That makes sense. Thanks Kris!
Hi DavidHood, if it eventually will not work out for you just let me know. I 'll buy it!
Zero for Muni - built in plastic handle
I REALLY like the built in handle on the Zero for muni.
I have had two Zero saddles for a few months now - one on my KH26 muni and one on my 36er. I rode the muni with T-bars (with rubberized bar ends) and loved it for high momentum rides and for really controlled breaking.
But I really really dig the built in handle for muni best. To me, prior seats made me want to use t-bars more than this saddle did. This saddle seems to place the handle farther out in front of you while riding and positions it a little lower and the position and shape is so right. This really helps when riding and resting on the handle (pressing down) - whereas it feels that to get comparible effect on prior saddles, you would be more tempted to put t-bar on. When I ride other saddles now, I realize how much more I like the control of the Zero with built in handle. Drops feel more secure. Climbs feel more stable. Tight turns feel like less of an issue as the narrowness of the saddle shows some advantage there - the saddle doesn’t get in the way.
The Zero has way fewer bolts in its setup and it connects so well to the uni that instantly this seems to make the same uni feel lighter and more responsive somehow. The look is good too.
Sounds good to me. Ill be picking up one soon, since everybody likes theirs enough and not letting it go.
Nearly every morning Im doing my hill climbing and 4 mile sprints and Im leaning forward and constantly needing to push down on my saddle. The curved saddle is not working for me. Cant wait to try this Zero.
Shadow base compatibility
I asked this once before but it was in the middle of another discussion and it got lost in the noise. I’ve seen conflicting reports regarding the Zero’s compatibility with the Shadow base. If anyone has this working can they confirm and maybe post a picture?
I’m looking at getting a new uni with a Shadow handle soon and I’d like to get a Zero saddle if possible. I’m willing to make modifications if necessary (if a Zero doesn’t fit I’ll be flattening another saddle myself anyway).
Thanks in advance!
Success with Shadow base
Well I spoke to Peter at UDC Australia and we decided that the Zero could probably be persuaded to fit the Shadow base so I placed my order. Thanks Peter!
My saddle cover did have a small tear at one corner of the adjustment buttonhole similar to some other people’s. I’ll monitor it but it doesn’t look like it’s going to spread.
On to the fitting itself… The problem with fitting this saddle to the Shadow base isn’t so much the spacing of the brackets as it is the angle of them. The base is designed for a banana saddle. The hole spacing is actually dead on but you can see the angle problem here:
Since the Shadow base is aluminium I made sure not to bend the tabs too far for fear of fatiguing the metal. I didn’t take them all the way to horizontal - a gentle bend was enough to allow the bolts to fit:
I poked a hole in a scrap block of foam, wrapped it in tape and stuck it over the pivotal bolt to stop it rattling around (even better would be to remove the bolt but from what I can tell that requires removing the saddle cover). Then I cinched the bolts down nice and tight and… success!
I haven’t ridden it yet so I can’t comment as to the comfort of the Zero, but I thought I’d provide some info in case anybody else wants to mount it to the Shadow base :).
Bending aluminium safely can be achieved with heat, though unlike steel, which can be formed at red heat, there is no visible colour temperature for aluminium.
The trick is to use oil as an indicator. Put oil on one side and heat from the other. When the oil starts to smoke, the aluminium will bend as far as you like without fatiguing.
I have used this technique after cold folding a ninety degree bend the wrong way in an aluminium sheet. We successfully folded it back though 180 degrees, which would definitely have snapped it cold.
Good tip for next time, thanks!
Thanks OneTrack, great to be able to bend aluminium!
I’ve been on a few short (road) rides with the Zero and I’m liking it so far. I don’t find the foam too hard, and I really like both the lack of curve and the thin waist.
I’m still adapting to it though. I’m feeling slight soreness after 30 minutes or so of continuous riding, but it’s more of a “bike soreness from riding too infrequently” (which I get all the time on my bike because I hardly ever ride it) than a “uni soreness from riding for too long” (which I get all the time on my other uni because it has a curved saddle). In short, I think I just need to ride more in small doses to break it (and myself) in.
This is the arrangement which I’m currently using:
I’m keeping the angle for now as it seems to be working for me. Once I’m up and riding with weight on the bars the whole uni tends to be tilted back a few degrees so it’s not quite as flat as it looks here. When I’m no-hands I feel like I lack a little control though with everything more upright (as in the photo) to maintain my CG. Certainly my other saddle (a semi-flattened Nimbus Gel) feels better no-handed.
I’m considering cutting about 10mm off the handle to bring it a little closer in. It’s currently set as short as it can go without cutting it. I find sitting at the very back of the saddle the most comfortable and a slightly shorter reach might make it nicer for cruising.
One thing I’ve found using it with the Shadow base/handle is that I’m sacrificing the built-in saddle handle. I can grip it well enough to assist with mounting but the clearance between it and the Shadow bar is too tight to use it while riding. Since I’m using this for road riding at the moment it’s not a huge loss, but it would have been nice to keep the use of it.
All in all I’m liking it. It’s a bit of a learning curve since this is my first 36er, my first time with a handlebar and the flattest saddle I’ve used all at the same time. Plus I’ve only been riding about six months so there are lots of things I can’t do yet. The Zero is definitely a keeper though 
.
Cool to hear you are liking it!
One thing you might try regarding the front handle: remove the plastic handle and replace it with an ergonomic style bike grip mounted on the T-handle.
Not a bad idea, I might look into that next time I have it apart. Thanks for the tip.
One question - which bolt are you using to secure the saddle to the handle and then through to the seatpost?
I’d expect that the bolt supplied with the saddle is too short?
Kris
I’m not using the saddle pivotal interface or bolt. The Shadow base is attached to the seatpost via a pivotal interface, and the saddle is attached to the base via the bumper/handle bolts.
I’ve tried to enhance this picture a bit so it’s easier to see:
The blue thing in between the saddle and the base is a block of foam wrapped in tape with the saddle pivotal bolt passing through it. It just stops the bolt rattling around. If it’s easy enough to remove the saddle bolt without removing the cover I’d be keen to know the secret, then it could be even cleaner.
Right, of course. Thanks.
The saddle bolt is not removable.
I looked into making it removable but it’s not really possible.
The Pivotal bolt is part of a standardized system and it’s tough to mess with standards.
Kris
Oh- one more detail question on the Shadow setup. Out of interest is the bolt attaching to the seatpost a solid bolt, or is it hollow?
Should be solid. Mine is anyway.
I don’t remember noticing whether it’s hollow or not, and I can’t get to it now with the saddle attached. Sounds like Killian has the answer though.
I have one on order for my Sury Conundrum 24 x 4, hopefully it’s comfortable.
Has anyone tried to change foam in this seat?
So Kris, any thoughts on building a single grab handlebar like I built?
This saddle came standard on my new KH26, which I’ve had for about 3 weeks. I now have approximately 30 muni miles in this saddle and my experience with it is much like others who have posted here. I hated it the first time I rode with it. The uni felt squirrely and out of control. I didn’t have the muni t-bar, but ordered it after my first ride. Second ride, still without the t-bar, was painful and frustrating. My climbing was suffering because the saddle is so slim-- there’s no grippy thigh control with this saddle, it is SO slim and it’s hard to get used to if you’re an arms-flailing climber. Third ride was better, but the saddle felt ridiculously firm (my old saddle is a cushy Freeride) and I still had a hard time with control. T-bar came the next day and I adjusted the whole setup according to Kris’ setup guide. Took a few rides to dial in the just-right angle of the handlebars, seat post height, and seat angle. I ended up cutting 10 mm total off the width of the t-bar because my legs kept hitting the bar ends. I think it was my 7th ride or sometime around 20 miles that I fell gloriously in love with this saddle. Everything just clicked. I did 7 miles today without any saddle soreness. I kept riding past my normal “butt break” spots because I didn’t need them anymore. It’s definitely worth a few weeks of patience!