay regarding other products that Schlumpf produces. The other reason for the delay was that the shifter was redesigned and some details had to be worked out with regard to that. We're working on it and hope to have something out for Spring, although considering how long it has taken I won't promise anything. We want to get it right the first time!

No details yet on cost but the complete uni will be probably on the order of about $1600.

Kris

[Danni]

Would the hub be compatible with any of your frames? I was going to just buy the hub and put it on my KH24 06. How much would the hub be by itself?

[brendan]

spring... uhm that would be awesome

$1600...... how much for just the hub or is that question abit too precise to be answered?

ahaha my question was just asked... never mind hey some people are just too quick for me!

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by Danni

Would the hub be compatible with any of your frames? I was going to just buy the hub and put it on my KH24 06. How much would the hub be by itself?

I don't have a price yet on just the hub but considering that the rest of the uni is the same as a standard KH uni, you can get an idea from that.

The hub will fit any KH frame sold after Fall last year. However, all of the blue alloy frames sold before that can easily be modified to fit. The only requirement is that the inside (closer to the flange) lip of the bearing housings must be 2mm high or less. The older KH frames had a 4mm lip on the inside, but you can just take a grinder and grind it off. Just the inside lip, not the outside lip. It doesn't have to be exactly precise- just 2mm or less.

The hub does not require a bolt in the fork blade for a lever arm, which is required by the current Shlumpf geared hub.

Kris

[Danni]

Would the hub be strong enough for 6+ foot drops for muni? Would it take the abuse that a normal KH hub would take?

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by Danni

Would the hub be strong enough for 6+ foot drops for muni? Would it take the abuse that a normal KH hub would take?

The hub has held up well (no damage at all) on some pretty agressive riding on the Vancouver North Shore, including 5-6 foot drops onto transitions. However, it does contain moving parts and in the long term riding agressively with lots of big drops could make it wear out faster. Also, although it hasn't broken yet I probably wouldn't do big drops to hard flat ground- it does cost a lot after all and hard abuse is what the fixed hub is for. If I was to go for a ride that was really technical and had a lot of big drops, I'd probably take the regular fixed hub. If I did a lot of all-around XC and freeriding and was willing to be a little more careful with rolling out properly on drops, then the geared hub should be good.

Kris

[thieum]

1600$, I assume these are Canadian dollars, not US dollars, right ?

[DustinSchaap]

Originally Posted by thieum

1600$, I assume these are Canadian dollars, not US dollars, right ?

I'd say it sounds about right in US dollars, the work Florian has on the normal Schlumpf hubs is mostly handwork, I can imagine the development of the new KH/Schlumpf hub has cost quite a lot and I doubt they will be mass-produced. My only worry is that Kris might be using it at FLUCK this year Back to topic! This isn't about the new geared KH but about the team of awesome riders sponsored by KHU, I wonder if Kevin is still sponsored by GB4?

[zfreak220]

Originally Posted by DustinSchaap

I'd say it sounds about right in US dollars, the work Florian has on the normal Schlumpf hubs is mostly handwork, I can imagine the development of the new KH/Schlumpf hub has cost quite a lot and I doubt they will be mass-produced. My only worry is that Kris might be using it at FLUCK this year Back to topic! This isn't about the new geared KH but about the team of awesome riders sponsored by KHU, I wonder if Kevin is still sponsored by GB4?

maybe we'll start seeing some reeders and stiffener plates for kh seats.

[mornish]

Originally Posted by zfreak220

maybe we'll start seeing some reeders and stiffener plates for kh seats.

kh seats have stiffener plates...

[zfreak220]

stronger ones. i always hear people are snapping them.

[wobbling bear]

though I am not a talent spotter I wanted to say that I spotted at UNICON
a really talented Muni Girl : a diminutive danish girl (whose name is Gallina I think). Did other persons noticed her?