I had a bit of a curse the other day while bleeding the Magura brakes on my 24. It’s not a difficult job but without an extra pair of hands it can be a fiddly process. I had another curse or two today, when it was my turn to bleed!
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.
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!
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.
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!
