2009 KH lineup - details and info

[Matt_V]

That all looks really nice, I like the new moment hubs. But I would love if you changed the handles to not have a hole in them. A small change would save so many cut and twisted fingers.

[wickedbob]

Pure sex. Can't wait to get the new hub, gonna wait to get my new uni together.

[TrialsUni]

Kris,

I really like how you keep KHU evolving. It's good that this is a community where rider ran/owned companies interact with their returning and potential customers in an open and active way. Keep up with the good work!

I agree with Sponge, in that I would like to see the rims be available in different colors (and tasteful colors at that;P). Perhaps a distributer could do this. I've been riding a black Alex Dx32 for years, and personally I'm ready for some change. I plan on buying a new KHU rim--it'd be even better if i could buy a green or red one. (Anyone want to paint one for me?)

As for tires, I'm glad that you've been considering it. I've ridden 3 different trials tires over the years, and I've not been fully satisfied with any of them. (Luna, several Maxxis Creepy Crawlers, Try-all Sticky). I could dig up old posts, and go into detail about the pros and cons of each, but I won't now. Jerrick made a good point about trials tires and their availability at decent prices for US customers. If KHU could put out a great tire, with similar US distribution (unicycle.com/bedford for instance) I'd be a loyal customer.

-Evan

[wickedbob]

Kris, are the spoke legths going to be the same?

I've got some spokes for my 08 wheelset, so can I pick up the 09 hub and go or do I need to get new spokes?

[Luke Collalto]

new seats look great, I'll probably buy one. I actually did find thigh irritation from sif really annoying.

[wickedbob]

Originally Posted by Jeremy R

Kris, I think the only way to truly get a specialised trials tire would be to colaborate with Koxx, Quax, UDC/Nimbus (of course), and Torker, maybe even Coker (for production).

If you could get a buisness model, say, torker buys 5,000 tires, quax buys 5,000, koxx buys 10,000, etc. A division would mean that it wouldn't be as exclusive to KHU, but it would be possible.

Koxx one, aka tryall, aka k24 house has a mod tire already.

I'm for the idea though.

[forrestunifreak]

Any compatiblity isues of the new hex bolt saddles and other saddle hardware (such as seatposts?)

[lunicycle]

The new hubs look great. What would be also be handy in the same style is a completely oversized hub (i.e. equivalent in diameter to a Schlumpf) for use on single speed 36. The standard size narrow hub is lacking on the 36, imo anyway, especially notice it when swapping back and forth from a single speed to GUNI. Plus.. oversized hubs like that would look crazy!

The wider 29 rim sounds sweet. That and a new hub will make a cool upgrade for my 29er.

The seat improvements sound good too, will be clearer I guess what you mean by all the shape changes when more pics etc are available. No more carriage bolts and dome nuts, nice! Will be handy to be able to tighten everything on the uni with Allen key set when out and about.

With the stiffener plate fitted to the new plastic seat how you would you say it compares to the carbon fibre seat for rigidity?

My home made handlebar mounts under the seat also but atm requires a CF seat base for acceptable rigidity. Love the CF base! It will be great to have the option of using the new plastic seat with the stiffener plate.

The only thing that doesn't really appeal to me atm is the handle. I'm not sure what I was expecting, I guess something with roots in off road riding, in form and function.

It was great to wake up this morning and read about the new KH goodies, thanks!

[madc-ccc]

I guess I must admit it in public: these regular posts from you Kris are my preferred posts on RSU over the whole year!

I'm a definitive customer for the new Fusion seat, as well as the reinforcement plate => I can't wait testing that!

The new (1-speed) hubs look great as well! I'll buy the new CrMo one anytime I'll need to build a new wheel.
One question about weight deltas though:

The CrMo version is very slightly lighter (32 g), and the Ti version is very slightly heavier (18g)

I'm just wondering what is the reference in these weight comparisons, e.g.: is the new CrMo version 32g lighter than the previous CrMo version, or is it lighter than the Ti version?
I would have voted for the former, but your "In practical terms the weights are the same" makes me have doubts: here again, I guess you are comparing the 2 CrMo versions together, or the 2 Ti versions together - but *NOT* the new CrMo version with the new Ti version, right???
Could you please confirm, because I'm sure I'm not the only person to be confused here?

Concerning the T-bar touring handle, you are leaving me with no other real choice than buying it.
Even though I will have to set it up such a way that my "upper side brake lever position" can work (see attached picture - a bit old, but the principle remains...) - I would not want to change that!



I guess that my care will have to focus onto choosing the proper bar-end extenders (especially for their straightness and section size), in order to fit the brake level onto the left-hand side extender.

It is made of CrMo right - not aluminium? Or am I just wrong?

Last but not least => the new KH/Schlumpf hub... improvements sound good! Probably anyway nothing major to expect at that level before another couple of years or so???
I've actually been waiting for buying this hub since it was out... and think I will eventually buy one this Fall - if not, then it'll be Spring next year! Patience is the key...

Well... thanks again Kris for the great great work done so far and this time again!

Bye, MadC.

[danger_uni]

Hi,

To answer some questions:
Spoke lengths are the same on the hubs.
2009 Hub Weights:
Moment CrMo: 606 g
MomenTi titanium: 444 g
The touring handle is 6061 aluminum.
No compatibility issues I know of for the bolts in the saddle frames - they are just 4mm dome head hex bolts (the T-bar uses 5 mm dome head bolts so it can be tightened more). With this change and using Trailmix pedals that have a hex bolt option to tighten, the only tool you need to adjust component tightness while on a ride is a hex set.

Kris

[GizmoDuck]

Can't wait to try the handle Kris.

And the Ti hub too!

[siafirede]

Originally Posted by danger_uni

Yes- it's 2 mm longer each side (4 mm total) to solve crank compatibility issues.

Kris

Originally Posted by danger_uni

5) Improvements to the KH/Schlumpf hub. Hubs shipped will have stronger bearings and a slightly longer axle, as mentioned on another thread.
Kris

Hopefully that will solve the crank issues, I would have guessed it would have needed to be more than 2mm longer on each side.

Something else I forgot to ask earlier: The "stronger bearings" are the same bearings that were shipped out after the recall right? From what I remember, the recall beefed up the bearings and the planet carrier, but does this latest batch have even stronger bearings than what was sent out in December?

[danger_uni]

Originally Posted by siafirede

Something else I forgot to ask earlier: The "stronger bearings" are the same bearings that were shipped out after the recall right? From what I remember, the recall beefed up the bearings and the planet carrier, but does this latest batch have even stronger bearings than what was sent out in December?

Yes the bearings are the same dimension as those shipped since December. To be more clear, individual inspection of bearing quality has been implemented and some spacers inside the hub were adjusted to reduce play in the direction of the spindle, which should increase bearing strength.

Kris

[skrobo]

kris,
I am very glad to hear about the improvments on the seat and hub, they are much needed.

I have also had a problem with handles cracking over time, and with the fins on the inside breaking and cutting my fingers, i would be more than willing to sacrifice that few g of weight it would take to fill in the fins as well as the hole in the top.

I also would like to know if the 13 ga. spokes will be kept available for those of us who have a setup "requiring" them, or at least leave us able to special order them.

EDIT: one more thing, it seems that a better handle design would have been in order along with the production of the seat so that you would have a clean pallet to work with in the development of such a handle.

[simonb]

the new saddles look awsome kris, ive been waiting for new nuts like that for ages.

so is bthis new stiffner doing away with CF bases, as the hex nuts (if thats what theyre called) wont screw into the CF.

Also is the new stiffner going to be as strong as the CF bases

thanks
simonb