Sort of. I have the KH Zero, and the jury is still out on it for me. And these types of saddles are best suited to people who ride a lot, because I think your crotch has to adapt to them. I believe that once it does, you can go for much longer periods before you get as “butt hurt”.
Yes to the first part, depending on where your handlebars are currently set. Hold your horses to the second part. Handlebars are best for Road riding. Short handlebars are also good for Muni and bumpier forms of riding, again if you do a lot of time in the saddle. They can help with control, but the main purpose of them for me is as something to lean on. This takes some weight off the crotch.
But handlebars are an acquired taste, and definitely not for beginners or new riders. It takes some time to get used to riding with both hands holding on to something, and at first it might feel very wrong.
We know you do long bike rides, which means your crotch is probably well adapted to your bike’s saddle. But there are a few differences between those and uni saddles. The biggest is probably the angle of your pelvis. For general riding, most of us sit up pretty straight which makes for a very different part of your anatomy being pressed into the seat. Road riding, with a handlebar, puts you into a much more bike-like position, but most other forms of riding are pretty far off from the interface you typically have on a bike, with a bike saddle.
If you’re a new rider, I definitely agree. Those come later, if you’re still interested in the idea and do long rides. No uproar from me!
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that picture before. Very cool! I assume he rode from “Frisco” to New York; a formidable distance compared to “Fisco”, which sounds like it could be a small town in upstate NY. And maybe that “cornet” company was a sponsor of his ride? Those sure look like some long cranks for such a long trip! But the handles are brilliant for someone tackling such a long distance!
When comparing bicycle seats to unicycle seats I’m wondering if because of the relatively small market for unicycle seats that there is not a lot of innovative design put into unicycle seats. I see a few unicyclist making different modifications to improve the currently available uni saddles.
For example I see Mark Beaumont about 3/4 of the way around the world in an attempt to make it in 80 days. He spending 16 hours (240 miles) a day in the bicycle saddle with apparently no problems. I wonder if anyone could put that time in on a unicycle. He is using a Selle SMP Pro saddle. I wonder if that saddle could be used on a uni or if some of the deign features could be incorporated into a uni saddle. The cost may be an issue because the cost is about $250.
Jim
I’m in agreement with Joe on the handlebars thing - I have a set on my 36er but I don’t feel like they give me any real benefit, and I’ve not bothered putting any on my G29 and haven’t missed them.
I also use his technique of standing up in the saddle every now and then to shake the blood back into my arse, by pushing down on the saddle handle a bit. I mostly rest both hands on the saddle handle, or just the one if I’m navigating terrain that needs me to wave my hand around for balance.
