Hey All,
I’m happy to announce a few improvements on the latest batch of KH gear that’s already arrived or will arrive at some point, depending on the country. Here’s a summary:
KH front saddle handle is redesigned: The hole in the top of the front handle is now gone. I also rounded the grip more and the underside ribbing is reshaped. This both improves comfort and also is more secure when gripping the handle slightly to one side, when using a brake. The handle stiffness is also slightly higher, and it now has the correct recycling logo (PP#5) for end-of-life disposal. This completes my (expensive!) multi-year effort to produce a next generation saddle frame, bumper, and handle, so I’m really happy to see it come out. This handle will also be on the Nimbus Gel saddle.
Fusion Street foam is reshaped: I thinned the foam in the back by 10 mm to improve gripping from the side, and the top fabric is now durable stretch nylon (same as the Freeride). This fabric is secure to grip with sweaty hands, and it improves comfort by conforming to the centre cutaway. It also lets you curl your thumb around into the centre groove when holding the saddle on the side. With these changes the Fusion Street also works very well as a distance riding saddle (with a touring handle) and as a muni saddle for anyone wanting a slimmer foam profile. Currently I have it on both my KH20 and KH24.
Longer T-bar touring handle: I increased the length of the slotted tube by 20 mm, and the T-bar by 50 m, to give a 70 mm length increase without a noticeable change in stiffness. This change is getting phased in so might not be available right away. It only really matters if you’re wanting longer extension.
KH24 crown update: The seat tube is now dropped through the fork crown for more seatpost height adjustability. It also drops the seat tube down a bit, for better fit for riders with shorter legs.
Improvement to spoke offsets on the rims: I recalculated the offset distance on the spoke eyelets so they’re better seated on the face of the rims. This should improve spoke durability at the spoke nipple. The 24”, 26” and 29” offsets got a bit narrower; the 19” & 20” are unchanged as their offset also tries to optimize the amount of rim material between the spokes and the drillouts.
Allen bolt update: Minor but useful change – bearing housing bolts have a 5 mm hex head (were 6); part of my goal to reduce the number of tools riders need to carry.
New tire on the KH26: The KH26 now comes with the Maxxis 2.6” Ardent tire. This is an awesome tire: high volume and good sidewall stability at a reasonable weight (1200 g). A few KH26 unis shipped with the 2.3” Stout tire, which is still a very good lighter weight option for more XC and climbing - oriented riders.
New pedals on all KH unicycles: I’ve been riding Wellgo polycarbonate pedals with steel pins for the last while, and I really like them– durable, lightweight, grippy, comfortable, good mud clearing ability, good shape for pedal grabs, good for keeping your feet on the pedal, and comfortable for supporting your feet. The ones on KH unis are a beautiful clear polycarbonate with a blue anodized spindle (visible through the pedal) and blue pins.
And last but not least…
KH seatposts are now completely one-piece hot forged: Both the adjustable and fixed KH seatposts are now one-piece hot forged, with no bond and pin at the top. This completely eliminates the possibility of the top piece twisting in the seatpost.
The adjustable post is one-piece-forged for both the 25.4 and 27.2 sizes. I adjusted the internal tube profile at the top to optimize strength-weight ratio. The fixed post is one-piece forged in the 27.2 mm size. On the fixed post, the plate is now angled up by 3 degrees at the front (was 5), which puts the adjustability in a more useful range. The post-plate join at the top is kept smooth (e.g. no sharp ribs to smack your fingers during flatland riding) and the thicker, butted collar at the post-plate join lets the seatpost be lowered 10 mm further than the previous seatpost.
I hope you like the changes – improving the KH unis is a lot of fun and it’s cool to see these projects finally become available. Depending on the country and what was ordered, not all these changes happen right away – some will arrive now and others probably towards the Spring. Thanks a lot to UDC and also Qu-Ax in Germany for supporting these changes by making them available to dealers.
Attached are a few photos.
Cheers,
Kris
