SH 26/39 Unicycle

Bad timing. Mike Scalisi is the guy who won, and he's currently at
Burning Man. He won't be back for a few more days. I can tell you what
he's told me, though. He really likes it, and plans to spend a year just
getting used to riding it, and then he said he might make it into a
blueshifted coker. He said that it's not the strongest hub in the world
so you really have to stay on somewhat smoothe roads with
it(translation: no trials/muni riders on it, as hopping won't be good).
Also, the next time I get to ride it I'll give a slightly better writeup
if you want. Try re-posting this thread in like 3 or four days.

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gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown
out?

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"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. They will stop at nothing
to hurt us and our people, and nethier will we"-Dubya
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Bump

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oxfordrider
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Do I like it? Of course, I LOVE IT. I will do a write up at some point,
but I am currently strapped for time. I intend to bring it to the Cal
Muni Weekend for those who want to try it.

I will tell you this however:

The first week I got it, it was the only unicycle I rode. It's a bit
twitchy, but you get used to it after a while. I discovered that it's
very different than the coker. How different? Well, after riding nothing
but the 26/39er for a week, I went for a coker ride with Scot Cooper. I
wound up doing a face-plant while trying to mount the coker. On a VERY
busy street. It was QUITE embarassing.

I do like the geared uni for commuting to work. A train (BART) will take
me within' 5 miles of my job. It's much more convenient to bring a 26er
on the train than a coker. The other thing that's nice about it is that
you can make a much sharper turn on a 26" hookworm than a 36" coker
tire.

Riding the 26/39er has yet to bring me to the zen-like state that I
feel on the coker, however.

I am contemplating tranforming it into a 36/54er sometime in the future
(at least a year out). I wish I could ride Kris's first to see what
it's like.

Mike

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mscalisi - Not such a newbie anymore
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Mike, what's the biggest con to this geared hub? Is there any slack in
the apparatus?
What crank length are you using?
And what speeds have you had it up to? 12? 14? 16?

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unisk8r - All this for just cross-training?
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I think the biggest con is that it's a little squirrly to ride. You
always need to be a bit more focused. When you UPD, you hit the ground
very fast.

There is some slack, but I don't think if affects the riding in a big
way. The nature of the beast is that it's generally going forward. It
doesn't lend itself to idling or other skills other than riding
forward.

Currently it has 165's on it. The extra length is nice and I don't have
plans for shorter cranks at this point.

I don't have a cycle computer on it, so I don't know exactly what speeds
I'm doing. Because it's a little squirrly, I don't really push it as
hard as I push my coker. I'd guess 14 is probably fastest I've ridden.

unisk8r said:

*Mike, what's the biggest con to this geared hub? Is there any slack
in the apparatus?
What crank length are you using?
And what speeds have you had it up to? 12? 14? 16? *

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Thanks for the info! Always nice to hear from someone riding a geared
hub. Progress is inevitable, and I firmly believe we'll have some
choices in that department within a few years.

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unisk8r said:

*Progress is inevitable, and I firmly believe we'll have some choices
in that department within a few years. *

http://www.schlumpf.ch/uni_engl.htm

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willfcc - I always wear my helmet.

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Will

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yup, saw that earlier... i meant choices in addition to the Schlumpf,
which appears will be the first obtainable production fixed-gear hub
suitable for unis.
i myself am working on a prototype chain-driven uber-coker, with the
cranks on the same axle as the hub. the wheel is all done, and now i'm
trying to get a custom frame built.

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unisk8r said:

*i myself am working on a prototype chain-driven uber-coker, with the
cranks on the same axle as the hub. the wheel is all done, and now
i'm trying to get a custom frame built. *

Been There Done That:o (Not literally). I warn you, although you
probably know already that you're not the first person to try this, it
doesn't work. Chains have too much inherent slack in them, and the
shifters and chain tensioners are too difficult to design. I drew up
some rough sketch for a 21 speed 24" uni that runs on the same principle
as you seem to be doing. I had about 7 different ideas for how to
develop and build a shifter/chain tensioner. After talking to Scott
Wallis and some other people I noticed it wouldn't work due to the slack
of chains and gave up. Did you design and build a custom hub, because
normal uni or bike hubs don't work. Also, please, make me eat my words.
I really want to see a uni of this design work, becuase it'd rock.

--
gerblefranklin - Trials Unicyclist

Don't you think it's a cruel irony that acting like a G.I. Joe in the
army can get you a Medal, while playing with one can get you thrown
out?

http://gallery.unicyclist.com/Trials-Muni

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful. They will stop at nothing
to hurt us and our people, and nethier will we"-Dubya
Vote Kerry. Yeah, they both suck, but Kerry sucks less.
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This one's gonna rock alright...think 1 wheeled track bike with a narrow
jackshaft 5" off the axle to run a 2nd chain back down to the track hub,
which will rotate faster than the axle itself. The design is so simple,
yet the hard part has been fabricating the parts. I'll report more
after I've taken that all-important first UPD!

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