Hey everybody!! I finished putting together my 36 with the Kris
Holm/Schlumpf hub a couple days ago, and have gone on a couple rides
with it already, and I have to say it is AMAZING. Some observations:
High gear is quite crazy... I can cruise maybe 3-4 mph faster than on
my ungeared coker with 102s, but it's decently scary, and any
irregularities in the road really hurts my speed, because I end up
choosing to slow down rather than attempt to accelerate over them. I'm
100% certain that with some time and with some riding, my speed will
increase just due to the fact that I'll have geared coker riding in my
muscle memory. Gotta go out and ride! On flat ground, I've pedaled it
up to 21-22 (ish), but on downhills, I've probably only ever hit 20.
18mph feels quite natural and sustainable. I think I need shorter
cranks...
With 165 cranks, I bounce too much. Florian sent me the 165 Moments
instead of both pairs of dual-drilled cranks (125-150 // 137-165) like
I ordered, but at least he charged me for what he shipped me; all I
gotta do is get me some shorter cranks now. And seriously, it's not
even a big deal, because riding this thing is so amazing that I just
don't care at all right now! 😄
The slop is really good: though it's very noticeable when riding
slowly, it blends in entirely while you're actually riding somewhere.
The hub is beautiful! It really looks so cool... Kris and Florian did
an amazing job making this thing, and if you have the money and end up
buying one, I guarantee you won't regret it. It's a work of art!
Descending in high gear without a brake for a long period of time will
destroy your quads! :o ... I rode up and down Mt. Diablo (10 miles and
3,200ish feet) two days ago and still feel like jello when I walk. (I
hadn't gone on a bike or uni ride for about 3 weeks prior to that, but
still, usually nothing taxes my muscles like that, even after being
that long out of it).
XC MUni on a 36 inch wheel with a splined hub and long cranks is just
godly! You can roll over just about anything, yet the long cranks give
you all the torque you need to power up some pretty steep hills in low
gear.
Shifting on the fly seemed impossible initially, and then I figured it
out... you hit the button with the butt of your heel as the pedal goes
down in front of the hub. After maybe 30 attempts to shift since 2 days
ago, I can shift about 80% of the times I attempt it, with one
"attempt" being defined as "take as many pedal revolutions as is
required in order to get the button to pop in." Usually, to shift, I'll
twist my heel in and end up hitting the button three or four times
before I actually get it to pop in and shift the hub.
Shifting at speed seems better than shifting going very slowly, due to
the small period of freewheeling when the hub is "between gears". When
you're moving with a little bit of speed, the cranks lock in much more
quickly, sometimes so quickly that you don't even realize that they
were just freewheeling on you for a fraction of a second. I've only
ever fallen due to a shift when I've been going really slowly (though I
haven't ridden much yet, of course!)
The frame is beautiful, and LIGHT! It's stiff as hell, and when I ride
muni with it, it feels like I'm on a real muni and not on a 36er.
Except for the speed, of course! I can't believe how much lighter the
KH36 frame is than my old Nimbus. Guess that's the difference between
aluminum and steel! The seat tube is a bit long, but that's because
it's a prototype. Kris warned me about this, and luckly, I'm tall
enough so that I can have the seat at the proper height and not be
stuck with it too high, so, for me, it makes no difference. It just
means that not too many shorter people will be able to ride it.
and.... PICTURES!! 😄
http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall#100535 is the link to the whole album
(on me .Mac Web Gallery). Here are a few for those who don't want to
click:
[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0468/web.jpg]
[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0435/web.jpg]
[image: http://gallery.mac.com/cedwall/100535/IMG_0494/web.jpg]
--
chuckaeronut
Cycling: It doesn't get easier; you just get faster.
Unicycling: It doesn't get easier; you just do tougher stuff.
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