udc usa just restocked previously out of stock '08 saddles and still no '09 products. 
Try Bedford Unicycles. I just bought a KH36 from Darren with an 09 saddle and the touring handle.
Isn’t that like the 4th KH unicycle you’ve bought this year? Sounds like you’re pretty hooked. 
(if you ever happen to be in the area, I’ve got to try that thing out! But then I’ll probably end up buying one for myself…)
Yes, another very good question. As well, Kris when will UDC Canada (Pete) have the new product linup? It appears that Darren has some stock now according to Tucson Uni.
yesterday i got the 26" wheelset with a 3.0 tire, put it in my 29" frame, put the 09 saddle and handlebar on it and went for a ride! it’s for me the perfect downhill and freeride uni (handlebar is not really necessary but for uphill and cruising i like it), i just sold my 24" 
i live in the alps, and i think with enough power in the legs you don’t need brakes on the 26" ( and of course not on the the 24"), i go with 150 cranks. i like most the speed i got with this setup and still good control and also drops are possible.i’ll try also different tires (2.5 or 2.6) i also own a schlumpf (was on the 24" now on the29") and of course turtles V which is still fine for crosscountry.
.
Hey,
It’s the same as the '08. 171 mm.
-Kris
I’ve been riding lots lately (averaging over 100km a day for the past week) since I’m making my way across canada. I’ve been using the new KH handlebar, and so far it beats out the T7 (which I really liked) by a good margin.
I’ve been riding it mostly in the lowest possible position (and I kind of wish it went a bit lower - any chance of a longer slot in the future for more adjustment?) with the bar ends pretty much flat. This allows me to keep my arms locked straight when riding and feels pretty good.
The brake is mounted between the two bar ends, and I’ve got a tire lever taped across it so that it’s easy to reach with both hands, though frankly I’m terrible at braking so I don’t use it much, but it feels good when I’m not riding and testing it out. I will post a picture of this soon to illustrate, it makes a lot of sense when you see it.
I also managed to break it (sorry Kris!), but the story is pretty good. I was probably 80k into my day on a pretty big downhill, and for some reason my hand twitched while holding the brake, letting it off completely and then slamming it on really hard. This caused me to eject from the unicycle, planting the handle full-25km/h force into the road and cracking the handle where you can adjust the tilt.
I spent a few seconds swearing at myself and the equipment, until a couple pulled over, got out and the woman asked how they could help. I figured they had seen me fall. After telling them I was okay I showed them the break and why I was unhappy, and mentioned something along the lines of needing a welder to fix the problem.
Turns out, the woman’s husband is a welder. They lived in the town I was heading to, and so I gave them the parts (can’t really get a ride anywhere because that’s cheating), they drove into town, welded the thing back together, and brought it back to me. It was pretty incredible - I had my brake back in time for the last of the downhill (when I planted the handle again and bunged up my knee because I really shouldn’t be allowed to have a brake on a unicycle) which was pretty amazing.
Anyways, to get back to the point of this post, the handle is plenty stiff, and quite strong, though definitely breakable. I don’t think a T7 would have held up well to that fall either though, I’ve broken those before.
The new seat is incredibly stiff, the stiffener plate really does its job there and it’s all nice and beefy.
I wish there was a bit more vertical adjustment in the handle as I feel that I want to be a bit lower, and I also wish that the nylock nuts were capitive in the handle. However, I don’t need to carry a wrench with me. If you have anything flat-bladed (I use my swiss army knife) you can get enough leverage from one nut to the other to hold them still for tightening. This is also hard to explain but I’ll post a picture when I can.
I’ve been riding lots lately (averaging over 100km a day for the past week) since I’m making my way across canada. I’ve been using the new KH handlebar, and so far it beats out the T7 (which I really liked) by a good margin.
I’ve been riding it mostly in the lowest possible position (and I kind of wish it went a bit lower - any chance of a longer slot in the future for more adjustment?) with the bar ends pretty much flat. This allows me to keep my arms locked straight when riding and feels pretty good.
The brake is mounted between the two bar ends, and I’ve got a tire lever taped across it so that it’s easy to reach with both hands, though frankly I’m terrible at braking so I don’t use it much, but it feels good when I’m not riding and testing it out. I will post a picture of this soon to illustrate, it makes a lot of sense when you see it.
I also managed to break it (sorry Kris!), but the story is pretty good. I was probably 80k into my day on a pretty big downhill, and for some reason my hand twitched while holding the brake, letting it off completely and then slamming it on really hard. This caused me to eject from the unicycle, planting the handle full-25km/h force into the road and cracking the handle where you can adjust the tilt.
I spent a few seconds swearing at myself and the equipment, until a couple pulled over, got out and the woman asked how they could help. I figured they had seen me fall. After telling them I was okay I showed them the break and why I was unhappy, and mentioned something along the lines of needing a welder to fix the problem.
Turns out, the woman’s husband is a welder. They lived in the town I was heading to, and so I gave them the parts (can’t really get a ride anywhere because that’s cheating), they drove into town, welded the thing back together, and brought it back to me. It was pretty incredible - I had my brake back in time for the last of the downhill (when I planted the handle again and bunged up my knee because I really shouldn’t be allowed to have a brake on a unicycle) which was pretty amazing.
Anyways, to get back to the point of this post, the handle is plenty stiff, and quite strong, though definitely breakable. I don’t think a T7 would have held up well to that fall either though, I’ve broken those before.
The new seat is incredibly stiff, the stiffener plate really does its job there and it’s all nice and beefy.
I wish there was a bit more vertical adjustment in the handle as I feel that I want to be a bit lower, and I also wish that the nylock nuts were capitive in the handle. However, I don’t need to carry a wrench with me. If you have anything flat-bladed (I use my swiss army knife) you can get enough leverage from one nut to the other to hold them still for tightening. This is also hard to explain but I’ll post a picture when I can.
We’ll, you’re certainly the man to get these reviews from. I can’t imagine anyone has used the new handle or seat nearly as much as you have. Do you notice a significant increase in comfort in the seat?
Does the larger groove, absence of pleather, denser foam, and wider base help in terms of comfort?
Good luck Dave. Keep up the fast pace!
Levi
my butt hurts 
seriously though, what I did was put the fusion foam from my old fusion seat on the new seat base. I’m not sure if it was a mistake or not. I might have Pete bring the new cover and foam down if he gets a chance so I can try it out for a day. On these kinds of trips you tend to stick to what you know, and what I know is my old seat foam
Also the seat that came on the uni (my schlumpf died and kris is awesome and lent me his 36er until my schlumpf is back in action - what a guy!) was the street saddle and I wasn’t sure about riding on something like that for that long. Again though, I’m going to see if I can try out some other things. Nine hours sitting on most anything will get uncomfortable after a while I think.
Another note - the nightrider starts to lose its awesome camber-riding properties after about 1000km. I find now I have to fight on cambered corners a lot more to ride them. I think this is due to a squaring off of the central profile of the tire as I wear it down, so a possible solution might be to belt sand a more rounded edge to the corners and see if it will do another 1000km before having the same problem.
I’ll have a sweet racing tire (ultralight!) by the end of this ride!
Hey,
Dave- thanks for the thorough test on the handle! Will be good to see some photos. One thing you can do to reduce the chance of breakage is make sure that the adjustment bolts (angle, seatpost clamp, bar ends, and brake) are tight enough that they don’t move when you ride, but not so tight that they can’t move in a crash. That way it hopefully just goes out of alignment in a bad crash, instead of breaking.
Kris
I’m not sure, but I think you could probably extend the slot with a drill and or a file. Something like that.
Makes sense. Shouldn’t be too hard.
About the seat- I totally understand about sticking to what you know. No bike seat would still be comfortable after 9 hour of riding day in and day out.
I have a feeling, though, that the seat will hurt for a few more hundred kilometers. After that I’d imagine it will become less of an issue since you’ll be so used to it. You might even develop some nice butt calluses.
What happened to your schlumpf? Was it a bearing issue like the rest? What crank setup were you running at the time?
I don’t know what cranks he was running (probably Moment 150’s), but Dave had the same bearing issue. Florian is fixing it right now. Hopefully I’ll get my uni back before Dave gets too far across the Prairies…
Kris
Thanks. I am trying to keep track of the hubs that have had bearing failures, and see if there were any similarities. I have 550 miles on my kh/schlumpf 36 with no issues. I know beau and nathan’s hubs are still going strong too.
Hey Kris, I just had one more thought about the 26x3 frame issue:
Wouldn’t the the 2008 model of the 29" frame fit pretty well with its lowered crown (my 29" frame is a 2007 model and has a lot of tire clearance with the 26x3 Gazzaloddi)? So maybe you wouldn’t even have to design a whole new frame for 26x3ers, just put the brake mounts in the right position or come up with some adapters. Wouldn’t that be a real quick and easy solution? Because I really don’t want to buy a 26" frame that doesn’t allow for a nice and fat tire. If the 2.6 Gazza fits, then maybe, but so far I didn’t hear any confirmations about that.
Waiting until 2010 seems so unbearably long to me, and then there is still no certainty that the 26x3 frames are coming out at all.
Cheers,
Christian
Hi Christian,
I’m curious, and I apologise if you’ve already answered this elsewhere (I’ve looked a little) - why are you so insistent on using a 26x3? would a 26x2.3 not work for you - have you tried?
I do understand that you want to stick with what you already know and like of course!
Cheers
Mike
Hi Mike,
First of all I already bought a 3" Gazzaloddi together with a couple of expensive DH inner tubes and a 2.5" Hookworm tire when I was determined to go 26" with the KH/Schlumpf (None of these would fit in the 26" frame). At that time there was not the slightest sign of a KH26 coming out at all. So I was going to have some brake adapters made by a friend for my KH29 frame. That turned out to be somewhat complex and he was not very keen to help me out, so I decided to go brakeless until a better solution would arise. Then the announcement of the KH26 frames built up some high expectations. I was really sure to be able to use all my tires etc. And then the disappointment that it wouldn’t take large volume tires. So I decided against buying the new frame now because I want to have the option for big tires. I’ll just keep using my 29" frame (from 2007) with the Gazza and the Hookworm. I even might be better off getting another KH24 with gears and a 3" tire than with a 26x2.3. The circumference would be similar anyways. I just want the bounce, suspension and traction coupled with the large circumference of a fat tire. Maybe not always, but the option has to be there. Should I decide to go with a 2.3" sometime I will be able to live with a little more tire clearance anyways. It would be similar to the clearance in the 2007 models, which I find quite acceptable.
I must admit that I haven’t tried a 2.3 tire on the 26" rim yet. But I know it will have less suspension, less circumference, less traction and less fatness. No doubt it will be lighter and more agile too. But as I said, with a slightly higher crown you still have that option as well. If the new frame could take a 2.5 hookworm and a 2.6 Gazza I would get it with no hesitations at all… I know from my KH29 that 2.3 is most definitely not what I want on a tech muni. That’s okay for xc though.
Boy, that was a long one. I hope you understand now.
p;) 