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This was my very first day on the trail with my new 26er geared uni! First two minutes is a brief tutorial on crank and shift button installation for the Schlumpf hub, which cost $1,740!
Second half shows me shifting (up close) while riding, downshifting for hills, *and* a mtber with my gopro on his helmet following me as I ride...As I kick into high gear, I pull away FAST! And listen to his comments, haha! Cool!
You shift while pedaling, with your feet positioned so you can pivot your foot inward just enough so the ankle area of your shoe (must be wearing appropriate shoes with padded ankle) can brush against the protruding, rounded shift button, causing it to click in and shift.
The button on the opposite side then pops out, where your other foot can shift back to 1:1. It takes practice to get to 100% success in shifting, since you may miss the button or not brush against it with enough pressure to shift. Within less than 20 minutes of first riding the geared uni I was shifting at will, and it's awesome!
UniGeezer responding to a comment by gado_gado
08.3.11 - 3:30 pm
@ DancesOnH20: I would love to do a night ride sometime, but I get up everyday between 5:30am and 6am, and I'm usually in bed by 8-9pm. This has been my regular schedule for as long as I can remember, so changing it even for one night might prove difficult for my body clock to adjust to! Still not ruling it out though! :)
@Namlak: Congrats on your 29er, they are a blast!
@ FIXMYLIFE: No, not me in Woodland Hills. However I did use to be the DJ at the Red Onion out ther back in the mid-late '80s!
Btw, for those not familiar with the world's production geared uni hub, it's a HUGE step up to go from 1:1 to 1:1:5! That's a 50% jump and makes a 26er an effective 39er! But as long as the rider is going anywhere from 3-8mph, shifting up is pretty smooth in that there is no sudden "jolt". Just the sensation of a much bigger, heavier wheel that is rotating 50% faster than you are pedaling.
So you just have to be prepared for the shift, otherwise the wheel can instantly get ahead of you, leaving you behind...and ON your behind, haha! But I'm relatively used to shifting now and can even climb moderate hills in high gear, as well as work my way through semi-technical sections in high. Next I want to race it around my local 400 meter track to see if it's faster than my ungeared 36er.
@namlak The unicycle posse (of one mostly, sometimes two) rides in the dark and often! Do you do night ridezz much?
I'm pretty much regular on my 36'er uni at fmly (1st sat, this sat night), LA Critical Mass (last friday of month) with a few randoms peppered in between (Taco Tuesdays, rwnn, ktown, marathon crash, etc).
I'll be at the fmly ride on saturday night, along with possibly another 29'er. Come on out!!