I was wondering who out there is riding with a air seat. They look pretty cool but I’m wondering how much they increase comfort. Also I’m getting a 360 radial and I’m wondering if the standard air seat on unicycle.com will fit the seat that comes with the 36er.
I think the general consensus is that air seats are comfy but they don’t provide enough support for longer riders. Something such as the fusion free ride seems to be the best option at the moment.
Some people have reported success with using saddle foam over the tube inside cover as this gives a bit more support.
based on my one real experience with an airseat they suck and something like a KH would be way more comfortable. and that was on a 8 mile coker ride. (other than that i really like that coker john and thanks again)
i dont like them or even the idea of them. go with a kh freeride and i think you would be way happier.
but on the coker i rode the seat was really high so i could barely sit on it. not sure if that would really affect it that much though
I got my N36 with an air seat and regretted it almost right away. Riding on the air pillow I felt as if I lost some fine control and swapped the seat out for the modified old KH seat from my MUni. I decided to give the air seat another chance and tried various tube tape configurations, I even tried cutting up a inner-tube and rubber cementing it back together into a good air-pillow shape. The seat was quite comfy for about 15 minutes then I was noticing excessive pressure right in the middle where a grove would be in the new KH Freeride saddles.
I have spent a good deal of time and effort into getting the air-seat to work for me but now It has been reduced to spare parts and there is a KH Freeride seat on my 36er. I am much happier with the foam seat.
I agree - airseats suck. I originally bought one for my 36" thinking it cost more so it must be better. I think for any type of distance riding you will be happier with a KH Fusion seat. I tried various air pressures, and could never come up with anything that didn’t get uncomfortable. It seems some people swear by them, and others swear at them. I’m in the latter category, and could never get used to the feeling of sitting on a large sausage that would push out into the side of your leg as you ride. I replaced it with a KH, and have been very pleased.
Me too. Hate them. They may be Ok for MUni to add a bit of suspension. Otherwise, any decent ride will have your bottom supported in all the wrong places, because of the way it squishes around. If they were any good, you’d see people riding the Tour de France on them.
Get the KH Fusion Freeride seat for the Coker. Better road saddle.
I have a JC Air Seat on my muni (see link for pictures). It adds a bit of air suspension on the muni and I like that. It’s also comfortable for muni style riding.
I have given up on air seats on the Coker. I tried several modifications but couldn’t come up with something that was comfortable for longer distances.
I now use Fusion Freeride foam on a carbon fiber seat base. It’s a better Coker saddle overall than the air seat.
In defense of airseats, my 36er has always had an airseat, and I like it. I did the conversion with a KH Fusion removable cover and standard KH base - put a small tube inside (I also got the UDC denim sock thing, but it’s not essential, you could use some other fabric to protect the tube). It’s served me for over two years, and it worked well for over seven hours non-stop, and for the rest of the time during my 24 hour record earlier this year.
They can be annoying when they puncture, which is hard to avoid as it is easy to fold the tube etc with corners that chafe it over time. I have Slime in mine to stop it leaking now.
Though now there is the KH Fusion Freeride, I think that may be the comfiest option (I’ll get one some day).
Sam
I took mine off my nimbus 36 and put it on my muni after reading the thread on taping it so it is symetrical.
KH fusion/freeride is on my big wheel now.
Marty
In my desperate search for a comfortable seat I got a KH air. I found it good to take the stress off my feet and back on impacts from drops, but it bounces around (kind of like riding w/ a fat tire at low psi), and I never got a great shape out of it. I would go knumb after 45-60 min of smooth terrain.
The KH Freeride is a much better shape for me, but it doesn’t absorb the impacts as well. The only drops where this has been an issue is flat concrete/asphalt. I haven’t noticed any discomfort in the bumps I’ve hit off road (I’m sure super small for most of you).
I’ve thought of getting a SW saddle, but that’s a lot of money:o
I don’t want to disagree with everyone
But I kinda do. Thing is I have never tried a KH free ride. So many have posted it’s great, and maybe it is. You don’t have to fuss with a KH free ride.
I have a KH trials seat. Tiny and light. Very comfortable. Maybe because I never tried to ride the little uni very far. Excellent seat though.
My Radial 36" came with a nimbus gell. Not bad, but larger and heavier then the KH trials. More or less the same comfort wise, for my ass.
I bought my KH 24 with the air seat option. At first I didn’t like it. It fishes around. If you inflate it hard, it’s no better then the gell seats, comfort wise, and still feels weird. If you go soft, the ass bones push the seat tube up into the nut sack. So that’s not so good either. I am not surprised that the stock KH air seat is getting poor reviews.
However, the seat cover is high quality, and held on by a draw string (not staples), so it’s easy to play with it. I took the cover off, and duck taped the tubes (it is filled with a folded bike inner tube), to reduce squirming. Then I duct taped some closed cell foam over that (which keeps the tube down where it should be). The cover then refits over this easily. This is a simple mod.
The result is a seat that is at least twice as comfortable (time on seat), as any other I have tried. But I don’t know if it’s better then a free ride. It is very good though, and the air provides a bit of shock absorption, that I don’t think solid saddles can provide.
So I would say a stock KH air seat sucks, but it might be better then a free ride if you fuss with it.
I wish I had a freeride, then I could be the definitive expert ass LOL!
Try one, you might like it!
I tend to defend air seats, having ridden well over 5000 miles this year on air seats and less than 200 on non air seats this year. I rode three 100 to 120 miles days all on air seats this summer.
In horror, I try to think what 120 miles in twelve hours would feel like on a freeride KH.
You will not know if you like them until you try one. Expect flats. Expect to have to tweak the set up and don’t think that the stock fold up to be best for you. Air seat comfort may be directly proportional to how you decide to fold the tube. Narrow or wide? How you fit the cover prior to inflation. Did the tube have any air in it prior to fitting the cover?
PM me if you want some ideas to try.