rec.sport.unicycling · Public discussion

KH Schlumpf Muni Hub Review

seriousslacker · 2008-03-16T17:58:02+00:00

My review of the ridiculously expensive KH Schlumpf Muni hub after my first casual ride on my 2007 KH 24" rig. When I first received the hub I was shocked. It was beautiful, but it was huge and felt very heavy. I was a little apprehensive about whether it would still be enjoyable for muni. My apprehension subsided once my wheel was built up with a Large Marge rim. It was hefty, but didn't feel like it weighed too much or would be too unwieldy for muni. I fell off on my first several attempts at starting in high gear, but once I got the hang of it, I was cruising at coker speeds on my 24" 2007 KH Muni. What a rush! It was ludicrous to be going so fast on a 24" rim, and my large grin reflected the absurdity of it! Can you say FUN!! Switching between gears on the fly is going to take a lot of practice, since it is hard to get your brain to adjust from going from 1:1 to 1:1.5 per revolution. After riding in high gear for a few minutes, I would UPD starting out in 1:1 mode because it was just so slow! Then my brain would switch gears and I would be fine, until I went back to high gear. Once I train my brain to switch gears at the same time I switch gears on the uni, this is going to be really awesome. The hub works as advertised, feels solid on 3 foot drops, although there is just a little bit of play when riding in high gear. Nothing that you can't get used to. Is it worth it? In my case - most definitely! You can really cover some ground when you are in high gear, and you can still gear down and enjoy the technical sections. I hope they can get the hub costs down over time, so more people can experience the thrill, and it can make a 24" or 29" uni a viable commuting option. -- seriousslacker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ seriousslacker's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/14345 View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/68468 Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services ---------------------------------------------------------- ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** ---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.usenet.com

Started by seriousslacker · 16 March 2008 · Last activity 26 March 2008 · 53 posts · 875 views

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01 / Original postKH Schlumpf Muni Hub Reviewseriousslacker · 16 Mar 2008 02 / This pagePosts 1–20Page 1 of 3 · chronological order 03 / Latest replyPost #53vivalargo · 26 Mar 2008

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Original section: rec.sport.unicycling
Published: 16 March 2008
Last activity: 26 March 2008
Original author: seriousslacker
Posts: 53
Discussion status: Public discussion
Total views: 875
Views / 30 days: 12
Topics: Crank arm length Short cranks Wheel building

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Original post
seriousslacker
Archived post

16 March 2008, 17:58 UTC #1

My review of the ridiculously expensive KH Schlumpf Muni hub after my
first casual ride on my 2007 KH 24" rig.
When I first received the hub I was shocked. It was beautiful, but it
was huge and felt very heavy. I was a little apprehensive about
whether it would still be enjoyable for muni. My apprehension subsided
once my wheel was built up with a Large Marge rim. It was hefty, but
didn't feel like it weighed too much or would be too unwieldy for muni.
I fell off on my first several attempts at starting in high gear, but
once I got the hang of it, I was cruising at coker speeds on my 24"
2007 KH Muni. What a rush! It was ludicrous to be going so fast on a
24" rim, and my large grin reflected the absurdity of it! Can you say
FUN!!
Switching between gears on the fly is going to take a lot of practice,
since it is hard to get your brain to adjust from going from 1:1 to
1:1.5 per revolution. After riding in high gear for a few minutes, I
would UPD starting out in 1:1 mode because it was just so slow! Then my
brain would switch gears and I would be fine, until I went back to high
gear. Once I train my brain to switch gears at the same time I switch
gears on the uni, this is going to be really awesome.
The hub works as advertised, feels solid on 3 foot drops, although
there is just a little bit of play when riding in high gear. Nothing
that you can't get used to.
Is it worth it? In my case - most definitely! You can really cover some
ground when you are in high gear, and you can still gear down and enjoy
the technical sections.
I hope they can get the hub costs down over time, so more people can
experience the thrill, and it can make a 24" or 29" uni a viable
commuting option.
--
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Kyle_Destroyer
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16 March 2008, 18:07 UTC #2

I definatly do't know much about GUni's, but I will say that the UPD's
stemming from the gear shifts sound much like when I rode a 36"er for a
whole day and then rode my DX 20" directly after, they have the same
sized cranks but are completly different.
Time solves everything.
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MuniAddict
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16 March 2008, 18:59 UTC #3

I was at Sullivan Canyon yesterday and met up with Don and his new
geared KH! I tried it and must say it felt really weird, but I could
sense just how fast you could go with practice. I would say to Don get
a brake! I wish they would make a THREE speed with and additional .5
low gear for steep climbing; that would be awesome.😄
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unicycle6869
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16 March 2008, 21:20 UTC #4

Sweet Don! Can't wait to see that beast.
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MuniAddict
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16 March 2008, 23:15 UTC #5

Well I thought I might see you there again today, or maybe Kelly or
John. (Tell Kelly that Lori & Tod said hi!) I got there at 1:30 today
and did another 8 miles; that's three days in a row at Sullivan and 24
miles total wOOt!
I guess I'll have to get a geared hub too if I want to keep up with you
and John!😄
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vivalargo
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16 March 2008, 23:36 UTC #6

Here’s the preliminary dope on building a KH/Schlumpt 24” geared Muni.
The hub itself (as of 3-10-08), plus shipping, plus what the postal
service/government touch you for, puts you out of pocket about $1,500 -
just to get the hub in your hands.
Next, you have to buy a rim and get it laced up. Intending to do or to
try and do hard core muni with my guni, I went with a Large Marge rim
at $110. Lacing is a pain and required custom cut spokes (total lace
job costing about $100).
That brings the total to $1,700, and now you’re ready to peddle –
providing you have a set of 165 KH cranks on hand and a spare set of
pedals. In other words, add at least another 100 bucks to the 1,700.
I was planning on using my back up muni frame, seat and brake; without
that I figured I could add another 700 bucks at least (that includes a
Scott Wallace CB seat) and an old Magura rig. But when I went to strap
the new wheel build onto my frame I realized the bearing holders were
too big (my KH 24 is a ’06 frame – have two of them) so I had to order
a new ’08 frame from Bedford for another 200 clams.
I don’t want to scare myself by adding all of this up but I’m glad I
spent the dough after watching Don cook down the street at about 15 MPH
(in “high” gear). I’m thinking this should open up a whole new world
of XC rides I never wanted to try owing to total mileage and the
boredom of riding so slow on a regular 24 muni.
More once my knee is good (soon, I hope), I get the rig built and put
some mileage in . . .
JL
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MuniAddict
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16 March 2008, 23:47 UTC #7

vivalargo said:
Here’s the preliminary dope on building a KH/Schlumpt 24” geared Muni.
The hub itself (as of 3-10-08), plus shipping, plus what the postal
service/government touch you for, puts you out of pocket about $1,500 -
just to get the hub in your hands.
Next, you have to buy a rim and get it laced up. Intending to do or to
try and do hard core muni with my guni, I went with a Large Marge rim
at $110. Lacing is a pain and required custom cut spokes (total lace
job costing about $100).
That brings the total to $1,700, and now you’re ready to peddle –
providing you have a set of 165 KH cranks on hand and a spare set of
pedals. In other words, add at least another 100 bucks to the 1,700.
I was planning on using my back up muni frame, seat and brake; without
that I figured I could add another 700 bucks at least (that includes a
Scott Wallace CB seat) and an old Magura rig. But when I went to strap
the new wheel build onto my frame I realized the bearing holders were
too big (my KH 24 is a ’06 frame – have two of them) so I had to order
a new ’08 frame from Bedford for another 200 clams.
I don’t want to scare myself by adding all of this up but I’m glad I
spent the dough after watching Don cook down the street at about 15 MPH
(in “high” gear). I’m thinking this should open up a whole new world
of XC rides I never wanted to try owing to total mileage and the
boredom of riding so slow on a regular 24 muni.
More once my knee is good (soon, I hope), I get the rig built and put
some mileage in . . .
JL
I can just see you and Don bombing Sullivan and those woops at Kenter!
Awesome!
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feel the light
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17 March 2008, 00:46 UTC #8

It's good to see you are having a good time with it.
It's kind of flat where I live. I'm tempted to save my pennies and go
the easy and slightly cheaper route. UDC lists the hub as a 1175 $
option on a KH 29. With 125/150 cranks. I would miss the large marge
rim in the sand, but on the balance, I think the speed, and having it
all assembled already, makes that setup look real cool to me.
Anyway, thanks for the report.🙂
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steveyo
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17 March 2008, 02:34 UTC #9

Don and John,
Thanks for the reports. Keep them coming.
As Don said, I hope the price drops a little (or a lot), but someday
I'd like to put one of these in my uni garage.
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Tjorning
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17 March 2008, 03:43 UTC #10

has anyone put made a GUni with a 36" wheel? or even a 700c. that would
be fast.
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mscalisi
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17 March 2008, 06:16 UTC #11

Yep. I have 2, one based on the Harper hub, and the other a Schlumpf.
Yes, they ARE very fast, but not under all conditions. Under the right
conditions, there's nothing like it.
Tjorning said:
has anyone put made a GUni with a 36" wheel? or even a 700c. that would
be fast.
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Quoted message said:
<> Unicycle for (reducing the) Buddha <><

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entropy
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17 March 2008, 06:33 UTC #12

Hey Don, you can go ahead and store that rig at my house. I'll take
goooooood care of it.
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seriousslacker
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17 March 2008, 06:41 UTC #13

feel the light said:
It's good to see you are having a good time with it.
It's kind of flat where I live. I'm tempted to save my pennies and go
the easy and slightly cheaper route. UDC lists the hub as a 1175 $
option on a KH 29. With 125/150 cranks. I would miss the large marge
rim in the sand, but on the balance, I think the speed, and having it
all assembled already, makes that setup look real cool to me.
Anyway, thanks for the report.🙂
Just to be clear, the $1175 price is added to the base cost of $599, so
the actual price is higher by the price of the standard KH Hub, since
you won't be getting that as part of the $599, so maybe $1,240. They
are listing the hub by itself for $1,300 - which is about what we paid,
although we got dinged for foreign exchange rates, speedy international
shipping, and the import tax(it is not a tax, but a duty; whatever - it
still costs a lot of money). If UDC has them in stock, then you will
get it cheaper than going direct to Florian, but Florian might make a
little less for his hard work. Good luck saving!
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412
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17 March 2008, 06:52 UTC #14

seriousslacker said:

The hub works as advertised, feels solid on 3 foot drops, although
there is just a little bit of play when riding in high gear. Nothing
that you can't get used to.
Are you saying there is no play in low gear?
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osmundo
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17 March 2008, 07:06 UTC #15

I'm thinking of building up a 36er but presently there is no frame
available. Guess I'll wait for the new KH frame.
Quoted message said:
Under the right conditions, there's nothing like it.
What do you mean the right conditions? Have you noticed the extra
weight of the hub?
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turtle
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17 March 2008, 09:07 UTC #16

last week i did also my first real ride on the 24" kh/schlumpf... i
love it, for climbing and also for downhill (more then 30 km/h)... but
yes i need the brake:
http://picasaweb.google.de/einrad2/RegitzerSpitz2008
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seriousslacker
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17 March 2008, 15:17 UTC #17

entropy said:
Hey Don, you can go ahead and store that rig at my house. I'll take
goooooood care of it.
Hey Josh-
I have a better idea - why don't you store John's at your house, he is
not able to use it at the moment, since he is waiting on his frame and
his knee to get better. I'm sure he would love to have you take care of
it!
If he won't let you, then you are welcome to take mine for a brief test
ride in the not too distant future!
--
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Daytripper63
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17 March 2008, 20:05 UTC #18

osmundo said:
I'm thinking of building up a 36er but presently there is no frame
available. Guess I'll wait for the new KH frame.
Actually there is a frame availiable... I have the Schlumpf hub in a
Nimbus 36 frame which is currently on loan to John Foss for the RTL
ride and training, hopefully he has been able to get in some saddle
time.
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siafirede
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17 March 2008, 20:14 UTC #19

Quoted message said:
I'm thinking of building up a 36er but presently there is no frame
available. Guess I'll wait for the new KH frame.
What do you mean the right conditions? Have you noticed the extra
weight of the hub?
DayTripper is correct in that the current standard version of the
Schlumpf hub will fit in the Nimbus 36 frame, but the KH/Schlumpf hub
will not fit in any current 36" frame. This will be solved by the
unreleased KH 36" frame or a custom Hunter or Triton frame.
By "under the right conditions" mscalisi was probably refering to the
fact that a 36 in high gear is amazing on flat and slight downhill
roads.
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johnfoss
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17 March 2008, 20:50 UTC #20

siafirede said:
DayTripper is correct in that the current standard version of the
Schlumpf hub will fit in the Nimbus 36 frame, but the KH/Schlumpf hub
will not fit in any current 36" frame.
Please note that the Nimbus frame had to be bent inward to fit the
Schlumpf hub, leaving it a bit "iffy" in the brake department. Robert
took the brakes off because he wasn't able to balance sufficient
clearance with the flex in the "customized" frame.
Quoted message said:
By "under the right conditions" mscalisi was probably refering to the
fact that a 36 in high gear is amazing on flat and slight downhill
roads.
Yes, and things drop off really fast if the road starts to be uphill, or
steep in either direction. 🙂
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