Turned out to be a GREAT ride on the 24″ GUni.  Lots of flowing single track, lots of up and down, a fun fix of smooth and rocky trail. I reckon the 29′er MUni would be great here too.

NOTE: I’ve since learnt that Jubbaland is not on public land/state forest but _private _land. Access to Jubbaland is only OK during events/rides organized by Central Victorian Rocky Riders.

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni

Jubbaland MUni Kodger

Jubbaland MUni

Flooded Quarry, Jubbaland

I’d moved some of the bits and pieces that made up my unicycle trials area but it wasn’t practical to bring everything and as much as pellets are cool things I can’t imagine they’d impress potential buyers. Not much else to do but burn what was left. Here is the trials area, all warm and toasty…

Trials Fire

It was great fun area to mess around on.

The 'good old days'

I headed out on the 24 GUni to explore the section of forest that lies in between home and Wattle Flat, just off the Muckleford Castlemaine Road and Victorian Goldfields Railway line. In addition to today’s ride there looks to be a lot more single track to explore!

The 24 GUni was great fun but will definitely be rolling out bigger wheels on some of these trails every now and then.

Muckleford MUni Route

Krish Holm Schlumpf 24" Geared Unicycle, Muckleford

Didj, MUni Dog

I was hanging out for a uni fix so decided to squeeze in the MUni ride from Moonlight Flat to Expedition Pass and back, on a section of the Great Dividing Trail. On the map it looked like an easy cruise more or less… HAHA, sucked in badly!

Expedition Pass MUni Route

The trail starts out as a GUni dirt freeway, running alongside Forrest Creek before heading into the bush where it becomes a mix of single track and wider trails, passing ‘Troll Corner’ (!), Manchester Reef and the Garfield Wheel, all the while climbing steadily towards Expedition Pass though it drops in and out of several steep gullies along the way.

Troll Corner, Expedition Pass MUni

The trail passes through hard core Gold Mining country. The Garfield Wheel was one mighty structure in its day. Check out a photo of it taken during the Gold Rush.  All that is left now are the stone supports, still impressive.

Garfield Wheel, Expedition Pass MUni

After a lot of huffing and puffing – my fitness is lame ATM – I arrived at Expedition Pass, well sort of. My turn around point was the Expedition Pass Reservoir but I couldn’t get to it due to the ‘new’ official trail being surrounded by private property. I backtracked and cut into where I’d seen some single track earlier. Nice.

Reservoir Falls, Expedition Pass MUni

It took a LOT longer than I thought it would to get to Expedition Pass. It was getting late in the day so fingers crossed the run down to Moonlight Flat would be a lot quicker and I’d make it back before dark… but I hadn’t yet come across some of the excellent single track I’d noticed from the road a few days earlier and was determined to find it before heading home.

Expedition Pass Reservoir

The single track didn’t take too much finding, starting just down behind the reservoir wall. Nice twisty single track, winding alongside a creek, passing ruins of old bridges and such, before joining back onto the main trail.

Singletrack by creek, Expedition Pass MUni

Back on the main trail the ride home turned out to be a lot faster, lots of downhill to enjoy, and steep sections to clench the butt.

Heading home... downhill, Expedition Pass MUni

Not much daylight left by the time I returned past Manchester Reef. Nice light.

Last light, Manchester Reef, Expedition Pass MUni

My eyes took a beating from a few late afternoon swarms of tiny insects. Must remember to take clear glasses. Nothing Scooby Doo snacks couldn’t fix though once I made it back to the van

End of ride Scooby Doo Snacks, Expedition MUni

The 24 GUni ran like a rocket, though I reckon a lot of the trail would also suit a 29 and even a 36 wheel. The Expedition Pass trail isn’t far from The Pineys and Kalimna Park – both great MUni – so once my fitness picks up again there are some good options in these parts for long MUni rides.

All up a great ride. It kicked my butt!

I headed back out there today with the KH24 GUni (geared unicycle) and Didj to continue mapping the single track network. The trail map is coming along well, and I’m starting to feel for how the trails fit together, the most fun direction/route etc. There’s still a lot of sections to explore yet though.

My MUni fitness is fairly poor ATM. I huffed and puffed my way around. Didj the wonder mongrel hardly raised a sweat.

24 GUni and Didj Uni Dog, Wattle Flat Single Track Mapping

Wattle Flat Single Track Mapping

KH24 Geared Unicycle, Wattle Flat

Wattle Flat, Castlemaine

Have to say the fun factor on 24 GUni was way way up on my earlier ride on the 29′er MUni in the same area. The trails around Wattle Flat seem to suit the GUni perfectly – sharp climbs and gullies suited to 1:1, long flowing single track descents an absolute scream in 1:1.5. I don’t think it’s just the extra speed on the GUni that makes it so much fun – it’s the sensation of going fast on a small wheel with a big fat tire, without pedaling like a madman, changing up and down as the terrain requires – MTB like!

Wattle Flat Single Track

It’ll be fun to see what the trail map ends up looking like. Wattle Flat is neatly hemmed in by a couple of dirt roads – just keep riding until you either come out of the bush onto a dirt road or end up in the bush somewhere you’ve been before. Lots of other trails out there to ride yet.

Wattle Track Single Track map so far...

Didj came along for the ride – he’s a cool  MUni dog and MUCH fitter than me… ATM anyway

End of the ride, Wattle Flat Single Track

After having ridden the 24 GUni since Sept/Oct last year the 29′er took some getting used to – don’t think I got into the groove at all today but still had fun.Will definitely head back with the 29′er,  24 GUni and 36′er.

Didj the uni dog came along for the ride, nice to have a riding buddy again!

Wattle Flat MUni

Didj, Wattle Flat MUni

I headed back to Kalimna Park today on the KH24″ GUni to start mapping the network of trails which are basically all over the place, like a bowl of spaghetti! I decided to focus on a relatively small area, riding all the trails I could see. Even this small area would be a great place for a group MUni ride – lots of fun options for any size wheel.

I’ll head back to the park when I get a chance and continue mapping the trails, and also take the 29 and 36′er along.

Spaghetti MUni

MUni and FUngi

Spaghetti MUni Route

Spaghetti MUni

I headed down the Campbells Creek Walking/Cycling Track for the first time and had a fun high speed cruise. The cycling track passes under the Victorian Goldfields Railway which runs steam trains between Castlemaine and Maldon several times a week. Love steam trains, so with some time to spare headed back towards Maldon on single track that runs up and down bush gullies alongside the line hoping to meet the train along the way.

Victorian Goldfields Railway

I’ve ridden the single track a few times before including on the KH 36′er in the opposite direction and during the Festival of the Wheel. The combination of high gear, the big fat tire and 150mm cranks made for a fun ride, lots of speed and definitely a lot more stability over loose rocky surfaces (compared to a 36′er). After hearing a few whistle blows in the distance it wasn’t long before the ground was shaking as the steam train hauled past.

MUni Castlemaine Maldon Steam Train

Just awesome, and only a few minutes uni ride from home.

Victorian Goldfields Railway

]]> http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/06/14/campbells-creek-cycling-track/feed/ 0 http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/05/17/kalimna-park/ http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/05/17/kalimna-park/#comments Mon, 17 May 2010 07:37:29 +0000 admin http://unplannedismounts.com/?p=3570 We’ve been moving house the last couple of weeks and have also been offline (lots of spam comments posted to the blog, doh!)

It was great to get out today and start exploring the area on the uni. I headed for Kalimna Park, a bushland reserve in the hills on the edge of town. The park is fairly rugged, and packed full of single track heading off in all directions.

Turns out Kalimna Park is a GREAT spot for MUni (breathes sigh of relief) and there’s plenty more of the reserve to explore yet

Kalimna Park

Kalimna Park

I pulled off the road and thought about when I’d seen it last. I was fairly sure the watch was on my wrist when I got in the van so began searching and was relieved to find the GPS watch on the van floor under the back seat amongst the junk from the ride – much better than loosing it somewhere out on the trail, phew!

Garmin wrist band broken

One of the hard plastic wrist bands had sprung off somehow. Nothing looked broken, I guess the band had twisted under pressure e.g. during UPD ‘s and the spring loaded pin had partially released, then fully released in the van as I was loading up to leave. First job was to re-attach the wrist band.

Don’t you love how many video solutions to the world’s problems there are on Youtube!

Within a few seconds the band was back on, nice.

Garmin wrist band fixed

Ironically the main thing I REALLY don’t like about the Garmin 405 are those dang hard plastic wrist bands – they’re just too cumbersome, stiff and uncomfortable on my small-ish wrist, often getting in the way especially with Kris Holm Pulse Gloves on. I didn’t know a soft GARMIN Wrist Strap Kit was available. Thanks to the video now I do!

Garmin Wrist Strap Kit

According to Garmin the Wrist Strap Kit is:

Great for smaller wrists. Kit includes two comfortable hook/loop closure fabric straps.

Sounds and looks like the wrist strap the 405′s should have shipped with. I’ve gone ahead and ordered some. The fabric straps should be much more comfortable and able to flex during activity with far less risk of loosing the watch due to the band twisting and popping off. They should also make mounting the watch elsewhere e.g. on Camelbak, helmet etc more practical.

To be continued…

Thanks to the magic of the internet the fabric strap kit arrived and is now fitted to my Garmin 405 watch. It is MUCH more comfortable to wear now!

Garmin 405 fitted with fabric wrist band

I’ve been cherry picking bits and pieces of the Great Dividing Trail over the past year or two including Tipperary Springs, Twin Bridges,  Breakneck Gorge, Mt Franklin-Castlemaine and around Blackwood. To ride the Daylesford-Hepburn section of the trail in one hit would make for a fun 1/2 day MUni ride, and to time it with the Autumn colors even sweeter.

The Great Dividing Trail (+280km in total – awseome MUni) was originally conceived as a walking trail but surveys over recent years found MTB’ers were the main users. Thanks to government funding significant trail improvements are in the works over the next ~14 months to make it more bike friendly. Fortunately however it sounds like the Daylesford-Hepburn section will remain as is – officially off limits to bikes and instead be bypassed via Doctors Gully. I guess this is partly due to it being popular with walkers on weekends touring the mineral springs, but also due to the nature of trail itself – it’s narrow over the entire length, often rocky, often with steep drops to one side – not an appropriate place to let weekend warriors or kids loose on their bikes and due to the terrain too difficult/expensive to make safe.

Mid week outside of holidays there’s not a person to be seen on the trail, the perfect time to use a day off work for a Mineral Springs MUni adventure. The plan was to time the ride with the Autumn colors and cool weather so with breakfast on board I headed to Lake Daylesford with the 24 GUni. The rest is history!

Mineral Springs MUni Route

Riding around Lake Daylesford is relaxing. The trail is super wide and easy, great for a warm up (or starting a ride like today) or cool down, just the view to enjoy!

Lake Daylesford

Lake Daylesford

Wombat Flat mineral springs – the first of many springs on the trail.

Wombat Flat Spring

Narrow Pinch

It didn’t turn out to be the cool Autumn day as forecast, but instead the warmest Autumn spell on record. Me no like MUni in heat. 30 minutes into the ride I realized I should’ve brought a hat… DOH

Not the cool Autumn day as forecast

The signage on the Great Dividing Trail is clear and easy to follow. Good to have some idea of where you’re headed beforehand but not really necessary to carry a map. From Lake Daylesford to Bryces Flat there are twin single tracks to pick from, one on either side of the gullies/hillsides.

Great Dividing Trail is well signed

Once you leave Tipperary Springs the bush starts to dry out significantly and the trail gets progressively rougher. There is also a spectacular section of roller coaster single track, a buzz on the GUni in high gear.

Heading towards Bryces Flat

A feature of the Daylesford-Hepburn trail are the rock gardens, in many shapes and sizes, becoming more frequent and larger through the drier sections of the trail. LOTS between The Blowhole and Breakneck Gorge, mainly encountered uphill so tricky to roll through. A few UPD’s, a fair amount of cursing

Rock garden, one of many

A super deep but ‘securely covered’ old mine shaft beside the trail. Tempted to head back with a head torch and explore… naughty, naughty!

GUni over old mine shaft

A swim in a mine shaft? Luckily the sign was there to warn me against doing so…

Don't Swim in mine shafts, sounds reasonable?

Sugar fix at the Blowhole. Food for the ride included 4 peanut bars, 2 apples and a bag of snakes.

The Blowhole

Thought it was just my lack of fitness but the second half of the ride seemed much tougher. Turns out ~1/4 of it is consistently uphill.

Mineral Springs MUni Route Elevation

Need sugar, lots of sugar.

The last 1/3 of the ride is uphill? Must have more sugar!

The cool shade heading towards Golden Spring was a welcome relief after the passing through the hot and exposed Breakneck Gorge. The section of trail from The Blowhole through to Breakneck Gorge was the toughest  – I think it would be a lot more fun in the opposite direction (downhill) and/or on a cool day. I was beginning to feel cooked so spent some time lying in the shaded cold wet grass near Golden Spring. Definitely have to ride around here again while the Autumn colors are happening. A really fun and picturesque section of track.

Cool air, approaching Golden Spring

After Golden Spring the trail heads back into dry bush, running along a massively eroded gully before turning directly up towards Jacksons Lookout.

Eroded Gully on way to Jacksons Lookout

Booyah! made it to Jacksons Lookout.

Made it! Jacksons Lookout

Cruised down into Hepburn Mineral Springs, ending the ride at the Hepburn bathouse.

Hepburn Bathouse, end of the ride

All up this was a GREAT MUni ride. Loads of variety, challenges and goodies to explore along the way, lots of options re shortening the ride to suit the day. The 24 GUni was a good fit for this ride with the mix of terrain well suited to both gears. The only thing I’d change really is doing the ride on a cooler day, say 15-20 celcius. I”ll probably re-ride the last half but in the opposite direction i.e. downhill.

Damage for the day: just bruises, nothing busted

If you decide to ride this section of trail please be very careful. There really are a lot of steep large drops right on the edge of the narrow trail. One mistake in the wrong place and you could end up having a bad hair day and no-one wants that. Also, don’t ride the trail on weekends.

The gardens aren’t very large so in the time I had to spare did 10 or so laps of the path network. A 36′er GUni would be a hoot around here. Regardless though, a great place to ride and relax and the Autumn colors should be spectacular as they kick in during the coming weeks.

Castlemaine Botanical Garden

Okay so Mt Franklin these days isn’t  a HUGE mountain by any measure – at ~635m it’s more like a large hill – but go back a few years when the volcanic plains in these parts were jam packed with over 400 eruption points things would’ve been a lot different. Mt Franklin still retains the classic volcano shape, which is now shrouded by pine trees. A road passes through a notch cut into the rim providing vehicle access to the recreation area set in the crater and to trails that head up towards the rim.

Ignoring the trees, being inside the crater feels a bit like being in a huge skate park bowl and the ground cover of pine needles make it possible to ride all over the place.

I didn’t have a lot of time to spare so headed up towards the rim, riding around then a few downhill runs. LOTS of fun. I drive past Mt Franklin a couple of times a day, will be keeping a uni in the boot more often

Mt Franklin Crater

Didj on the Lava trail

Mt Franklin MUni

Didj keeping an eye on MUni

:

Mt Franklin MUni

Even today it’s still a rugged environment littered with vertical mine shafts deep and narrow enough to swallow the unsuspecting MUni rider, no problem! Lots to explore… carefully

Mine Shafts, Lushington Hill

Lushington Hill is also home to the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale, a tree dwelling marsupial carnivore – sort of like a cross between a bush rat and a possum. Lots of nesting boxes in the trees, placed by the local landcare/environment group. Very cool.

Phascogale Nesting Box, Lushington Hill

Keep a look out for those mine shafts!

Mine Shaft, Lushington Hill

In between appointments mid afternoon I completed a lap of the circuit which was still largely intact – safety fencing, signage, ripple strips – good fun, though there wasn’t a peep of cheering for the weird one wheeled guy coming from the empty grandstands on the main straight, just curious looks from the construction workers. Maybe it was because I was riding the circuit in reverse? Maybe not.

I tried to scoot through pit lane on the GUni but the security guy wasn’t feeling the love even though I explained that he was looking at an off road unicycle F1 equivalent – fat tire, gears, aero bar thingy. I just wanted a pic of me on the F1 podium with the uni… too much to ask? He wouldn’t let me pass but at least did manage a smile when I asked him to start the lap timer as I set off.

I headed back to Albert Park just on sunset and rode around the lake itself, quite scenic and peaceful. Amazing to think that this time 2 days ago the F1′s were buzzing around. Maybe next year uni’s can be a support event

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

GUni Formula One, Albert Park

Castlemaine is to the north of the ranges – significantly lower, warmer and drier than the Wombat Forest around home. It’s also part of the Goldfields region which was heavily mined during the gold rush of the 1850′s. All together it makes for a rugged landscape.

The local MTB riders in Castlemaine have been creating trails for years in the hills that surround the town so with some pointers from the Jason at the local bike shop I headed out to The Pines. The single track trail entries are intentionally discreet and took some finding but it wasn’t long before the ride was on.

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

I’ve never been a fan of pine plantations in Australia. While they clearly have a purpose, compared to the richness and diversity of native bush the mono culture of pine plantations seems devoid of life, silent and eerie. With the mass symmetrical planting of trees regardless of the terrain, plantations also lack a sense of place – where you’ve been, where you are, what’s ahead – at times it just all looks the same, lines and lines of pine trees converging in all directions, like a glitch in the Matrix. Anyway… that is my gripe for the day!

The upside is that where there is a pine plantation there are often trails, and the single track trails in The Pines are GREAT! LOTS of challenging terrain, often rocky and steep. LOTS of climbing and descending. LOTS of having no idea where you are, just descending into one of many deep gullies surrounded by pine trees.

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

Good luck charm, The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

The Pines, Moonlight Flat

In a completely foreign environment with no signage, no map and multiple track options I had to rely on the force to navigate the many trails and tracks in the plantation, and get back to the van in time to pick up our daughter from school

The Pines, Moonlight Flat MUni

Hard to say whether the 24 GUni was the best choice for today’s ride. High gear didn’t get used once, and while the 24″ wheel/3.0 tire was great in the difficult rocky terrain a 29′er MUni could have been a more efficient choice, especially on the many climbs as well as its ability to roll through terrain. The extra pedal clearance would be handy too. Of course that could all be wrong, and with better knowledge of the plantation I’m sure high gear on the GUni would come in handy for blasting along connecting access tracks. I’ll take the 29′er along next time to find out.

24 GUni, best uni for The Pines?

I’ve started to get back into working on trials skills over the last week or two. Lots of fun being on the 20″ again though amazingly my left ankle is still not 100% after injuring it last October – it remains tight, sore and weak compared to the right side. BUMMER. Still, just taking it easy and enjoying it.

Just another uni ride, but then...

I was messing around with the self timer which caught me bailing, making a run to be in the Street View shot perhaps? a future in ballet?

I spy the Google Street View car and make a run for it! Point those toes baby

Had a fun chat with the Street View driver who answered the most important question ever – ‘How do you get the job of driving the Google car?‘ There definitely was a temptation to jump in the car and create some Google-Pete-View.

Me and the Google Street View car

After all of that I don’t think I made it into Street View, but my van did

Zeeya Google!

The trail climbs steadily from Timboon to Camperdown so is generally ridden in the opposite direction. The most scenic and fun part of the trail however is around Timboon, so with the time available I headed off on a loop from Timboon ‘uphill’ to Glenfyne and back down to Timboon, which is also known for its GREAT ice-cream!

Timboon, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Given the nature of the trail i.e. being based on an old train line, there’s often not much to do but ride along and enjoy the surrounds – nothing wrong with that! The trail north of Curdies River however contains short sections of idyllic single track. Due to all of the old trestle bridges being out of action the trail turns off the rail line numerous times, dropping down into damp and cool heavily forested gullies, crossing Limestone Creek over wooden foot bridges before climbing back up to the rail line.

Limestone Creek Crossing, Crater to Coast Trail

Single track, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Single track, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

Approaching Glenfyne the trail gradually climbs out of the forested gullies into surrounding farmlands as it heads towards Cobden and Camperdown. Time for me to turn around and enjoy the downhill scoot back to Timboon for some of the town’s legendary ice-cream.

Trestle Bridge Ruin, Crater to Coast Rail Trail

All up a fun ride and with Timboon only 18km from Port Campbell there was just enough time to head down to the Great Ocean Road and get a fix of the mighty Southern Ocean before heading home.

Great Ocean Road

]]> http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/21/crater-to-coast-rail-trail/feed/ 2 http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/17/tipperary-springs/ http://unplannedismounts.com/2010/02/17/tipperary-springs/#comments Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:14:56 +0000 admin http://unplannedismounts.com/?p=3289 Had a short but exciting ride today looping between Twin Bridges and Tipperary Springs. Lots of great single track, ultra narrow in places, sometimes with sheer rock wall on the hillside, sometimes with a big drop on the other, sometimes both! The single track also drops in and out of an old water race from the gold mining days.

Riding the 24 GUni on unfamiliar trails that include significant UPD consequences is a buzz – how long can you hold the high gear before chickening out! A great trail to return to and include in an all day MUni tour of the mineral springs, maybe in early Autumn.

Thought for the day: Time to get back into the practice of wearing a helmet… DOH!

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

Tipperary Springs Mountain Unicycling

With all of the rock faces it was hot out in the open areas today, but all up the last few weeks of summer have been mild with a couple of thunderstorms thrown in, helping to keep the forest green and cool. Will hopefully head back to Breakneck later this week for some longer rides.

Breakneck Gorge

Breakneck Gorge MUni

Breakneck Gorge

Breakneck Gorge

Recent thunderstorms have scoured out sections of tracks, in the process creating unexpected, deep deposits of sand every now and then. The 3.0″ tire on the 24 GUni floats over it no worries!

Hollow Tree

Sandy MUni

So far the summer has been reasonably mild with good rainfalls. All up good conditions for MUni. Some of the trails are becoming overgrown – I’ve got to get out there more!

Schlumpf MUni

I hadn’t checked the tension on the crank and bracket bolts for a while so did that before the ride – no problems. The Schlumpf hub is working great!

Schlumpf MUni

It was great to be out in the forest again. It’d been a while since my last long ride – even the sweat burnt

Wombat Forest

There’s a satisfying feeling of load on your legs when riding in 1:1.5, and as time goes on your body and mind are increasingly willing and able to push the high gear faster and across rougher terrain. GREAT fun really – if I could only have one uni the 24″ GUni would be it!

Thanks to my partner Selena for the pics

Guni Bird

Who's walking who?

Guni Cruising

Didj, Uni Dog

Didj runs alongside the 29′er no problem but went a little crazy beside the 36′er.

Didj, Uni Dog

Selena took some cool panning pics too.

36'er Cruising tongue out dog style

Interested in something? Use the Contact form to get in touch with me…

Carbon Fibre Base Fusion Freeride Saddle

I built this seat up when I was working on a seat mounted handlebar. It’s a Carbon Fibre seat base bought from UDC combined with a KH Fusion Freeride 2008 saddle. The CF base has had very little use. The KH 2009 saddle then came out with the stiffener plate etc so it made more sense for me to change the handlebar design to suit it. The seat cover is in VGC and the bumpers are new. A CF based Fusion Freeride seat ready to go.

$100 AU plus postage.

Carbon Fibre Fusion Freeride Seat For Sale

Carbon Fibre Fusion Freeride Seat For Sale

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UDC 36″ Unicycle

I bought this UDC 36′er to use in school and community uni sessions. It’s literally had less than one hour of use as it turns out that over the last 7 months or so everyone is interested in either MUni, Trials or Street, not the big wheel. The uni has a Stealth rim and Nightrider tire. The spikey rubber thingies are still on the tire. The seat and bumpers are unmarked. The pedals are also hardly marked at all but TBH I would replace them as to me they feel to small and flimsy on the 36′er. The uni lists on UDC for $495.

$350 ONO, not including delivery (pick up preferred)

UDC 36" Unicycle For Sale

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Kris Holm Freeride 26″ Rim

I bought the rim for a project that ain’t gonna happen, so time for a clean out. Rim is brand new, never built into a wheel. Includes new rim tape.

$75 AU plus postage

Kris Holm Freeride 26" Rim For Sale

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Kris Holm 150mm Moment Cranks

Selling a spare pair of KH 150mm cranks. Was going to keep them to try some more milling but time for a clean out!  Cranks are in very good condition, no significant scratches, marks etc, just some scuffing from shoes rubbing near the pedal holes.

$45 AU plus postage.

Kris Holm 150mm Moment Cranks

Kris Holm 150mm Moment Cranks For Sale

Interested in something? Use the Contact form to get in touch with me.

The 24 GUni is zipping along. The more I ride it, the more natural it feels in 1:1.5. AWESOME!

Tropical MUni

Tropical MUni

The 24″ GUni is still my favorite uni, though I’ve also been riding the 20, 29 and 36. Getting back on the 36 is a hoot. The big wheel has such a different feel to smaller uni’s including the 29′er. It rolls so smoothly and fast. The 29′er feels like a lighter, faster 24′er albeit with a weaker wheel, and doesn’t really have any of the big wheel feel of the 36′er. The 29′er has ideal lately though for walking the dog! The 20″ is great fun to loon around on, especially in the home trials area, and practice new skills.

My uni's, apart from the 24 GUni

Didj, the uni super dog

Didj, Uni Super Dog

Some pics from rides over Xmas on the 24 GUni.

Xmas GUni

Xmas GUni

Xmas GUni

Thanks to Corey for taking the pics

Frankie, busting a move on the 12" uni

Nicky demonstrating casual, stylish MUni descent technique

Me demonstrating Loser Technique

Eric 'Zoolander' Technique!

My fitness is a long way down compared to this time last year due to recent injury and work requirements so the plan was to take it easy, enjoy the day and hopefully run the full six hours. I arrived at registration earlier than last year leaving more time to plan a route before the 10.00am start. Given the event is designed for MTB and how slow uni’s are in comparison it’s a tricky thing to guess a uni route over 6 hours. Excluding navigation errors, I work on the assumption I’ll cover about half the map within the 6 hours (whereas MTB will cover almost all of the map) and go from there, but it’s really only once you’re on the move that you get a good sense of your speed on the day.

I’d never ridden in this section of forest, so the terrain was an unknown though the map made it clear a fair amount of climbing would be involved (+1600m for my route). I’d never ridden the geared 24″ unicycle off road for this long either. To minimize the load of spinning 1:1.5 on my legs and maximize the speed the plan was to use the easiest route, that was the theory anyway

Before the start of the 6 hour event

The start was good fun, tagging onto the back of the slower MTB’s, enjoying high gear on on the GUni. In an event like this it isn’t long before riders scatter in all directions following their own route, so after reaching my first control point it was a few hours before I’d see any MTB riders again.

First control point for the day

I had a fairly error free run in last year’s event, only going off course briefly once. This year I made two big mistakes in the first three hours that at times left me completely disorientated and wandering around in the bush looking for any sign of a trail. Firstly I missed a major turn, probably because I was enjoying scooting along downhill on the GUni too much, and didn’t realize the mistake until I reached the village of Barkstead – somewhere I shouldn’t have been until I looped back there ~3 hours later. I decided to rejoin my planned route and headed east across the map visiting a few control points on the way. It wasn’t long however before I turned off into the forest too early into a confusing network of unmarked firewood collection trails which soon disappeared and I spent a long time wandering around in the bush, finally coming out onto a dirt road, but which one I had no idea.

I sat for a while to clear my head and work out where I was with the help some munchies and energy gel. With 3 of the 6 hours already gone and having only reached a handful of control points the plan was to work out where I was, come up with  3 hour route back to the finish, and not get lost again. I’d already been to Barkstead so at least I knew where that was, so I headed west to Barkstead planning to loop south and then back east to the finish by 4.00pm. There were two controls worth a lot of points, so if nothing else I’d reach those.

~1600m of climbing, wind and rain, lots of rain

I managed to stay on course for the second three hours reaching a bunch of controls, also coming across MTB riders on their way further south down the map. The MTB Orienteering guys hold their maps in a large snazzy rotating weatherproofed board on their handlebars which no doubt makes navigating easier and quicker. My map was stuffed in pocket, neatly at the start, scrunched up and shoved in towards the end! Very few things are named on the map, just enough to give clues. The map also doesn’t show the many unmarked trails, so you’ve really got to be paying attention.

Small section of the event map

The heavy rain especially in the last hour was relentless, accompanied by cold gusty wind. It made run back to the start/finish area even tougher as you’re tiring, trying to visit as many controls as you can and still make it back before the 6 hour deadline. Unlike the MTB guys there’s no hammering speed to make up time and cover large distances super quick, though it was a lot of fun to scoot along on the GUni in high gear for extended periods and let it run more and more downhills… kind of funny when you’re fatigued, ‘don’t care if I crash just want to go fast‘

Trails became streams

The KH24 GUni ran great the whole day. The Schlumpf hub was flawless in the wet muddy conditions. The XC GUni bar really added comfort and control. The dual layers of Merino wool worked great all day – keeping me warm and comfortable. I carried a rain shell along but never felt the need to put it on. I’m glad I waterproofed my Five Ten Karvers early in the week. It was only towards the end of the day that water started to seep through to my feet.

Eureka, I made it!

I arrived back at the Start/Finish with about 10 minutes to spare, completely and thoroughly exhausted. Not a bad guess time-wise in the end though I was super impressed to see the hardcore MTB Orienteering pro’s blast across the line with only 1-2 minutes of the event remaining, having reached almost every control point on the map.

A tough epic but super satisfying. Until next year then!

Overheating won’t be a problem, but no doubt these guidelines from Sports Medicine Australia regarding exercising in heat are a handy reference over Summer. Over 30 degrees Celcius -> go for a swim

Heat Guidelines

A major burn had been conducted in the forest since I last rode there in September, in preparation for the Summer bushfire season. The burnt forest was so quiet today – no thumping of kangaroos, rustling of critters, hardly any birds. Usually that is one of the funnest things about being on a uni in the bush – you hardly make any noise and are traveling relatively slowly so can hear the forest.

Burnt 'Autumn-like' Forest

It felt kinda weird. Here’s what the trail was like back in July…

Forest back in July

The 24 GUni was good fun, though like the Black Forest ride the other day I tend to think the single speed 29′er is a better overall match for today’s terrain. Making use of high gear definitely on the GUni takes more commitment and energy vs riding 1:1, especially in the twisty, rough, up and down single track terrain.

The Schumpf hub is running great, as is the tubeless 24 tire. I haven’t added air to it since early September, and it feels great to ride.

Schlumpf Hub and Tubeless going great!

The lack of shade and anything much green in the burnt forest also meant no cool air. The additional heat was immediately noticeable.

No cool air in burnt forest

Another interesting thing was that there was no sign of the 100mm of rain that fell a week or so ago. The trails were hardpacked, dry and dusty, not a puddle anywhere – much different to Winter!

More burnt forest

A fun ride, not an easy cruise but that’s a good thing. My fitness has crapped out over the last month of not riding due to injuring my left leg/foot so it felt good to be out there puffing and panting in the heat. My leg feels pretty good too. I’m also really looking forward to getting back into Trials once the Cyclic Navigator is over.

Good ride!

Even though I was raised in the hot and humid tropics I don’t enjoy participating in events in really hot conditions. Doesn’t make sense really, at home I’d just wait until it cooled down – anything under 25 degrees celcius suits me, under 20 even better! I also don’t like wearing a helmet when not necessary, so donning a helmet as a requirement for events adds to the temperature.

So… I’ve been working on my heat tolerance, riding in the middle of the day heat, wearing a helmet. I overdid the riding yesterday so today had a long but easy session practicing gear shifts, followed by a 5km 25-30km/h sprint in high gear concentrating on spinning lightly, ending with a soak in the creek.

Conclusion: It was hot

Hot!

Uni Bitch opted to spend some time in the creek while I rode… clever hey!

Lulu

Just about time to wipe down the Schlumpf hub.

Hub weeping a small amount of oil

The home made GUni bar is working great, and has survived many UPD’s no problems.

GUni Bar - loving it!

On the morning of the event you receive the map. The aim is to gather as many points as you can by passing through as many of the control points on the map as you can, via whatever route you think works best. Control points are worth different amounts and you must return inside of the six hours or lose points, so strategy plays a large part in the event especially in the last couple of hours. It’s great fun.

The Cyclic Navigator is on again at the end of November, not far off at all considering I’ve been out of action the last few weeks due to a leg injury but I’m really looking forward to giving it another go. I rode the 36′er last year with 137mm cranks which worked well. This year I’m planning to ride the 24 GUni. I think it’ll be a lot tougher (and slower) on the GUni but it’s something I’ve got to try at least once

I was the first unicyclist to participate in the event last year. This year there are currently two entered, hopefully we’ll get a few more before entries close on November 24th. The local newspaper did a lead up story for the event, including some fun photos taken in the forest near my place.

WHEEL BE FINE: Unicyclist Pete Walsh will compete again in the annual Cyclic Navigator mountain biking event through Muskvale, Spargo Creek, Mollongghip and Eganstown later this month. He is hoping other one-wheel fanciers will rise to the challenge and join him for the event.

The headline for the unrelated main story – ‘Funds for Hub caps years of waiting‘ -  on the front page is kinda funny. The geared hub does come with a cap, and there was definitely some waiting while funds were gathered. Check out the full story at the Hepburn Shire Advocate and the Cyclic Navigator site.

'Wheel be fine' Woohoo! Uni on front page!

As it turned out the 24 GUni was fun, but too often the trail was inbetween – not technical enough for 1:1, not suitable for scooting along in 1:1.5. Thinking back to my other rides here, the best overall match to these trails for me is the 29′er MUni single speed, which is a relief as I was starting to wonder if there was any love left for the 29′er and whether I should sell it.

Still, today was fun and good preparation for riding the 24 GUni in the upcoming Cyclic Navigator – chances are the course route will be through much easier terrain.

Black Forest Single Track

For a relatively short ride there are many climbs and descents – + 520m climb within an hour of MUni and ~8km.

Ride Route, +520m climbing

I managed to have one especially dumb UPD, banging the side of my leg that is still healing…. DOH!

Ouch... again!

The Black Forest includes some of the best single track in the area – a great mix of easy fast sections, intermediate terrain and a couple of plain scary bits.

Steep trail, Black Forest

This is the first time I’ve ridden the Black Forest trails in dry summer conditions  – hardpack covered with a thick layer of loose dusty dirt with a surprising low level of grip, and every now and then giant marbles! TBH I think wet winter conditions might in fact be easier and more enjoyable.

Giant Marbles

I’m digging the Five Ten Karvers, great GUni MUni shoe, and lucky socks never go astray

Five Ten Karvers and lucky socks!

I took it easy knowing that probably only one awkward UPD at the moment is the difference between being able to ride and being back swimming, but had a fun ride anyway. The single track on the Twin Bridges trail has some great GUni sections – narrow, gently undulating and relatively smooth – great fun to speed through, and with a drop down to the water on one side of the trail not a place to loose your nerve!

Twin Bridges Single Track

The Twin Bridges trail connects to the track around Lake Daylesford, a relatively short but fun, shaded ride.

Lake Daylesford

The trail also passes by several mineral springs. Not a big fan of mineral water!

Sutton Springs

All up things aren’t too bad – my lower leg has gone from aching to mainly feeling tight. My foot isn’t super comfortable in the shoe yet but the plan is to take it easy for the next couple of weeks with XC rides, definitely no trials stuff until after the Cyclic Navigator.

Twin Bridges Single Track

A great way to start the day. I don’t know if there is anything more healing all round than being in and around wild cold water.

Water Therapy

Lulu

Water Therapy

I rode for about an hour on the nearby trails, stopping back in at home halfway through to fit an ankle support. The foot isn’t comfortable in a shoe ATM, and the extra support seemed to help. Light riding seemed to be okay, but the slight twist to shift down to low gear was so-so. Gentle idling on that side felt ok but nothing in the way of jumping, trials etc felt even vaguely possible yet.

Ankle support

Apart from the injury it’s amazing how rested and full of fuel your body feels after a couple of weeks of not doing much. It felt great to be outdoors, in the forest, on the uni!

Back on the uni... Booyah!

In the three weeks I’ve been off the uni Spring has been replaced by an early start to Summer with the maximum daytime temperature rising from the low 20′s to the mid 30′s. The fresh green growth is being replaced by browned-off fields, and the volume of water running in the creeks and streams has more than halved. From now until around March you’ve really got to make the most of the cool changes as the Summer heat can make it tough to get motivated.

Cooling off by the creek

Not sure if it was a good idea to go out on the 24″ GUni instead of the single speed 29′er as in high gear the GUni places additional strain on your ankles etc but I was wanting to see if the injury had healed enough to be able to shift gears okay as there is a 6 hour MTB event at the end of the month I’m still hoping to ride (on the GUni).

Overall it was great to be out in the forest on the uni again. Fingers crossed there won’t be too much of a price to pay and I’ll be able to do the same again tomorrow

an idiomatic term for a claustrophobic reaction that takes place when a person or group is isolated and/or shut in, in a small space, with nothing to do, for an extended period. Symptoms include restlessness, irritability, forgetfulness, laughter, and excessive sleeping, distrust of anyone they are with, and an urge to go outside even in the (less miserable) rain, snow or dark.

I’ve been off the uni for close to three weeks – my lower leg/ankle/foot is healing but ever so slowly. I really miss my daily fix of the outdoors and being physically active, but as much as I’d like to ride I don’t want to make things worse or prolong the healing process.

Cabin Fever!

The test screw provides a means of double checking that the planet axle pins inside the hub are seated correctly. The hub is shifted into high gear, the slot screw removed and replaced with the test screw which all being well shouldn’t make contact with the axle pins.

Hub #226 came up clear and I’ve stored the test screw away so I can check in 500-1000km. Thanks Florian!

Schlumpf axle pin test screw fitted in hub

I wish my funky magic left leg was as happy and functional as the hub. The leg has gone from being swollen, bruised and uncomfortable to swollen, bruised and aching – like someone has wrapped a length of wood around it…  could be quite a while before it’s ok for uni, and gear shifting too

Since then my lower left leg has gone all funky magic! While it’s swollen, bruised and tender to touch there isn’t much discomfort walking so the verdict is it’s only tissue damage.

Looks like a couple of days off the uni, and maybe a break from gear shifting along with some cruisey rides after that is in order.

Funky Magic Leg

Note to self: riding geared MUni when over tired is not a great idea.

Flume Track turned out to be a fun short ride, and nothing like I expected. Lots of up and down and some fun steep eroded descents. The 24 GUni is perfect for this terrain! Suitable for a school cruise? Hmm… not really, and not a Summer trail either due to limited shade.

Up and down, and warm weather

Eroded steep descents - fun terrain

The turn around point for the ride was the Bullarto Reservoir. Being a town catchment area you can’t go near the water without a permit but the cool breeze coming off the water was definitely welcome. Today was quite warm with signs all around that the cool Spring weather is unfortunately almost over

Bullarto Reservoir

One UPD wasn’t much fun at all with the inside lower left leg taking a decent belting, on what I’m not sure. What I do know though is that due to the discomfort I couldn’t shift down gears on the return ride. DOH!

Ouch! lower left leg unhappy

Oh well, there’s always Rapigel!

I took this photo on a hill near our place, just after the fire had started. It burnt for a number of weeks.

Hogans Road Fire from hill near our place

Nine months on and with summer not that far off again I thought it was about time to head back into the area effected by the Hogans Road ride, which was also used in last year’s 6 hour Cyclic Navigator.

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

As far as fires go it burnt relatively cool, but surprisingly visible regrowth after all that time (and rain) is minimal.

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

The fire has exposed many old mine shafts, which I guess is good and bad!

Exposed mines

What were once trails winding through thick forest…

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

Hogans Road Fire, 9 months later

Riding out through the blackened fire perimeter into the nearby super fresh greens of the unburnt forest is surreal and intense.

Straight into lush green!

There are a number of interesting structures left over from the mining days including an old two level wooden bridge – footbridge, rail bridge across the top, water below.

Old two level (foot and rail) wooden bridge

And fun single track right along the lake’s edge.

Single track by the lake's edge

End of the ride for today at the lake viewing platform.

End of the ride, lake viewing platform

It won’t be too long and it’ll be hot enough to swim!

I started messing around with mounting the GoPro camera on the KH20 – some interesting points of view and sounds!

The home trials area is coming along great!

Home Trials Area

I headed out to an area of the Wombat Forest called Happy Valley and found a couple of new trails, mainly single track made by dirt bike riders and great fun on the 24 GUni.

Happy Valley Trail

Warm and fuzzy signs, encouraging you to be at one with the forest

Welcome to Happy Valley

I hadn’t had a proper breakfast or lunch, so not surprisingly I started to feel fairly average later on in the ride, crashed a lot and bonked about an hour from home… DOH!

Pic stop, pre bonk

Quite a few UPD’s today including a couple I’ll probably feel for a day or two. All part of the fun of MUni though!

I had a couple of hours to spare today so headed on out with the KH24″ GUni to check it out.

Don't fall off!

Sections of the trail were deep and narrow, other sections had little if anything to stop you sliding down the hill on one side. There was also a lot of stuff left over from the gold mining days – even tunnels!

Old mining tunnel

It took me a while to summon up sufficient mojo to cruise sections of the trail in high gear, but once I got the 24″ GUni rolling in high gear it was exhilarating!

From what I saw today the trail would also be great on a single speed 29′er MUni due to the extra pedal clearance and speed over the 24 in 1:1. The 24″ GUni is great though in a setting like this – where the trail is too narrow with too big a drop on the side, or obstacles or anything of concern you can always puddle through it in 1:1, then get back into 1:1.5 and hang on. Good day to wear a helmet

In and out of gullies

The trail winds in and out of many gullies, passing through a wide range of terrain. Once out of the side gullies the drop down to the river at times is big enough to scare you

Looking down to the river

Trail cut into hillside

Passing through heavily mined areas another funny thing are the old mines, sometimes right up against the trail.

Passing through heavily mined area

LOTS of forest! I hope to get back here a few times before Summer kicks in as it will often be a no go area due to bush fire risk and isolation.

Lots of forest!

Out of time today, the turn around point was a big fern beside the trail.

Big fern, turnaround point

I’m really enjoying the KH24″ GUni (Geared Unicycle). My legs and brain are definitely beginning to feel ‘re-tensioned’ for 1:1.5, making riding it off road a lot more relaxed, natural and FUN

It looks like there is a LOT more old mining trail to be explored along the river. Hope to get back there in the next week or two.

I headed down to the local reserve with one of our dogs, cruising around on the GUni.

Lulu, Uni Bitch

We haven’t had good spring rain like this for so long, some of the trails are still cut by water. UB doesn’t need any encouragement to get in there and check the water depth.

Mobile Water Depth Checker!

The local reserve is a fun place to ride, scenic with a range of trails and obstacles, even mineral springs – just down the road from home.

Spring at local reserve

My leg feels pretty good after the light ride!

Gyrowheel’s inner disk, or flywheel, spins independently within Gyrowheel, which replaces the front wheel of a bicycle, creating a force that stabilizes the bike.

Here’s a Gyrowheel video from Interbike:

The company is suggesting the Gyrowheel can be used instead of trainer wheels when kids are learning to ride. Cool enough idea I guess though necessary? Hmm not convinced. Learning to ride a bike isn’t especially difficult with or without trainer wheels. It also could remove some of the fun and learning.

Having a magical unseen force holding the bike upright must feel weird – if nothing else I’d be interested to try one out to see how it felt.

Of course, there’s always the inevitable question – what would this be like on a unicycle?

Gyrobike

Waterfall Steps

When it comes to sports injury relief a popular treatment in Australia is Rapigel which funnily enough is ‘For Animal Treatment Only’, specifically horses and dogs. Buying Rapigel from a horse/rural supplies store often involves the two sided charade of ‘So this is for your horse? Yes this is for my horse’…

According to the makers of Rapigel:

Rapigel provides a clean and easy method to deliver cold therapy to joints, tendons and muscles. Rapigel provides rapid effective relief from pain, swelling and inflammation for a wide variety of injuries and conditions.

For Animal Treatment Only

There isn’t much in it – menthol, camphor and alcohol. It’s gooey stuff but feels GREAT when the ice pack effect kicks in, which can be prolonged by using bandages.

Listen to Pete’s Rapigel Testamonial

Bandaged Uni Animal

Take it easy for a day or two on the uni, especially trials, and it should be good to go.

Neigh, neigh to you all

I’d initially tightened the crank bolts to 45Nm which is working great as on all subsequent checks the crank bolts have been spot on. The bearing brackets were also just right -  just under 5Nm on the smooth side. 5.5Nm on the knurled side. GREAT.

Checking the crank bolts means removing the shifter buttons, which introduces the risk of not tightening the shifter buttons adequately when putting them back on and having them fall off along the trail. I’ve done that before, not fun! I always carry the tools to tighten the shifter buttons with me on rides – no hassle as they are so small, and it’s easy to do a quick check on the trail.

Checking bearing brackets before ride, Schlumpf Geared Unicycle Hub

I headed out to Trailer Track, the best part of which is the final descent to the Loddon River. On bigger wheels like the 36′er the rocky descent can be intimidating, on a 24″ it’s a lot of fun. I messed around there for quite a while, trying progressively harder lines.

Fun line down Trailer Track

As promised the storms passed over, though nothing crazy like the last time I was in the same area and got caught in a hail storm.

Passing storms

Along the way took a couple of minutes to double check the Schlumpf shifter buttons were on tight, no worries!

Checking Schlumpf shifter buttons

The Karvers are proving to be EXCELLENT for gear shifting – positive, quick shifts requiring minimal effort, without mashing the shifting button around. They’ve really freed me to shift a lot more out on the trail, just as well as it’s something I do a lot more on the 24″. I’ve offset the lace covers so no problems there, though they are still goofy

Five Ten Karvers

Each ride on the KH24 GUni just gets better and better. My average speed over rides is steadily climbing as I’m feeling increasingly comfortable in 1:1.5 on the 24″ whether it be climbing, descending or scooting along the flat. The strength and maneuverability of the 24″ wheel, the ride of the 3.0 Duro coupled with the speed of the 36′er off road… it’s HUGE fun!

Solution: Night Trials!

No fireworks to officially open the trials area for pain and injury, so instead used a funky light that attaches to the wheel spokes and changes color as the wheel rotates. Add in a camera, flash. torch and tripod and the rest is well… see for yourself

Unicycle Trials at Night

Unicycle Trials at Night

Unicycle Trials by Night

Unicycle Trials by Night

Amazingly enough the little light that attaches to the spokes provides a soft even light around the base of the tire, making trials at night not as uber deadly as I had expected.

By day…

The pallet collection has grown too, mainly thanks to my father-in-law who saw what I was up to and mentioned he had a stack of pallets that he once used as a floor in a caravan annex ‘down the back’. Thanks Matty!

Still a bunch of things to add and do but already it’s a lot of fun – can easily spend an hour or more messing around on it.

Home Trials

Better video to follow… but hey, hope you enjoy it anyway

A pic from the ride with the GoPro camera attached using the Topeak BarXtender

KH24 GUni rigged up for on-uni video

You’ve got to admit, they might not be all that clean but they are pretty cool!

Salsa Ride and Smile Muerto Socks

Looking into alternatives I found an old pair of basketball sneakers, mid tops with padding around the ankle. Instantly shifting was much easier, faster, better. I guess that is why Schlumpf recommends high top style sneakers…

I tried on a pair of Five Ten high tops ages ago and didn’t like them much at all. Compared to the low Sam Hills, they were way too big, hot and bulky for me. What I was really after for the GUni riding was a Five Ten shoe just like the Sam Hill but with padding over the ankle, a one sided mid shoe. Funnily enough the Five Ten gods delivered something very close to exactly that with their Freeride shoe, the Karver…  SHAZAAM!

According to Five Ten:

The Karver is built for bumps. And logs. And jumps. Designed for flat pedal mountain biking, the Karver offers unprecedented freedom from clips—the mid-height ankle has moderate padding for comfort and control, and supportive action leather uppers protect your feet while you’re flying down single track. Stealth S1 soles are the stickiest interface between pedals and feet available.

Small problem: Karver not available in Australia. Ordered from the UK instead.

Out of the box, Five Ten Karver Review

Out of the box the Five Ten Karver is a wild looking shoe – lots of red and black, the legendary Stealth sole, the one sided ankle protection with a bunch of padding and wrap around tongue.

Lots of padding on the inside ankle and wrap around tongue

The large velcro attached lace covers stand out like dogs balls, which is probably a cool thing… if you’re a dog. Removing the lace cover exposes large strips of velcro down each side of the laces. Lace covers are a GREAT idea, but the implementation on the Five Ten Karver… hmm more on that later.

Without lace cover fitted, Five Ten Karver Review

Slipping the Karvers on the first things I noticed:

• Karver’s padded mid mid ankle and wrap around tongue is very comfy, snug, nice.
• New Five Tens are stiff. My Sam Hills after 9 months of use are still very stiff compared to sneaker style shoes but are much more pliable vs a new Karver
• I ordered the same size Karver as my Sam Hills. The Karver is noticeably roomier inside.

Straight up the shoes are comfy in the Five Ten ‘stiff, and  need to worn in’  kind of way. Jump on the uni, they stick to the pedals like Five Tens. All good.

Muerto Likey! Five Ten Karver Review

Additional padding on inside ankle, Five Ten Karver Review

The GREAT GUni News

The one sided mid ankle padding is GREAT for Schlumpf GUni making gear shifting fast, positive, easy, reliable. Instantly my shifting improved significantly – I was surprised by how much as I’d become reasonably OK at ankle bone shifting since last December. All without the restrictive bulk of high top shoes, but with better ankle coverage on the shifting side over the Sam Hills, plus all of the known goodness of the Stealth sole.

Here’s a quick on-GUni video showing the Karvers in action:

The Not So Great

Without doubt lace covers are a good idea  – loose laces are plain nasty, especially on a unicycle at speed – but what an awkward implementation on an otherwise great shoe. Didn’t anyone at Five Ten bother to take a look at the MTB shoes over the last 15 years that offered many better solutions for lace covers? ARGHHH! Even my old Look SPD MTB shoes from the mid 90′s had a more practical and robust solution.

Look! A much neater MTB lace cover, ~13 years ago

The lace covers on the Karver are too large, too stiff, too wide, mounted to velcro strips that are way too bulky. Unless the lace covers are fitted offset to the outside it tends to scrape annoyingly on the crank while the rest of the shoe is clear of the crank. DOH! Maybe this doesn’t matter so much on a downhill MTB but on a uni it’s a different story.

A minor gripe – the lace covers look goofy too, guess it’s a love or hate thing. Based on earlier Five Ten photos the men’s Karver originally appeared to have smaller, simpler lace covers. Bummer Five Ten changed this, though you don’t look at your shoes while riding hey! Interestingly the women’s Karver doesn’t have a lace cover.

Five Ten Karver Review

Don’t get me wrong, all up the Karvers are great for GUni. They’re only let down slightly by Five Ten’s implementation of the lace cover. Fit the lace covers to the outside and there’s no scraping, though they remain goofy. Long term solution  a) get over it, ride and smile b) make my own smaller, softer lace covers or c) get excited and have a go at removing the velcro strips altogether. I can always run the Yankz laces as on the Sam Hills.

More posts to follow on the Five Ten Karver / GUni combination…

ps. I came across a video from Interbike featuring a couple of cool shoes from Five Ten’s 2010 line up, some cool stuff for unicycling there!

2010 Five Ten Shoes

The 24 GUni is perfect for this kind of adventure – motoring out along trails to the area you want to explore, having ‘the ride’, then motoring back home – lots more forest to explore using this approach!

Ride Route

After several days of wet and cold weather the sun blasted out this morning – a nice cool Spring day, a lot of water running through the forest creeks, and great riding conditions. Gotta get out as much as possible before Summer so did a quick torque check of the Schlumpf hub related stuff and headed out.

Burnt Forest, one year later

ATM over the length of most rides it looks like I’m achieving similar overall average speed as on the 29′er, though the ride experience is a lot different on the 24 GUni – slower than a 29′er in 1:1 but able to tackle harder terrain, faster than a 29′er in 1:1.5. You really notice the extra physical effort on the 24 GUni. I guess as time goes on my average speed on the GUni will increase. I’m looking forward to using it in a few MTB Orienteering events over Summer too.

KH24 GUni

The motocross guys have put in a lot of single track in the Swaby Lane area. Unfortunately there is also a lot of erosion on the trails due to the combination of little ground cover (burnt), rain, track design (often straight up and down hills) and big spinning moto tires – you could loose a uni in some of the grooved, chewed out trails, not shown below

Singletrack

There aren’t too many cleared hills or rocky outcrops in the Wombat Forest you can climb to get a view of the surrounding area. It was fun to find one today. With lots of large rocks it could be a great spot for natural trials course, with a view!

At the mini summit!

Found lots of insane climbs and descents on the eastern side of the rocky outcrop.

Steep climbs and descents

A good size chunk of the forest around Swaby Lane burnt a year or so ago, it’s great to see some regrowth kicking in. The combination of black tree trunks and fresh green foilage is both eerie and scenic. It’s also a reminder that Summer and the bush fire season isn’t too far off

Regrowth along the trail

I had hoped to complete a longer loop but ran out of time. I took the ‘main dirt road’  shortcut home and scooted downhill through the forest in 1:1.5, getting up over 25km/h at times. GREAT fun!

The drilled rim on the KH24 weights 655 grams. The 24×3 tube ~425 grams. Add in the Duro 3.0″ tire and it’s not surprising the KH24 is heavy even compared to the larger KH29.

24x3" tube, thick and heavy

Several rounds of clear adhesive rim tape was used to cover the holes in the drilled rim – the first round facing away from the rim (so the sticky side wasn’t showing through the rim holes) and 3 rounds facing the rim, in the process securing the first round.

One super funky side effect of using clear tape is being able to see the Stans liquid as it sloshes around inside the tire as you ride along.

Tubeless KH24 MUni

The tubeless Duro 3.0 feels GREAT to ride on! I’ve begun exploring lower pressures, no problems so far.

Another funky side effect – motoring along trails in 1:1.5 the tubeless Duro 3.O” tire makes a distinct hollow humming noise

The lube recommendations on the Schlumpf site are:

Please use the Schlumpf original grease or some good bicycle oil.

And:

Insert 3-5ml … once a year

One interesting factoid however is that Schlumpf hubs now appear to ship with a different top up oil, shown below. Does it matter? Don’t know. Funny thing is now I’m not sure which oil shipped with which hub… DOH!

Oils ain't oils?

Bleeding brakes can sometimes be a little messy, especially without an extra pairs of hands to help. I was in the process of cleaning a Nimbus 24″ MUni frame from the last Monthly MUni so mounted the brakes on it temporarily. Much easier to handle the  bleeding process this way with one set of hands and no worries about spillage onto the rim etc.

Ready to bleed Magura HS33 brakes

Bleeding Magura HS33′s is straightforward:

• Set the brake adjustment knob all the way open to ‘-’. It’s easy to forget to do this!
• Fill a syringe (with filler tube and fitting attached) with Magura blood
• Remove the bleed screw on the slave cylinder, and fit the oil filled syringe/filler tube. Use an 8mm spanner to tighten
• Remove the bleed screw from the brake lever and fit the vent tube, holding end of vent tube in oil bottle
• Keep both bleed screws and matching Allen keys within easy reach
• Push the entire syringe of oil through the system, until no air bubbles are visible in the vent tube i.e. bleed is complete
• Carefully remove vent tube from brake lever and replace bleed screw
• Carefully remove filler tube from slave cylinder and replace bleed screw
• Don’t bump or mess with the brake lever until both bleed screws are firmly in place
• Now test! The brake pads should move instantly with the lever. There should be no leaks.
• Wipe off any spills and fit on uni

Magura recommends setting the brake pads parallel to the rim, however I prefer to set a slight toe in (< 0.5mm) on the pads.

Bleed Done!

A longer crossover line – bled, fitted and ready to roll!

Longer crossover line fitted on KH24 GUni

Off road unicycling at night is a hoot – ‘other worldly’ is probably the best description I can think of. Familiar trails take on a whole new life. I used two sets of  Ay Up! lights, on the helmet and the handlebar, though one helmet mounted light is adequate for most night riding.

I’m hoping to do an overnight epic ride sometime in the next couple of months.

Night GUni

Scooting down Reed Track in high gear on the 24″ GUni the tire picked up a stick which got caught in the Magura crossover line, bringing the uni to an immediate stop. Those stainless steel braided lines sure are strong – before I knew it I was catapulted forward, and rolling down the blue stone gravel. OUCH! haven’t had one of those random splats for a long time.

Offending stick and swollen, lumpy leg

At low 1:1 speeds on the 24 the limited clearance of the cross over line hasn’t been a problem, but get that big Duro 3″ motoring along in 1:1.5 and it seems to pick up debri on the trail far more readily – it happened a few times on today’s ride. I really need a longer crossover line.

Digging around in my spare parts box tonight I found an old Magura line complete with the M8 and M6 fittings, and it happened to be the correct length for a longer crossover line. NICE!

GUni on Reed Track

With the crash out of the way it was back to riding. Had GREAT fun, motoring up and down easier trails in 1:1.5, and 1:1 for the harder stuff.

A couple of things:

• It’s significantly harder to maintain sustained climbing on the 24″ in 1:1.5 (virtual 36′er) with 150mm cranks compared to a single speed 36′er with 150mm cranks (0r shorter). This should get easier over time on the GUni, but even then it’s a very different feeling. There’s also the temptation to climb too quickly on the GUni, along with getting out of the saddle too much.
• Non technical off road climbing on the 24″ in 1:1 isn’t much fun compared to climbing the same terrain on the 29 or 36′er. The smaller wheel just doesn’t roll up hills anywhere near as smoothly as larger wheels.

These are only minor things that will improve with time, and the 24 GUni is already opening up a lot more of the forest for riding. The high gear makes long distance MUni rides feasible, and the combination of the big gear and fat Duro tire really encourages you to ride trails faster than you would otherwise. Low gear means you can confidently explore any new and/or challenging trails you come across.

Reed Track

It was really satisfying to finally make it down a few sections of trail I’d previously avoided or walked on larger uni’s, even more so given the wet and slippery conditions today.

I’m 110% sold on the 24″ GUni!

Bib knicks offer greater comfort and support vs regular knicks. There is no constricting elastic around the waist. The shoulder straps prevent the knicks from sliding down, keeping the chamois firmly in place and your junk supported throughout the ride. Bib knicks also prevent your lower back from being exposed.

Better quality knicks often employ compression technology with the claimed benefits including less fatigue, soreness and quicker recovery. Not sure about that, but my legs do feel better with the increased support.

Carbon Ion H-Flexx Bib Knicks

The chamois can make or break any pair of knicks. Seams, cut and thickness in the wrong places can be irritating and painful, especially on long rides. When I find a comfortable chamois I keep a look out for any knicks that use it. The most comfortable I’ve found for my own riding is the Airgel Chamois. It’s pure butt bliss!

Airgel Chamois

When talk started about 24″ GUni’s I wasn’t overly interested in the theory. I just wanted to know how the feeling of riding a 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 gear compared to riding a real (single speed) 36′er. Would it feel similar to riding a 36′er with the same crank length? Could you crank along the trail, climb and descend on a virtual 36′er as comfortably as on a real one? A real 36″ wheel feels SO good once it’s spinning and due to it’s large diameter rolls smoothly over bumps that unsettle smaller wheels, it’s a great machine for long, fast XC rides. How would pushing a 3″ wide 24″ Duro tire along as a virtual 36″ feel?

36er vs 24" GUni

I had a break from uni yesterday to shake the sick bug, so today I had a go at flushing it out of the system with a ride on the 24′ GUni – a much more enjoyable treatment

With shifter buttons checked (don’t want to loose one again!) I headed out to a few of my favourite local trails. Due to the distance from home I’d never bothered to ride out to them on a single speed 24″ but a GUni changes all of that.

I’d been running 165mm cranks on the 36′er GUni. Not having huge feet meant shifting required a deliberate number of steps. A bit of a hassle but it did mean accidental shifts during riding were highly unlikely, just as well too as I tend to fidget around with my feet while on the move. Like on the 29′er GUni the 150mm cranks on the 24″ make shifting easier for sure, but there is definitely potential there for accidental shifts while bumping along trails, especially unexpected shifts down to 1:1 from 1:1.5. I’ll probably try two things – firstly, just be more disciplined with my foot position especially on the down shift side, and secondly adjust the shifter button on the downshift side so it protrudes a little less.

Gear changing is going ok overall. I’m still getting used to the opposite orientation of the hub compared to my 36′er. I’ve got to remind myself to change gears, especially changing up. If I’m spinning too fast in 1:1, might as well be in 1:1.5! Just like on the 36′er GUni my ankle bones do most of the shifting (I love my 5.10 Sam Hills but for me anyway they’re not ideal on a GUni). I found my old basketball style sneakers the other day that cover the ankle with padding and they made shifting gears much slicker and more comfortable so the plan is probably to get some smid style shoes for GUni, probably something like the 5.10 Karver which looks ideal – high only on the shifting side.

Trailer single track

Some guys prefer to spin insanely fast on a uni, with little if any feeling of muscle load in the legs. Given the choice I prefer to spin slower and feel load, just like on a bike. GUni’s are GREAT for that.

Climbing on a virtual 36′er (24″ GUni in 1:1.5, 150mm cranks) is fun. Getting out of the saddle or seated, grabbing the handlebar with both hands and cranking like you’re on a bike feels great. BUT it definitely takes more energy and effort compared to spinning away on a 36′er with 150mm cranks. It’s not better or worse, but different as you’d expect really as there has got to be some extra work involved squeezing 1.5 wheel revs for 1 rev of your legs.

When the going got tough today there was always 1:1 on the 24″ GUni. I haven’t climbed much on the 24″ uni in the past, it definitely requires a different approach to climbing off road vs a single speed 29 or 36′er. The 24″ in 1:1 has so much torque and so little speed compared to bigger wheels – there’s no point trying to rush or power up longer hills, just relax and take your time and let the big fat Duro tire do the work!

Wattles in flower

Descending on the 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 today was good fun too. Either let the uni roll, go with it and go enjoyably fast (not scarey ‘I’m going to die’ fast like on the GUni 36), or use the brake. Either way you still need to be smooth, more so than on a single speed (but less so compared to a GUni 36), part of which means not trying to brake too much with your legs. No need to do a lot of heavy leg braking anyway, as using the hand brake on a 24″ GUni in 1:1.5 is smooth and easy – not as intuitive as in 1:1, but a lot easier compared to braking on a GUni 36 in high gear.

Track home

The big Duro tire was a lot of fun in 1:1.5 gear, much more fun off road at speed vs the narrow 36′er tire and in 1:1, the big Duro is as fun as always. Funnily enough too, the tubeless 24″ Duro makes a very cool hollow hum at speed. The tubeless setup is still working no probs too, I’ll experiment more with tire pressure over the next few weeks. The 24″ tube is thick and heavy – tubeless is a worthwhile saving IMO.

Today was probably the most fun GUni ride I’ve had which straight up makes me think the 24″ GUni was a great choice. Don’t know if it will ever replace my single speed 36′er but the GUni 24 is a LOT of fun off road and super versatile.

As I said to my wife after the ride if I could have just the one uni, it would be the 24 GUni. I think she may have even managed an approving nod – the thought of me having only one uni must have been appealing I guess

Not so good on the home front though as I woke up weak, dizzy and shaking with the gastro flu that is making it’s way through our household and around the region lately – change of season bug I guess that seems to happen each year. It was a day of sucking it up (literally, eewww !) and making the best of it as MUni called.

Thanks to the local and Melbourne guys who made it a fun day. With minimal signage to go by everyone (well… we thought it was everyone) managed to meet up at the second entry point to the Wombat MTB Singletrack and we headed off just after 11.30am.

Group shot at start of ride

The ride route was all single track apart from the shortcut back to the cars at the end of the day, bypassing the steeper trails on the eastern side of the dividing road.

Ride Route

Joell the uni maniac came prepared with highly fashionable body armour he’d scabbed from junk in my attic the night before… it’s now a trail marker

Joell with his high fashion body armour

The group gathered around numerous challenges along the way.

John at one of the mud challenges

There was singletrack, lots of twisty, narrow singletrack!

Sid on the trail

Paddy crossing a bridge on his one of a kind 'Only' 29'er!

And quite a few rest stops along the way.

Pit Stop

Even with the recent dry weather there was still lots of greasy mud to be enjoyed.

Joell carving mud

And a bunch of obstacles to clear.

Eric on the trail

There was a lot of discussion about making a uni movie, well actually, discussing the most important thing – the title.

Nick, Uni Movie Maniac

The ride of the day has to go to Connor. His first MUni and on a 20″ — he hardly broke a sweat! GREAT ride mate!

Connor, Ride of the Day. AWESOME!

I felt dizzy and disorientated towards the end of the ride,  like we were riding in circles – not so handy when you are meant to be giving directions. Luckily singletrack is just that – all we needed to do was follow it until it crossed the main dirt road that lead back to the cars.

Heading back to the cars along the access road after the ride

The end of ride photo turned into something else. What exactly? No idea!

End of ride 'What the?!' photo

The big and small of it!

The big and small of it!

We discovered a note written on my unwashed van from Morgan. Sorry mate, next time!

Nooooo Morgan! Sorry mate, must have just missed ya. Next time!

Then the worst news of the ride – we headed into the bakery at Woodend and they had sold out of their legendary vanilla slices…. NOOOOOOO!

The Melbourne guys headed for home while the local gang messed around for an hour or so on uni’s in the nearby parklands at Woodend.

Fun day, thanks all. I’m off to sleep.

Next Monthly MUni: Sunday October 4th

Good day to grab some fun pics too. My daughter came out and operated the camera with the wide angle lens fitted, thanks Hozza!

Fish eye head

Go you big red engine

Trials area is slowly growing

Look ma, I jumped me van!

Look ma, I jumped me van!

Ever tried to get a 36′er wheel built? Finding a wheelsmith interested in unicycles is hard enough, let alone one set up to deal with large wheels. That’s how I ended up at Kaos Custom Bikes in Melbourne back in 2008. Andrew is highly regarded in the cycling community for his quality work, including custom unicycle wheels.

As part of his new custom titanium frame service — your design, yes unicycle frames too, 6 week turn-around — Andrew has been talking about his titanium 36′er project over the last couple of months. I got to check out ‘Zelda’ the other day while collecting my 24″ Schlumpf wheel (with the see through tubeless conversion, sweet!).

Zelda was my first go on a bike in years. The 36′er is so cool. Kinda made me think if I ever got back into biking a 36′er would be da bomb!

Zelda, Titanium 36'er

Uni Style? No problem

Zelda, Titanium 36'er

Uni Style? No problem

Custom titanium road bike detail

As you can see, nice workmanship on Zelda’s Ti frame, as well as the custom Ti road bike. I wonder who will be the first aussie unicyclist to get their own frame design in Ti!?

I really like the feeling of riding a geared unicycle with a handle bar fitted – the increase in comfort and control equals increased levels of joy and happiness. The XC handle bar offers a range of hand positions, is light weight (significantly lighter than the KH Touring Bar), is strong enough to survive many UPD’s, adjustable via the bar ends, and allows use of the brake lever in the traditional position beneath the seat.

I’m stoaked about how today’s ride went as while I like the XC handle bar on my 36′er I wasn’t sure how it would go on the 24. I don’t think I’ll be taking the XC bar off the 24 GUni any time soon

KH24 GUni with XC Bar at Loddon River

Buzzing around off road on the 24 GUni in high gear was a hoot – a LOT more relaxing and fun than high gear on a 36′er for sure! While the 24 doesn’t have the smooth flywheel spin of the larger wheel, in 1:1.5/virtual 36′ mode on the 24 you can feel a nice load on your legs, something missing on a single speed 36′er. Climbing and descending off road on the 24″ in 1:1.5 feels good too, and there’s always the go anywhere 1:1 ration. It’s also fun to be able to mount and ride off in 1:1.5, something a lot harder to do on the 36′er GUni.

I hope the tubeless 24″ tire holds up because so far it feels GREAT!

I’ve swapped the orientation of the hub around so one thing I need to rewire and refine in my brain is my shifting. The 150 cranks make shifting a lot more convenient vs the 165′s I had on the 36′er.

KH24 GUni with XC Bar

After the ride I checked the shifter buttons, crank bolts and bearing brackets for loosening or tension probs. All good, phew!

Shifter buttons, Check! Crank Bolts, Check! Bearing bracket bolts, Check!

With the crank problems I had with my earlier geared hub I wondered if a good chunk of the crank meat could be milled away, to increase clearance and loose weight without compromising strength too much.

According to Florian, regarding crank/frame clearance issues when running a Schlump hub:

The milling of the cranks is a very good solution.

A few guys have milled their Moment cranks to loose weight. Florian kindly offered to mill a pair of cranks to address the crank/frame clearance if I sent them over with the hub but as it happened a local aussie guy with the skills and machinery was interested in having a crack at milling some Moments to address crank/frame clearance AND loose weight. After a contra or two, two pair of test cranks were milled – thanks Ian!

The milled 150/125 cranks are now in use on my KH24″ GUni. Depending on how they go there are a few ideas in the works re milling the next set of cranks.

Milled Moment Crank vs Standard

Milled Moment Crank vs Standard

I collected the wheel from Andrew and checked out his new 36″ Titanium custom bike – very cool, will post pics in the next day. Also cool, the tubeless conversion on the drilled KH24″ rim worked, more on that below.

KH24" GUni (Schlumpf Hub!) and Azlan the cat

So with Torque tools in hand it was time to put the GUni together.

The reduced torque settings on the bearings make more sense IMO – firm but the wheel is still able to spin freely (unlike at the earlier recommended setting of 12Nm). Also 5-6Nm isn’t much – given the problem with bearings in the past, better to not guess and go too high ‘ by feel’.

The torque recommendations for the crank bolts remain at 50-55Nm, dang high as has been discussed previously. I used 45Nm (not shown below!), that’s still way tight.

The shifter buttons now use a 2mm Allen Wrench vs 2.5mm on the older buttons. Florian mentioned this was part of changes made to get more material into the button to reduce related failures but means older buttons aren’t compatible with the new hub.

Warren and Brown Deflection Beam Torque Wrench

Thanks to the super funky clear tape Andy used in the tubeless conversion not only can you hear the Stans goop swish around in the tire, you can also SEE the goop

See through tubeless, watch the Stans goop roll!

I had issues with crank/frame clearance with the previous hub – some cranks just wouldn’t settle and continued to move in close to the frame – tolerances maybe? Florian recommended milling the cranks as the best solution.  Thanks to Ian Holmes in South Australia, and a contra or two later the ‘test’ cranks were milled – dual hole Moment 150/125′s – ending up a bunch lighter than the standard 150′s.

I’m not really into dual hole cranks – nice theory, but a PITA to swap pedal positions out on the trail, and how many long rides are neatly divided into chunks according to crank length? Anyways… if the cranks hold up ok I’ll get straight 150′s and mill them, though differently to the test cranks.

Milled KH Moment Cranks, lots of clearance

I love Speedplay pedals – super smooth spinning, big, flat, supportive platforms, great match for the big soles of the 5.10 shoes, and look da bomb. I only have the one pair, they go from uni to uni – now onto the 24 GUni.

Speedplay pedals, love em!

By the time that was all done daylight was running short but I managed to squeeze in 30 mins or so of riding. First impressions

• MUCH less play/slop felt through the cranks than the earlier hub. GREAT.
• My old hub hadn’t shifted that sweetly for a long time. NICE.
• The two gears work well on the 24″. 1:1.5 is fun and fast, without the death factor of 1:1.5 on the 36′er off road. COOL.
• The tubeless 3.0 Duro feels great. BONUS.

I’ll probably also fit my XC GUni bars, just to try them out on the 24″!

I’d be really interested to see the official list from Schlumpf as to the changes made in the hub. The more you look closely, the more you notice changes, and that’s only the parts you can see.

The weather forecast is looking good for tomorrow, one way or another I’m heading out for a ride!

My GUni adventures started with a GUni KH29 in December 2008. While the 29′er was a good size wheel on which to become familiar with the geared hub in the end I couldn’t find many local off road trails to make the most of it, and was always left with the feeling of not having two genuinely useful gears for off road uni.

I decided to switch the geared hub into my 36′er and had a heap of fun — running longer (165mm) cranks and home made handle bar, using 1:1.5 on dirt roads and fire trails, 1:1 for harder off road stuff. The speed in the big gear on the 36′er is just crazy, especially off road. The longer cranks worked well in both gears – big grind in 1:1.5 and lots of control for tricky stuff in 1:1. The big 36′er wheel really seems to complement the geared hub, spinning smoothly in 1:1.5, much much nicer feeling vs 1:1.5 on a 29′er.

For a road rider it’s hard to imagine anything more fun and well suited than a GUni 36′er. Problem is since I live in the forest practically none of my day to day riding is on sealed road — it’s all off road, ranging from XC to MUni. My rides were becoming limited due to wanting to ride the GUni 36′er but really it was too fast and too big for the majority of trails. Chances are I would end up hurting myself, and with the problems guys were having with the hub (including mine) I started to lose confidence in the GUni 36′er as an off road machine.

I thought about trying a GUni 26′er, but the effective wheel size (with a big tire) is so close to a 29′er…

So… hub #0226 is going into my KH24″. To have a 24″ and 36″ in the one uni should be great on my favorite forest trails. There aren’t that many trails where I want or need to go faster than a single speed 36′er, and to have the 24″ wheel for fun hard stuff — it should be good. I’m really looking forward to trying it out and hopefully using it for some multi day off road adventures.

Glad the hub didn’t get stuck in quarantine… GUni Flu?

Schlumpf Hub #226 Arrives

WOOHOO, Schlumpf Day!

Schlumpf Joy

And the hub even has owner’s names laser etched.

Owner details laser etched

New (lower) torque settings are etched on both sides of the hub, less than half of previous recommended settings. It is thought that over tightening played a role in earlier bearing failures.

Revised Torque Settings

Revised Torque Settings

Interestingly though the recommended crank arm torque settings remain the same. Related, I had a bunch of problems with cranks and my old hub and now have a pair of milled 150mm Moment cranks ready to go.

I took the KH24 out for one last ride as a single speed uni, at Trentham Falls late this afternoon.

24's Last Ride as a Single Speed

I pulled the KH24″ apart tonight to get the wheel ready to be rebuilt and also check on frame compatibility as my KH29 frame wasn’t compatible with the Schlumpf Hub. Thankfully no such prob with the KH24.

Frame Compatible, Great!

The plan is to really look after #0226, not that I didn’t look after the original hub but geared hubs do take some looking after and no doubt you learn stuff the first time around which hopefully will help this time.

Fingers crossed the GUni KH24″ will be mobile for the weekend ride, BOOYAH!

I started to mess around today with the bits and pieces and had a lot of fun on the 20″.  Also worked on SIF skills, getting there slowly.

Start of home trials

The plan is to scrounge at least another seven pallets, a couple of planks and design a Trials area that also includes a large tree that fell in the yard a while back.

Tree for trials!

I headed up the dirt road through the forest connecting Glenlyon to Little Hampton. Though a lot of my favorite loops cross over it I hadn’t ridden the road itself for a long time. Once out the door at home it’s almost all uphill for ~8km with a few short flats and dips that come in handy for recovery – a good 36′er ‘training’ ride.

I turned off the Little Hampton road at Trailer Track as I’d never ridden the top half of the latter. Good fun, lots of downhill, and the tubeless 36′er tire felt great!

Spring Field

Spring is a great time for riding in the Wombat Forest – not too hot, water around, lots of stuff in flower and bonus storms that pass over every now and then.

Ride Route

The hail wasn’t huge but dang it got cold afterwards.

Hail Uni

The trails got kinda wet too!

Trail after storm

Can’t say I missed the 36′er GUni today. I’m back to running 137mm cranks and really do like how they feel on a 36′er for off road XC riding. I am looking forward though to getting my Schlumpf hub back, converting my 24 to a GUni and seeing what that is like.

Loosing weight is often done by fitting a smaller tube, cutting tread, drilling rims, wheelbuild, etc. When it comes to loosing weight AND improving ride there aren’t too many options — Go tubeless! With my 36′er wheel being rebuilt (by Andrew at Kaos Custom Bikes) due to my geared hub being MIA it was a good opportunity to give tubeless a go.

Gone Tubeless

All things being equal the weight saving tubeless vs a running a 29′er tube is pretty much the same. I compared the weight of my complete tubeless 36′er wheel to the complete drilled 36′er wheel I have on loan (which is running a 29′er tube and also has trimmed tread). The wheel with the 29′er tube is slightly lighter — add back in the weight saved by drilling the rim and trimming the tread and it’s close to the same, especially considering the tubeless could run lighter with less sealant goop in the tire.

Stan's Solution

As almost all of my 36′er riding is offroad (and I’m not a big guy by any means) I usually run a Nightrider/29′er tube combo fairly low at 35-40 psi, which even then can feel too stiff.

After today’s first off road ride on the tubeless 36′er my first impression is that at an equivalent pressure (35-40 psi) the ride feels nicer vs a tubed tire. Hard to pin down exactly what ‘nicer’ means – supple, livelier, springy? I hope to do some back to back tests of both wheel setups using my other 36′er before it sells.

Tubeless 36'er

Uni Bitch wasn’t meant to come out on today’s ride. I stopped briefly after leaving home to take a photo and there she was coming up the trail… Noooo! She’s not as fit these days and did it tough, luckily there were a few puddles for her to cool off in.

Uni Bitch, puddle stop

With the days of my 36′er GUni over — when the Schlumpf hub returns it will go into my 24 — I was short a hub to rebuild the 36′er wheel so used one of the new KH09 hubs. Some of the new hubs have polished flanges but I prefer the all black look.

Kris Holm 2009 Hub

I’m easily amused by weird signage in the forest

Tubeless AKA Brainless. Protection from what... or who?

Running the 29′er tube was never much of a hassle but if the tubeless setup — which offers a comparable weight saving AND ride benefits — proves to be reliable it’s a no brainer. If not, it’s back to the 29′er tube.

I’m really looking forward to seeing how the tubeless 36′er goes over the coming months. If it goes ok, I’ll probably convert the 24 MUni to tubeless too.

A bunch of riders of all ages turned up and enjoyed the idyllic late afternoon/early evening, riding the park and surrounding hills. Here are a few pics I snapped:

Liam

Frankie

Joell

Eric

Aaron

Liam

Joell

Cool thing — there are now a couple of unicycle pics included on the site

Unplannedismounts on Ay Up Lights

Had lots of fun on the 20″ uni, and took some video along the way.

Go the 20″ Uni!

First MUni of Spring, Trentham Falls

You’d rather not damage the rim, get pinch flats or have the tire collapse unpredictably but you want maximum compression to boost take offs and help absorb landings.

Hmm maybe not enough air pressure

I’ve been taking a tire pump and gauge along on rides where I’m practicing trials skills, to get a better idea of what PSI suits different situations and why.

Pecking up a concrete slope

It’s a work in progress but for me (and my weight) on the 20 and 24 uni’s when mucking around 25-30 psi looks to be a good compromise for most things I’m doing ATM.

One thing is for sure, if the tire pressure is too far out of sync with what you’re doing it won’t take long to know about it

I took 20 and 24 uni’s along and had a lot of fun in the middle of the day as the storm clouds passed over, including a few self timer pics with my little compact digi—cam, shamelessly photoshopped.

Skate Park

After mainly riding the 29 and 36 off road since late last year, I’ve really been enjoying the unbreakable and springy feel of the 24 and 20 wheels while I work on improving my trials skills. Hard to say which out of the 20 and 24 I prefer when it comes to just tooling around. For sure the 20 is light and feels indestructible and great to learn new skills on, but the fatter tire on the 24 makes up for its extra weight and sometimes just feels like a more natural size uni to me, even in a skate park.

Steps, Daylesford Skate Park

Being a mixed up left AND right hander one of the hardest things with unicycling can be working out which hand/foot combination, which direction etc feels most natural, so generally I’ve been practicing all skills using the two best feeling combinations.

Steps, Daylesford Skate Park

One local BMX rider dropped by while I was there, scootering around with no chain on his bike. BMX bikes are so fluid and cool to watch in a skate park setting. We both rode around doing our own thing, stopping for a chat every now and then. The BMX’er even gave the uni a go, nice!

KH20, Daylesford Skate Park

Amazingly enough no major UPD’s today. I took leg armor and a helmet along but didn’t get around to putting either on, lucky all round I guess. My arms and legs feel well used tonight, so I guess it’s mission accomplished

I’ve ridden around the falls a few times on the KH20 so for a change I took the KH24 along to explore more of the unmapped tracks in the area and see how riding the 24 compared to the 20 in that environment.

Spring Wattles, Trentham Falls

The falls are located on Coliban River (which is more like a small creek) and often run dry. With the recent rain though there’s a reasonable flow over the falls  — great fun to practice MUni skills in the mist spray of a waterfall!

Muni, Trentham Falls

The trail down to the base of the falls is tough and a bit scary TBH – rocky and narrow, with a steep drop on one side down to the river. Will take a lot more practice  to clear it, and bring some leg armor along!

Rocky trail

There are also several sets of wooden steps leading down to the falls viewing platform that start off easy and gentle, progressively becoming more difficult. It’s a great place to practice a bunch of skills with the roar of the falls nearby.

Step Practice, Trentham Falls

It’s satisfying to feel my uni skills related to trials starting to shape up. Really I think it’s like a lot of other uni skills — you need to uni in an environment that require those skills on an appropriate uni and skill development happens automatically, else it’s unlikely those skills are ever going to magically improve.

You come across wacky things in the middle of the forest — humongous puddles across the track, weirdos on unicycles and bizarre signs nailed to trees.

BIG puddles across the track

Uni Weirdo

Say What?

COST: $800 AU ONO plus shipping. Prefer a local sale but will consider international.

FRAME:  36”, 7005 aluminum. Machined bearings, butted seatpost tube, rounded flat crown

FRAME COLOUR: Custom stripped and polished Alu

WHEELSET: Custom wheel build by Kaos Custom Bikes,  Nimbus Nightrider, 14 gauge SS spokes, KH Moment ISIS CrMo Hub

CRANKS: Custom milled KH Moment ISIS, 165/137 mm double hole

PEDALS: Wellgo MG-1 Magnesium

SADDLE: KH Fusion Freeride, blue/black

SEATPOST: KH Forged 27.2mm rail style, sand blast black

SEATPOST CLAMP: KH Double Bolt

Interested? Contact Pete.

Custom KH36 For Sale

Custom stripped and polished Alumunium frame, bling!

Stripped and polished KH Frame

Custom milled 165/137mm cranks, light and strong.

Milled 165/137mm Moment Cranks

Wellgo MG-1 Magnesium pedals, excellent condition

Custom wheel build and Wellgo MG-1 Magnesium Pedals

Nightrider Tire, excellent condition

Nightrider tire, close to new

I’ve also messed around with removing tread on the Nightrider tire and milled cranks, but what about drilling out the rim in much the same way as the 29′er Freeride rim and others?

Thanks to Unicycle.com Australia I have a drilled Nimbus Stealth Rim to test drive.

Drilled Nimbus Stealth Rim

I ran out of time today and only had a chance to fit it to my 36′er and go for a quick spin. The plan is to use it on all my off road rides in the coming weeks. It’ll be interesting to see how the rim holds up!

KH36 with drilled Nimbus Stealth Rim

After meeting up at the Boathouse Cafe we headed off around the entire lake circuit, the longest distance a few of the guys have ridden so far.

The 'Rock on' Pose

Posers!

The 'Posh' Pose

We stopped off at anything interesting along the way including a grassy hill, great place for practicing descending skills.

Grassy Hill Challenge

and jetties:

Don't feed the animals

We continued on to the less visited ‘other half’ of the lake.

Self portrait

We didn’t run into too many walkers, well actually only one… literally… OUCH!

Cruising the track

And somehow during a UPD one the unicycles slid between the wooden fence, down the bank and ended up floating in the lake

Joell riding a wall

After completing a circuit of the lake we headed down to Central Springs. Some not so great tasting mineral water but some great riding.

Crossing the spillway bridge

Elijah's first long ride, rock on mate!

Before heading back to the Boathouse Cafe.

Fizzy and the big tree

Good one guys!

I’ve been riding a lot more this winter in cold (0-10 degrees celcius) and drizzly weather and my standard combination of (old and smelly) polypropylene thermal, t-shirt and wind/rain shell often left me chilled to the bone during longer rides. Maybe not related but I came down with a heavy flu earlier this winter, the first in many years.

All in all, it seemed like it was time to look into dressing better for winter unicycling. Reading around online and visiting adventure stores the consensus was to go with merino wool for its light, odour-resistant, breathable, warm and comfortable properties. e.g.

The special quality of merino wool is that its fibres are a fraction of the diameter of natural wool and hence do not have the barbs that make you itchy when it is next to your skin. Merino wool also allows moisture to go in and out, creating a breathable garment and hence maintains a more constant temperature zone for your body.

I have to admit I’ve never been a fan of wool clothing — memories as a kid of super itchy, bulky, uncomfortable (but warm) woolen jumpers — so even after I purchased the woolen clothing it took some time to ditch my old smelly thermals and give it a go.

Merino base layer

My winter clothing setup is now a Merino wool base layer which is less bulky than my old synthetic thermal, much softer and more comfortable on the skin to wear. On top of the base layer I’ve been wearing a KUHL Merino pullover. Again very little bulk or weight and super comfy.

Kuhl Team Quarter

Do the two layers of Merino work ok? You betcha, it’s been a revelation of warmth and comfort.

On a recent MUni ride in the Wombat Forest I left my rain shell in the van thinking the Winter’s day would stay cold but fine. As it turned out the sky closed in and it rained, and rained. Over the 3 1/2 hours of MUni riding I never felt cold at all when riding or (more importantly) during breaks, even though the woolen clothing was wet inside and out — inside from sweat, outside from the rain.

Just like Goldilocks my temperature throughout the ride was JUST RIGHT

Go Merino!

Like all good outdoor gear the only downside is cost, but looked after well the two pieces of Merino clothing (which btw is easy to clean) should last a long time. Throw a minimal wind shell in the back pocket of the Camelbak and it’s job done.

No more chilled wet back during breaks. BAA BAA!

As luck would have it Daniel from Melbourne had time for a ride before heading off to Western Australia so we met outside of Woodend to have a crack at the complete Wombat MTB Single Track loop.

The day started out cool and sunny with a small mob of kangaroos sunning themselves as we arrived at the trail entry in the van, love the aussie bush! The single track was already wet, muddy, slippery and chewed up from earlier rain and MTB traffic. The sky closed in and about 1/4 of the way into the loop the rain came down and we pushed on – now mega greasy clay single track, lots of water and mud, wheel spinning and sliding, UPD’s, laughing, swearing — awesome fun. Tough conditions can really bring a ride to life

Three and half hours later we’d completed the loop, soaking wet and muddy. The single track has so many great sections of riding, a perfect match for a 29′er MUni.

The pics taken during a break in the rain don’t really tell the story, awesome ride!

Birthday MUni, Wombat MTB Single Track

Complete Loop, Wombat MTB

Daniel, MTB Single Track Woodend

Mummy I had an accident or 10

42nd Birthday MUni!

Like many unicyclists almost all of my riding is alone so the social aspect of the monthly MUni rides is really enjoyable, though always sort of strange initially. From looking forward and seeing a bunch of uni’s cruising through the forest, meeting other riders,  to chatting about anything uni with people who ‘get it’,  it’s a cool way to ride and a different experience to going solo.

Pre Ride Group Shot

The looping route included fire track climbs followed by single track descents.

Single Track

After French Vanilla Slice and munchies at the Woodend Bakery, the local guys took over the Woodend Skate Park before heading home.

Liam 'All your skate park belong to us'

Thanks to everyone who came up for the ride, hope to catch up with you guys for another ride or three.

Special mention to Joell and Oscar who rode the trail on 20″ uni’s, onya guys!

Details of September MUni Ride 04 — Wombat MTB Trail

All before the morning coffee – that’s something of a miracle

Frosty Trails

Frost!

Along with the KH Freeride 29′er I also brought the single speed 36′er along just in case.

Black Forest Photo Stop

In addition to the fire trails I mapped ~13km of terrific single track.

Fun Single track

There were also extended sections of steep, rough, wet and slippery single track — no pics unfortunately, too busy riding, will return with video — challenging but great fun. The flow and clearance of the 29′er came in handy. I should’ve brought a helmet along.

As always, some classic UPD moments

Scene of the ride's best UPD

I also came across a number of old MTB trails no longer in use, including old skinnies in damp shaded gullies.

Wet Skinny

2 1/2 hours of really enjoyable 29′er MUni, BOOYAH!

MUni BOOYAH!

Time to swap to the 36′er for a cool down lap of the fire roads.

mm_wombat_7

After the 29′er the 36′er felt FAST and SMOOTH but also HEAVY!

Fast and smooth but heavy

Looking forward to returning to this area of forest!

Into the Thunder Dragon is a unicycling adventure film following Kris Holm and Nathan Hoover as they travel across the Kingdom of Bhutan in the heart of the Himalayas. You might have seen the trailer for it on Youtube:

Unlike unicycle films which focus solely on the rider and their tricks, ITTD tells a compelling adventure story with the spotlight ultimately shared by the dramatic landscape, local people and Kris and Nathan’s adventure in a country where it seems no-one has seen a unicycle before!

Into the Thunder Dragon

Kris and Nathan set out to cross the Kingdom of Bhutan, in a small bus, on unicycles, and trekking on foot. The film follows on from their adventures in Unizaba, One Tired Guy.

Adventure Route

Like Unizaba, Into the Thunder Dragon features some evocative imagery that really captures the spirit of the adventure.

Unicycling through Prayer Flags

A feature of Into the Thunder Dragon is the interaction of Kris and Nathan with the local people.

Guys, check out my tricycle mod!

Giving unicycling a go

Kid Frenzy

One of my favorite segments in the video is Kris attempting a trials line, up the steps of shepherd’s hut. After many failed attemps he finally makes it and suggests that

‘”It’s worth the effort,I don’t know why but it is…. it’s just cool”

To me that sums up unicycling perfectly.

Shepherds Hut Trials

Into the Thunder Dragon also includes some great unicycling footage.

Cool Gliding

The DVD also includes excellent extras, including ‘Behind the Action’ where Kris explains several of the riding techniques in the film — large drops, hops, pedal grabs and rolling hops.

KH descending Rodang La Stairway

There are also some good laughs -a mysterious gambling game, a school archery event and a local who gears up and suspiciously blasts off on a unicycle

Thumbs Up!

Even though it was shot in 2002 Into the Thunder Dragon remains fresh and captivating — only the low resolution video hints at its age. A good adventure story produced well is always compelling viewing. Highly recommended.

Into the Thunder Dragon can be purchased through unicycle.com.

For me I guess the reality is with almost all my riding being off road, 99.9% time I don’t really need or want to go faster than  a single speed 36′er with 150′s or 137′s can go flat out. It was fun to push it on a 36 GUni, as well as cruise along at bike like cadences but it’s time to try something else.

Prior to a 36′er the geared hub was in a 29″ wheel which I didn’t find especially useful off road, not two useful gears. Given the circumference of a 26″ with a large MUni tire isn’t much less than a 29″ for me I can probably rule out a 26″ GUni for my rides.

All of which leaves the 24″ as the most likely next GUni option, in theory delivering the speed of 36′er and all the benefits of the 24″. We’ll see!

1668 grams of goodness, Schlumpf Geared Hub

Even with the added complexity, weight and maintenance riding a GUni is a hoot. I’m looking forward to getting back out there!

It turns out there aren’t just a lot of tracks in the Macedon area but also a signed cycling trail through the forest, cool.

I hadn’t ridden my 24″ MUni for a while so took it along for a spin. A smaller wheel would also give me a better idea of how the trails will feel to the younger guys who come along riding 20″ Trials/MUni’s.

Entry point, Macedon Regional Park Cycling Trail

Most of the Macedon Regional Park Cycling Trail is old fire track making for easy cruising interspersed with climbs and descents, some quite steep.

Fire trail cruising

Single track cuts across the main trail every now and then — will be great to have the single track as an option for riders wanting more of a challenge.

Optional Single track detours

The official trail markers are kinda kooky at times – you can go up down, in all directions apparently and still be on the trail, doh!

Hmm... trail markers go in all directions!

After a cruise around the trail I was back at the van, definitely a possibility for the monthly MUni. I had some time to spare so then rode the loop in the opposite direction which turned out to be a lot more enjoyable.

Loop-meister

All up a great fun ride. Was fun to be on the 24″ again — while I missed the speed of bigger wheels at times, I definitely noticed the increased climbing power and control of the 24″. It still didn’t stop my shins from getting intimate with the steel pins on the pedals, and  me eating it in a muddy section just before the end of the ride – the mud here sure is deep, like quicksand!

I’ve really been enjoying riding the 20″. It’s been my main ride for the last week as I work on improving a whole bunch of skills.

Nicky, Joell and Oscar, Lake Daylesford

Compared to adults on unicycles, kids will give anything a go. They’ve really inspired me to get off my butt and learn some new skills!

Joell, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials

Joell, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials

With the Freeride KH29′er ready to roll I took the video camera along to record some of the fun:

Once the video camera battery went flat there wasn’t much else to do but ride for the steeper more difficult section of  trail, crash many times and eat copious mud. The trail whooped my butt — by the time I got back to the van I was dripping in mud and realized my Gorillapod had fallen out during one of the UPD’s somewhere along the trail, ARGH!

Scorecard: Trail: 1 Gorillapod, Pete: Copious mud

By the end of the ride....

A highlight of the many kilometres of twisty narrow single track are the numerous log obstacles that can be taken at speed.

Before the mud festivities began

The steeper section of singletrack traverses hillsides before dropping in and out of steep gullies and includes man made obstacles such as raised timber bridges, skinnies and jumps.

Traversing hillside, Woodend Singletrack

Fallen Tree Obstacle

Riding the steeper singletrack loop reminded me of the benefits of staying relaxed and focused in difficult terrain, and going with the flow as much as possible. Sometimes on the trail you’ve got to remind yourself to relax.

A great MUni loop, only 4km drive off the Calder Freeway at Woodend.

Woodend II Route

With an average heart rate of ~160bpm there wasn’t much slouching around on the ride which included 20 or so express stops to shoot some video.

Woodend II Heart Rate Data

Five Tens, say hello to mud…

Later in the ride!

I’m already planning a return trip to Woodend to ride the final section of MTB singletrack!

So I figured why not create a budget learner MUni, based on the UDC 20″ Learner unicycle but with a few upgrades – Schwalbe 2.1 Jumpin’ Jack tire, Odyssey (plastic) pedals, and an older model Nimbus Gel saddle.

Budget Learner MUni

The verdict from the kids: Great upgrade! The better tire, pedal and saddles make light MUni possible and fun without breaking the bank.

The MTB crew at Woodend have created ~50km of singletrack through the Wombat Forest which has become a popular haunt for several hundred mountain bikers each weekend, but being mid week mid winter I didn’t see too many MTB’ers today – not such a bad thing when you’re riding singletrack on a a uni.

Woodend MTB Singletrack by Unicycle

Due to the recent wild weather and MTB use the singletrack was chopped up, greasy and slippery, but lots of fun – conditions that really challenge you to spin smoothly. I was mindful of not over doing it and rode only a portion of the singletrack but plan to return and ride the entire trail network. One section today included a bunch of large log jumps/obstacles across the trail that could be taken at speed on the 29′er, nice! Should make for some great video and photos in the future.

Woodend MTB Singletrack Section

The KH29′er with the 47mm reeride Rim and WTB Stout 2.3 was a perfect match for the trail, terrain and wet conditions. In drier conditions I’d guess the KH36 with 150mm cranks would also be a hoot on these trails.

Woodend MTB Singletrack

MUni, Winter Flu Relief

Yeah, nothing like a shot of MUni followed up by vanilla slice at the Woodend Bakery to get over the Winter flu!

Enter the Nimbus 20″ Trials and Nimbus 20″ Trials Signature Series featuring a white wheelset, KH09 based gel saddle and Venture cranks.

Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials Unicycle

The 2009 Nimbus Gel saddle features the new KH seat base, nice!

New KH09 Seat Base, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials Unicycle

The tire clearance is adequate for Trials, but minimal compared to mountain unicycles. The frame is the standard Nimbus design with a chrome finish. Some powder coated color options would set the unicycle off.

Clearance, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials Unicycle

Nimbus Venture cranks are proving to be a good lightweight, low cost ISIS crank alternative to KH Moments.

Venture Cranks, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials Unicycle

The Nimbus 20″ Trials works great as a Mountain Unicycle for younger riders.

MUni, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials

Compared to a KH? Without putting the unicycles on the scales the Nimbus feels heavier, but keep in mind it’s close to half the price. Most importantly the Nimbus feels great to ride – smooth and solid, nothing junky or flimsy.

Bottom Line: Recommended. The Nimbus ISIS Trials is definitely worth considering as a good multi purpose 20″ unicycle that will last.

We drove out to an area of forest called Dry Diggings which was anything but dry due to the wild weather over the last couple of days and with uni’s sorted rode along single track to Browns Gully and back.

Monthy MUni (Thanks for the pic Robyn!)

Thanks to Unicycle.Com Australia we had 24″ and 26″ ISIS Nimbus MUni’s available as loaners for the ride which were put to good use.

Ride Route, Monthly MUni 02

The single track was wet and slippery but lots of fun.

Joell, in Browns Gully

It was my first ride in a couple of weeks due to a crappy winter flu so the aim was to take it easy and not get too wet and cold. Amazingly and thankfully the stormy weather held off all day, until we returned to the Chocolate Mill.

Leaving Browns Gully, Monthly MUni

The Chocolate Mill offered a free ultimate hot chocolate for the best UPD of the Day, claimed by Oscar although Joell’s nut buster while crossing Browns Gully on a fallen tree was a close second

Thanks to everyone who braved the weather forecast and came along for the second Monthly MUni ride, especially the families who drove up from Melbourne.

Next Monthly MUni: Sunday August 9th

(Anyone who can ride a unicycle +  good MUni equipment) x Suitable trails = MUni Contagia

Today’s MUni Victim: Joell. Age: 11. Started riding: A few weeks ago! First MUni: Today

(Joell + Nimbus ISIS Trails 20″)  x Wombat Forest in Winter Rain = MUni Contagia

Joell, First MUni, Nimbus ISIS 20" Trials

If you know someone who can unicycle but has never ridden off road, lend them a MUni and get them off road one way or another.

Yup, crazed look, definitely MUni contagia!

Congratulations guys, you’ve all worked so hard. From assembling the unicycles in early May, to using the training rail and then unicycling out into the open, it’s been great fun and a great adventure with more yet to come.

Many thanks to Sue, Bruce, all of the teachers and parents at Bullarto Primary School for their support.  Most of all, thanks to the kids at Bullarto. You guys rock. Go Uni!

Excerpt from Advocate story:

THERE’S only one thing for certain at Bullarto Primary School and that is unicycling rules. Since parent Pete Walsh caught the bug and introduced the sport to the school, almost all of the students have gone wheel crazy.

Unicycling, Bullarto Primary School

If you love riding unicycles for the fun and feeling of being on one wheel what could be better than looking around and seeing everyone doing it? After all, ANYONE can learn to unicycle. Having spent the last couple of months running unicycling sessions at a Bullarto Primary School my answer would be ‘Not much’!

Keith and Elijah, Unicycling at Bullarto Primary School

Sharing the fun of unicycling is too easy:

• Exposure
  Show people what unicycling is about either with your own skills, Youtube videos or movies like Defect and One Tired Guy.
• Opportunity and Encouragement
  Provide anyone interested in unicycling with the opportunity to learn and encourage them along the way.

The unicycle will do the rest!

It’s been a week or so since I’ve ridden a 36′er — it’s fun how ‘big’ a 36′er  feels after a break when you first get on and get going, especially compared to the little 12″ and 16″ uni’s I’ve been playing around on lately.

KH36 Unicycle, Lake Wendouree

I averaged about 15.5 km/h for the ride, not bad considering 137mm cranks and how slow I tend to spin, nothing too manic today.

Always worth taking a uni along in the van, just in case there’s time for a ride!

First impression is that the Nimbus 26″ MUni is one cool piece of machinery, the standout feature being the 3.0″ tire making the working diameter of the 26″  tire only slightly smaller than a 29′er but with the ride benefits of the wider tire and smaller wheel build.

I’ll be posting a full review of the Nimbus 26″ ISIS MUni later this week!

Nimbus 26" Mountain Unicycle

Babbington Hill Top Track is a challenging climb – washed out, eroded, steep in places, slippery, lots of large loose rocks. It fooled a number of competitors in last year’s MTB Cyclic Navigator thinking a climb to the top would make for easy points. Not so, definitely a leg burning anaerobic climb and also lots of fun to descend.

Babbington Hill Top Track

Without a lot of time to spare it was straight up and down, arriving back at school just in time for the afternoon unicycle session with the kids.

Babbington Hill MUni

The 26′er has got me thinking that’s for sure…

The section of the Great Dividing Trail between Mount Franklin and Castlemaine is a hoot on a 29″ wheel, with a fun mix of descents and climbs along ridges, dropping down into single track filled gullies.

Browns Gully, Unicycling Great Dividing Trail

Quite a few UPD’s today including the biggest arse plant I’ve had in a long time, falling backwards off the uni. I’ve really got to work on my skills of jumping over stuff on the trail, especially on the 29′er. I did however clear a sections I had no chance on when I rode the trail on my 29′er in October last year, so all good!

Eric, where he ended up

I picked up a cheap Garmin Heart Rate Monitor belt on eBay a couple of weeks ago. Today was the first full ride wearing it. Heart rate data is much more interesting (and less hassle) IMO than cadence. Not a bad workout for the old ticker with the bulk of the ride over 140 bpm.

Heart Rate during ride

The only hassle during the ride were the bugs. Every now and then you’d ride into swarms of tiny flying insects, not good for eyes. Note to remember – on damp still Winter day rides wear clear sunglasses.

Browns Gully Bugs

With commitments at home calling and short winter days we rode as far as time permitted before returning back along the trail to the car. Nice one!

I first saw them sitting together amidst the autumn leaves, sharing stories of foreign lands.

Mysterious Frenchman & KH29

He mounted the 29′er in strange and unusual ways.

Strange and Unusual

And that was the last I saw of them both.

C’est la vie!

After meeting up at the Glenlyon General Store we drove to Bridge Road/Reed Track, a handy starting point with forest rides heading out in all directions. With uni’s sorted we hit the trails.

The ride route:

 

Ride Route, Wombat Forest

Mud puddle crossings were the order of the day, providing lots of laughs and wet gear, but unfortunately no full on face plants

Eric the Red crossing one of the many mud puddles

After looping down to the Loddon river and back up to vehicles we rode down an unnamed idyllic stretch of single track.

Paddy, infected with MUni Madness

Morgan bailing, Boundary Road

After the ride we headed back to the Glenlyon General Store for drinks and food.

Barry, Morgan, Paddy, Eric, Pete

Many thanks to Barry and Julie who came up from Melbourne, and generously helped out with a spare MUni. Barry, Morgan, Paddy and Eric, thanks for the ride. Onya guys!

Lesson learned: Everyone bring more food next time, and a few more tools.

Next monthly MUni: Sunday 12th July

The bad news is that it wasn’t a DIY process as it required commercial grade stripping chemicals and polishing equipment. The good news is because a unicycle frame is a simple and small object the stripping and polishing didn’t cost much.

I didn’t set out with the intention of getting a unicycle frame stripped and polished. It just so happened that the guy welding my XC GUni Bars also offered an after hours Alu polishing service and a commercial paint stripping service was situated directly across the road from the Alu fabrication place, which fitted in with the mismatched paint job on my KH36.

Pimp my Unicycle

Stripping the Frame

After some research by the paint stripper guy regarding the most suitable chemical to use without adverse side effects the blue KH Alu frame was placed in an industrial strength Methylene Chloride (Dichloromethane) bath for 15-20 minutes after which the paint  had broken down completely and could be brushed/washed off. The frame was then washed down with a surfactant e.g. detergent.

Concentrated Methylene Chloride is serious goo, especially when inhaled. It is also thought to be carcinogenic and its use is banned in some countries. Ironically elsewhere it is still used to decaffeinate coffee and tea, in pharmaceuticals, plastic welding etc. It’s a common active ingredient found  in retail paint strippers though in a very diluted form.

Methylene Chloride

Provided all the paint is removed (and the frame isn’t damaged in the process) the method used for stripping isn’t as critical as the cutting and polishing process in determining the final bling.

Polishing the Frame

Cutting and polishing the frame was done using a pedestal buffing machine. A pedestal mounted buffer is preferable to a hand held unit due to the physical effort required to cut and polish whilst being able to access all areas of the unicycle frame, whilst also being able to grip the frame firmly without damaging and/or marking  it.  A cutting compound was used first – a dark gray fine grit wax based compound, followed by polish. Sorry, don’t know the product names.

Pedestal Buffer

Maintenance

The bling finish doesn’t take much to maintain. An occasional rub with Autosol Metal Polish and a soft cloth does the trick.

Autosol Metal Polish

I’m usually not interested in trick custom finishes on uni’s or bicycles, however the mistmatched paint job on the KH36 was an opportunity to try something new. I’m really happy with how the frame turned out.

36 GUni Pimp-mobile

Family of Learner Unicycles

The family of learner unicycles currently includes:

• 2 x 12″
• 4 x 16″
• 6 x 20″
• 2 x 24″
• 1 x 29″
• 1 x 36″

The range of sizes works really well. Everyone who can unicycle wants to try a 12″ – they are just plain fun – and 12″ is great for young small kids. 16″ uni’s look groovy and are great size for primary school aged kids to learn on. 20″ learner uni’s are the workhorses, for older kids and adults to learn on. 24″ uni’s introduce some speed. 29″ is a great all round size, versatile, speedy but without the weight of the 36′er. The 36″ wheel – everyone who can unicycle should ride one at least once in their life to experience the feeling of spinning the big wheel!

The uni’s pack into the back of my van, along with the Portable Unicycle Training Frame.

Missing from the family are a couple of intermediate MUni’s, oh and a giraffe maybe, then it will be complete!

I’ve been riding the 38mm and 47mm fitted with the Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4 and WTB Stout 2.3 on separate rides, but I thought a back to back test where the  trail would be broken into sections and each section ridden with both  the 38mm and 47mm rims during a ride would be fun and hopefully making any difference obvious.

KH 29" Rim 38mm vs 47 mm Comparison

(So you’re thinking… this clown has two 29′ers? In my defense I never intended to. I ended up with a spare 29″ frame due to a Schlumpf compatibility problem with my original 29″ last December, and have since gathered enough spare bits and pieces since to build up a second 29′er to sell/loan)

After a week or so of cold drizzly rain, the rain clouds finally parted and I headed out with the two 29′ers to one of my favorite parts of the forest which includes dirt road, bush track and single track set in hilly terrain. The slippery tracks would just add to the fun!

Final Showdown, 38mm vs 47mm

I warmed up soon enough, riding sections of trail, running back and forth swapping uni’s, and stopping now and then for photos.

Move to the side, the Freeride is coming through!

The Bottom Line?

The short version is there wasn’t one situation where I preferred the feel of the 38mm rim over the 47mm. Climb or descent, single track or fire trail, smooth or rough. The 47mm comes with a dumb grin that gets plastered over your face as you roll along.

The 47mm feels much more stable than the 38mm. The 47mm seems able to eat rough terrain, or ‘run over children’ as Eric the Red described it. It encourages you to ride the 29′er harder and attempt more difficult terrain.

Swapping back to the 38mm rim it always felt ‘tall and narrow’ in comparison, a hybrid uni feel, not as stable even with 2.3-2.4 tires fitted — leading to an approach of weaving your way through terrain versus ploughing on through with the wider rim.

If there is a downside to the 47mm rim it’s the reduced brake clearance. With the Magura’s set right back there isn’t a lot of room to spare.

Reduced Brake Clearance with 47mm Rim, KH 29" Rim Showdown

However… the slippery conditions magnified the differences between the two rims — the 47mm gives the 29′er tractor properties through mud and slush… FUN.

Freeride rim + Stout 2.3 = 1x1 Wheel Drive Tractor

Eric the Red and I comparing 29′er notes at ‘the office’ during an earlier ride.

The Office, KH 29" Rim Showdown

The new 47mmFreeride rim makes the KH 29″ a better off road machine (It also gives the 29′er a much clear identity in the KH line up IMO). That doesn’t mean however that in technical/extreme terrain the Freeride 29′er magically replaces smaller MUni’s like the 24″ – it’s still a 29″ wheel.

Freeride Clarity

If you’re building up a new 29′er for off road use get the 47mm rim. 9mm does make a significant difference. It’s as clear as mud, IMO anyway!

ps. Second 29′er now sold

Stay tuned for the upcoming 29 inch Rim 38mm vs 47mm Comparison story…

Muddy Freeride

Garmin GSC 10 Speed and Cadence Sensor
Excellent condition, limited use. Works with a quite a few Garmin GPS gadgets e.g. 305, 405, 705. Reason I’m selling it is that for me anyway, the design of the unit doesn’t really suit being mounted on a uni that does a lot of off road use. Better suited to a road only uni or bicycle of course.  $30 AU plus postage

Garmin GSC 10 Speed and Cadence Sensor

New KH ISIS Moment Hub 07/08
Still zip tied as received from UDCA. $55 AU plus postage.

New KH ISIS Moment Hub 07/08

KH 29″ 38mm Rim
Built up into one wheel briefly for a project that didn’t get completed. Excellent Condition. $50 AU plus postage

KH 29" 38mm Rim For Sale

I’m proud to announce that at 5.03 pm today Baby 12 as born!

GUni 36′er had been acting unusually lately, not as keen to go out on rides. I thought nothing of it as I’d always assumed GUni was just a lazy guy like me, turns out GUni is a gal. Go figure!

With the coffee machine turned on and camera at the ready the onset of labour began.

Onset of Labour

It was a potentially difficult birth.

Potentially Difficult Birth

Fortunately Dr Wii was on hand to assist with the delivery and weigh Baby 12, a bouncing 12″ Learner unicycle.

Dr Wii delivers the news

Low air pressure gave everyone a scare. It turned out to be a faulty tire pump.

Low pressure scare

GUni and Baby 12 resting.

GUni and Baby 12 resting

Members of the family visit.

Members of the family visit

First time in the outside world.

Fresh Air

Close your eyes if you haven’t attended a birth, you really don’t want to see this next image.

Many thanks to my wife who was out at the time of the birth, allowing the use of blankets, pillows and general misbehaviour.

The cherry on top however is the down to earth commentary by Kris throughout One Tired Guy, which conveys the essence of adventure unicycling and really ties the four short films together nicely. While more recent unicycling movies such as Universe 2 and Defect contain incredibly skillful riding they lack the ‘why’ the commentary in One Tired Guy provides.

One Tired Guy Preview

SKILLETTO, the first of the four short films, features the North Shore, urban trials and the great shot of KH riding along the edge of a slick rock cliff.

Skilletto, One Tired Guy

The commentary by KH is a feature of One Tired Guy

In WHITETRAX Kris hits the ski slopes in Winter, the highlight of which is a finale of bone crunching UPD’s.

Whitetrax, One Tired Guy

UNIZABA is great adventure that appeals to not just unicyclists but anyone who enjoys adventure. Kris and Nathan Hoover trek up El Pico de Orizaba then ride down on unicycles. Classic shots include unicycling past the machine gun guy, and KH screaming down the volcano, wishing he’d crash.

Unizaba, One Tired Guy

Unizaba, One Tired Guy

FAT TIRE FURY has some epic MUni riding with attitude but the scene stealer is the bridge crossing!

Fat Tire Fury, One Tired Guy

That crazy bridge crossing in Fat Tire Fury, One Tired Guy

While you have probably seen bits and pieces of One Tired Guy on Youtube, it’s definitely a DVD that every unicycling fanatic should have on their shelf. Not just because of KH’s role in shaping modern unicycling , but also because it’s a DVD that has broad appeal – it’s something you can hand to anyone and say ‘Watch this, this is why unicycling is the BEST, or as KH says ‘an unlikely cool way of getting around’

One Tired Guy is available through the network of Unicycle.com sites

Here’s a short video of the ride – ‘Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat and Tears’

Riding in the wet, slippery, muddy forest reminds me of night riding off road where you rely more on feeling what is happening through the tire at the time versus in the dry where you read the terrain ahead and often just go with that. It’s a fun feeling when you relax and go with it.

Rain, Cold and Mudguard

The WTB Stout 2.3 worked great offering a huge amount of grip which lets go progressively. I had a lot of fun trying to break traction in mud, spinning up the wheel and subsquently UPD’ing. You can really feel the side knobbies on the Stout claw into the mud while traversing slopes. Yeah I think the Stout will be a great winter tire!

WTB Stout 2.3

The Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard worked great! I found myself seeking out puddles, along with climbing and descending hills on the wet line as the rain came down vs my usual practice of keeping out of the wet line. Not that it completely makes sense – it was raining and I was getting wet anyway, just that my butt and back weren’t getting spray off the wheel. Like other unicycle related gadgets, it’s not so much what the gadget is but what you end up thinking and wanting to do due to knowing the gadget is in play – like leg guards!

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard

As the light started to fade I headed for home, dropping down fire tracks to cross the Loddon River. It was the same place, same weather conditions, same time of day last June that while testing the Panaracer Rampage 2.35 I had a heavy UPD damaging my left knee which still aches 12 months on. Bummer.

The rain seeped in

I arrived home just on dark, soaked and elated – nothing like a crazy fun ride in cold Winter rain to know you are ALIVE!

Time to dry everything out by the fire, for the next ride…

Looking around online I came across the Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard and as luck would have it had a trip planned to the city, so picked one up. Defender – a funny name for a mudguard, I guess it’s defending your butt crack from a spray of cold, muddy water.

The Defender in action – ‘Spinning Wheel by Blood, Sweat and Tears’

According to Topeak:

DeFender™ M2 has an ultra-secure quick release mounting system that easily adjusts from 25.4 to 34.9mm, easily fitting standard and oversized seat posts. The two-pivot arm articulates for improved tire coverage and perfect bike fit. A stiff engineering grade plastic support frame is comolded to a softer more flexible material at the trailing edge for greater durability.

Topeak claim the Defender M2 weighs 230 grams. On the cooking scales of justice myDefender weighed 227 grams, including a smattering of mud and water from today’s ride – not too shabby! The make or break component of the Defender however is the clamping mechanism which easily adjusts to fit around the larger diameter tubes, like the seat posts on current Kris Holm unicycles.

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard on Kris Holm 36" Unicycle

A quick release along with two soft-ish tacky yellow pads help hold the mudguard firmly in place while riding, and can be adjusted so the the guard can rotate instead of breaking during UPD’s. The mudguard is positioned via the adjustable arm, secured by two hex bolts. Nice! It all looks and feels durable – time will tell I guess.

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard on Kris Holm 29" Unicycle

Swapping the mudguard from unicycle to unicycle is a quick and easy job. The curve of the mudguard is also a great fit for the 36″ tire.

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard on Kris Holm 36" Unicycle

The further away from the mount the less rigid the Defender becomes, including a super soft clear section with wings at the very end. It’s a funky look.

Topeak Defender M2 Mudguard on Kris Holm 29" Unicycle

Out on the Trail

Out on the trail the Defender works great. It does the job and stays out of the way during mounting and riding. Knowing you have a mudguard fitted seems to increase the tempation to ride through water. I found myself riding through every puddle, and climbing and descending the trails on the wet line vs the dry line

Two minor things I noticed. Firstly, with the mudguard fitted to the 29′er I had to a be a little more careful when lying the uni down on the ground so as not to sit the weight of the uni on the guard. This is less relevant on the 36″ as the guard is neater fit. Secondly, in the wet conditions the WTB Stout ocassionally picked up small branches which would sometimes then rotate with the tire and jam between the tire and guard. I’ll experiment with positioning the guard on the 29′er to deal with that better.

Defender M2 Mudguard Road Test

All up the Topeak Defender M2 mudguard is a neat piece of design. After a couple of very wet rides I’m satisfied it’s a worthwhile purchase, especially with 3 months of cold and most likely wet Winter ahead.

For more trail notes refer to ‘DeFender of Rain and Cold‘

A new T7 Touring Bar from unicycle.com is currently priced at $85 AU. Buy this one for $55 AU plus shipping.

T7 Touring Handle for Sale

Interested? Contact Pete

v. in bicycling, to become exhausted. Also bonk out and bonking, n.

According to Wikipedia:

In endurance sports, particularly cycling and running, hitting the wall or the bonk describes a condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles, which manifests itself by precipitous fatigue and loss of energy. Milder instances can be remedied by brief rest and the ingestion of food or drinks containing carbohydrates. The condition can usually be avoided by ensuring that glycogen levels are high when the exercise begins, maintaining glycogen levels during exercise by eating or drinking carbohydrate-rich substances, or by reducing exercise intensity.

Amazing isn’t it, that you can repeat the same mistake so many times in one life. Skip breakfast, have a coffee or two, skip lunch. Hey here’s a great idea, let’s go for a long XC ride in the afternoon. Take water, nothing else. Clever…. NOT.

Duh... Hit the Wall... Again!

Not So Amazing Fact: It is MUCH MUCH harder to uni when bonked. In fact, bonking while out on a long unicycle ride is an especially unpleasant form of fun. On a bicycle at least you can go floppy and mindlessly wheel home. Not so on one wheel, it quickly becomes a long long way back home.

Bonked Uni

Here’s a tip for ya – eat well leading up to a ride, eat and drink well during a ride. Oh yeah, and be sure to top up your energy stores following a ride.

Not rocket science hey?! Until the next bonk then…

My Original Camelbak, early 90's

Camelbaks and many copy cat products have become the standard means of hydrating across many sports and activities, which is just as well for unicyclists as fitting water bottles to unicycles isn’t really a convenient project. Camelbaks have  also become far more functional, and well, cooler looking too!

The relatively slow speed of off road unicycling can often mean you are a number of hours away from the next available water. During the summer months this becomes a bigger problem as you drink more water, more often, and there is even less of it around. I was finding my rides were becoming limited by only being able to carry 1 litre of water in my Camelbak Rocket.

Camelbak M.U.L.E

In mid 2008 I spent several weeks investigating what was available, my main requirements being a 3 litre bladder and the ability to carry a reasonable amount of food and other junk as well. The 3 litre bladder immediately excluded many options, a good thing given the huge number of Camelbak style products now available.

I settled on the Camelbak M.U.L.E. (which apparently stands for Multi-Use Long Expedition) as it ticked all the boxes. A 3 liter bladder, a good harness system, comfortable to wear and numerous internal and external storage areas – ample room for all the stuff you need on a day ride without being too large a pack.

10 months on and the M.U.L.E is doing the job. I removed the waist belt but apart from that the only trick has been keeping the bladder gunge free. There are several methods, mine is to storing the bladder (emptied of water) in the freezer after each ride.

A typical  look at how I pack the  M.U.L.E:

• 3 litre water bladder full
• House/car keys in the zipped IPOD pocket
• Tools in bladder size zipped pocket, map if needed
• Lightweight wind/rain shell, Gorillapod,  apples/bananas in large open back pocket
• Snack bars, energy gel, money, camera in small back zipped pocket
• Scraps/rubbish in small open back pocket

Just like gloves, a ride without the M.U.L.E doesn’t feel right. I’ve still be known to run out of water on longer rides over summer, but generally the M.U.L.E lets me carry enough stuff to enjoy 1/2 to full day rides no problem.

The lack of suitable fixed railings at the school made the initial learning feel trickier than it already is. I got to work on a portable training frame — one that could comfortably fit 8 unicyclists, fit in the back of the van along with the unicycles and take a short amount of time to assemble/disassemble.

When not in use at the weekly Daylesford Unicycling Get Together the training frame is assembled in a corner of the tennis court at the school so the kids can unicycle whenever it fits in — during lunch hours, after school and one weekly session during school time.

The kids are progressing well, mainly riding around the frame in both directions:

• Holding frame with both hands
• Holding frame with one hand, other hand supported by a person (some don’t require this step)
• Holding frame with one hand
• Holding frame with one hand and riding off every now and then
• Riding away from the frame supported on one hand by a person
• Riding away from the frame, solo, woohoo!

Learner Unicycles and Portable Training Frame

Everyone agrees that the training frame has been a big help!

Uni's and Training Frame packed in van

Cameo appearances by our dogs Bhujia and Lulu along with Azlan, king of our crazy cats. Dedicated to Bhujia, the old mongrel. It’s been a chilled out week of uni, hope you enjoy it!

Some pics also taken over the last five days of unicycling:

Day 1 - KH24 MUni

Day 2 - KH36 XC Ride

Day 4 - KH20 in the rain

Day 5 - Uni School & KH29 Cruising

Kris Holm 20" Unicycle, Winter Steps Challenge

After convincing myself that I really did want to start riding the biggest set of steps, slippery and muddy in the cold Autumn rain, I headed out and had a GREAT time. So peaceful riding in the rain, and not another person to be seen.

I took the tire pump along and tweaked the pressure as like the KH24″ I’d been running the tire on the KH20″ too low, leading to the tire sometimes folding sideways and/or sometimes bottoming out on landing. With the tire pressure sorted the first mission was to start on hopping all the way down, a ‘get to know you’ introduction to the steps I guess. By the end of the session rain and sweat were dripping off the helmet!

Winter Steps Challenge

It’s a cool thing with unicycling – when the time is right and you’re ready, everything seems to just fit together. Today felt like that.

Soaked through, I had to return home to find some dry clothes before heading out to Bullarto School to run a unicycle session with the kids. I don’t think they or their parents would be too enthused by a riding session in the Autumn rain, so we watched Defect instead

The highlight of the ride was a section of narrow wooded single track. Being up on the 36′er, ducking branches, clipping trees – dang that section of track is easier on a 29′er!

Narrow but fun single track

The pimped out KH36 and XC GUNI Bars cruised along no problems. One thing I noticed with the polished frame was a build of a goop on my calves where they must rub the frame every now and then – I guess hairy legs is one way to polish the frame while riding

Kris Holm 36" Schlumpf GUni

Riding in the Wombat Forest includes lots of up and down, not huge mountain climbs by any means but the changes in elevation quickly add up over a ride.

Route Elevation

I should’ve eaten a better lunch before heading out on the ride… well… any lunch would have been useful. I had to resort to a GU Gel to get me home. Not surprisingly by the end of the ride the GUNI 36′er started to feel heavy and I started to feel light headed. DOH!

Wombat Forest Loop

As a footnote I’m not sure having the GSC 10 Speed and Cadence Sensor fitted is worth it. The design of the unit and the mounting system is not good, too easy to bump the whole unit or adjustable arm into the wheel, even just lying the uni down in the bush. The cadence data is interesting for sure but maybe not interesting enough to warrant the hassle.

After a great ride on the KH29 at Twin Bridges I headed back this afternoon with the KH24 to work on clearing several sets of steep rickety steps cut in the hillsides as the trail drops down to the creek. I’d avoided most of those sections on the 29′er as they were well beyond my level of confidence on the day, with back surgery I had a few years ago nagging away in the back of my mind. Anyway, time to suck that up and get on with it!

Stairway to Heaven

I spent a couple of hours riding one short section of steps. Fast, slow, with heavy use of brakes, no use of brakes, varying tire pressure, you name it. It was great fun and a great challenge too, especially as each step has its own character – with unique drop, width, angle, surface, erosion, rocks etc, nothing regular. A narrow rocky chute approach to the step section added to excitement. Like everything else in unicycling, staying relaxed and focused is key to doing it or not. Good day to be wearing leg armor as there was no shortage of UPD’s, though I could clear the short section reliably and relaxed by the end of the day, WOOHOO!

At the end of a couple of hours I’d covered hardly any distance but was exhausted and soaked through with sweat. A thoroughly enjoyable ‘ride’.

The plan from now on is supplement my 36 and 29′er off road rides with regular sessions to work on my technical skills, either on the 24″ or 20″.  Maybe by the end of Winter I’ll be able to clear all the step sections, who knows!

Here’s what WTB have to say about the Stout:

The Stout thrives in adverse conditions. The staggered square blocks provide an efficient centerline while the wide-open spacing allows the tread to pierce the trail when carving turns or braking. The softer, looser and rougher the terrain, the better the Stout performs with its exceptional stability and easy-lean transitions. The well-supported blocks stay firm on hardpack and asphalt too, but this tire performs best on rugged All Mountain terrain.

Swapping from the Racing Ralph to the WTB Stout 2.3 29′er tire you immediately notice the additional weight – an extra +200 grams -  and more aggressive, open tread pattern of the Stout. Initially it’s not a fun thing – the Stout feels heavy and slow to spin out on the trails compared to the Racing Ralph.

Physically the Stout 2.3 isn’t significantly narrower or wider than the Racing Ralph 2.4 – you’d need to measure it to determine the exact width difference i.e. not much! What is obvious though is how much larger and deeper the knobbies are on the Stout, giving the tire a far more aggressive appearance. The sidewalls of the Stout appear more robust than the Ralph too.

WTB Stout 2.3 29'er All Mountain

A few minutes into the ride and as is the great thing about unicycling your body and mind adjust to whatever you’re now riding and you can start to enjoy the Stout for what it is – a high grip off road tractor tire that complements the new 47mm rim very well, the overall feel encouraging you to ride the 29′er as if it were a smaller wheel. Get back on sealed road with the Stout though and yeah well… it’s not really made for sealed roads

WTB Stout All Mountain 2.3 'Road Test'

After a couple of rides I’m enjoying the Stout. At this stage it’s not a revelation compared to the Racing Ralph 2.4 or PanaRacer Rampage 2.35 for that matter either, and if Summer started tomorrow I’d be reaching for the Racing Ralph – I’d take a hit with durability to drop the weight and gain speed. The Stout is what it is, a big tire built tough, and should turn out to be a good if not great tire for Winter MUni.

The Twin Bridges loop starts at the picturesque Central Springs park at the base of Lake Daylesford. The track then splits into two, cut into the hillside on both sides as it follows  Wombat Creek, varying from walking track, fast smooth single track, technical rocky single track to dirt and wooden steps and other man made obstacles – GREAT off road unicycling! The track on the shaded side is damp and slippery, and the track on both sides narrows at times with a steep drop down to the creek on one side. Awesome!

The Twin Bridges loop is part of a popular mineral springs walk and as such is best ridden at off peak times i.e. weekdays during the day.

Start of Twin Bridges Loop on KH29 Unicycle, Daylesford

I really enjoyed the buzz and challenge of riding somewhere new, of not knowing what is around the next corner, and rode multiple laps of the loop in both directions until I ran out of time. There were sections I couldn’t clear on the 29′er, especially the large dirt/wood steps cut into the hill and ultra narrow large rocky sections, but it was a great opportunity to practice and try stuff out on the 29′er that previously with the narrow rim I probably would’ve walked. I’ll return on the 24″ and the 20″ to work on clearing those.The flow of the track when ridden in the clockwise direction is just fantastic, a great mix of terrain.

The KH Freeride 29′er with the new wide rim now fitted with a new WTB Stout 2.3 was a blast to ride today. I’m super happy with the wide rim, with it the 29′er is a great feeling off road machine. After obsessing about crank length on the 29′er I swapped back to 150′s which really suited the ride overall.  View the GPS replay of the ride

The Twin Bridges Loop would also make for an awesome evening/night ride – that is now on my list of rides I’ve gotta do this winter!

Twin Bridges / Lake Daylesford GPS Route

The dirt walking track around Lake Daylesford is an easy fast cruise – would be a hoot on a 36′er -  following the edge of the lake the whole way around. I’ve often thought of unicycling at Lake Daylesford as not only is it scenic, but there are numerous man made obstacles to practice on that you just don’t come across in the forest.

Photo Stop at Lake Daylesford

Now that I’ve broken my ‘in town’ voodoo and ridden at the lake and springs area I’m sure I’ll return many times with 20, 24, 29 and 36 uni’s especially to improve my technical skills on man made obstacles as well as exploring more of the trails that offer great riding for all wheel sizes. NICE!

I’m wiped out, that was a great ride today. Thanks to Eric the Red for putting me onto the Twin Bridges trail!

As noted in my initial GSC 10 post, the design of the GSC 10 isn’t great leaving it overly prone to damage, imo anyway:

Garmin’s GSC 10 Speed and Cadence sensor unit is quite large. The mounting system – a rubber strip on the ‘back’ of the unit and zip ties – doesn’t stop the unit rotating around unicycle fork. There is also a longish reasonably fragile adjustable arm that comes out of the unit for the wheel/speed sensor. All up the design of the unit makes it prone to being damaged e.g. being bumped during a UPD and subsequently fed into the wheel. Due to the deep channeling in the back of KH Moment cranks, their Q factor and how the pedal/cadence magnet fits a home made spacer is needed

This time around I used a small rubber spacer underneath the cadence sensor positioned on the back face of the crank so it would pass close enough to the main sensor unit. I also used a dab of glue between the rubber pad on the unit and the fork, to hopefully help prevent the unit rotating around the fork and moving upwards and becoming loose due to how the fork tube narrows. Zip ties all round, job done!