Isolated thunderstorms with hail, sounded like the ideal weather forecast for a ride! I hadn’t checked the various bolts as per Schlumpf’s recommended torque settings for a week so figured I’d better do that before heading out. Maintenance, one of the joys of a geared hub.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 🙂

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!