I have recently bought myself a 28" Uni with a viscount saddle and have been thinking about adding a handle. I didn’t really want to take the saddle to bits to add a handle to the seat plate. To get over this problem I have been thinking about the possibilty of using a set of b^ke barends to make a handle. The idea I had was to fix one barend to the seat post with the curve going up towards the front of the saddle plate. And having the second barend on the end of the first so that the handle comes out from the front of the saddle.
Has anyone tried this before ? Had problems ? See any floors in my plan ?
Thanks
Andy.
If you decide to add a Reeder handle to a Viscount, like I did, you can look here for my experiences. The description also may help you add your own custom handle. But you don’t have to tear the seat apart.
http://www.muniac.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000047
I saw someone with a handle at BUC9 who said he made it from bike bits , not sure which bits, he had an air seat converted miyata though.
Both my son and I have viscount saddles and I made 2 prototype handles for them out of scrap alloy tube I had. I designed them to fix to the seat post bolts so I didn’t have to damage the saddle in any way and they worked apart from one problem, scrap alloy tubing is not strong enough to be dropped. I’m currently looking at making new ones from chromoly with the same design.
Barends may not be long enough to reach out from under the seat. The longest I’ve seen are 200mm. You’ll have to be careful about the curve of the barends, too. Your second one you use for a handle may not be oriented where you want it.
I’ve been looking into something like this, but haven’t found a set that will work, yet.
I have another possible bolt on solution, though a little more expensive than barends.
A stoker stem holder from a tandem should be able to clamp to the seat post with one or two sets of shims. Then, a standard handle bar stem is inserted into the stem holder. You may have to experiment with different length stems to get the position you want. Cut up a handlebar to get the curve and size you want for a handle, and insert it into the bicycle stem. Wrap with tape or install grips, plug the ends, and there you go. Might even be able to mount a computer on it.
I think this will make for a very clean, strong set-up. The biggest issue is cost - about $70.