First of all I would like to introduce myself briefly.
I’ve picked up unicycling just 2 weeks ago and I can already ride. I don’t own a unicycle yet but I’m planning to, however I have some concerns.
I’m relatively young (21 y.o male) and I’m concerned about the health in general and well the unicycle is not the most comfortable option for men. Especially that I’m not the lightest person etc.
This got me wondering about the seat options.
Is it possible to ride a unicycle with a bicycle seat (you know, those anatomically friendly- I know some people call it a hype but I’ve tried one on a bicycle and it works like a charm)? I don’t bother working a bit more as long as it is rideable (I can ride just on my legs a short distance).
I’ve read about KH saddles but still they are not groin friendly I guess.
The short answer would be to try one and see what you think. Generally, as a beginning rider you will likely find a) it doesn’t offer enough support; that is, you won’t have good control of the unicycle and will tend to slide off the front. And b) The comfort you expected won’t be there, because you’ll be sitting on it too upright.
This changes if you add a bicycle seat to a road unicycle with a handlebar. Then you’re in more of a bike-like position and a bike saddle can work, but it still makes it hard to ride while sitting upright.
Saddle comfort is, above all, a personal choice. While there may be consensus that some saddles are more comfortable, you may prefer a different one from your friends.
I only started riding this year and at first I was squashing my junk and was very uncomfortable, but now I am far better rider and don’t have any issue with any of that.
Once you get your own Uni you cna set the seat height and angle up exactly how you want it, both of those can have an impact on comfort but more than anything your technique will still be pretty poor and nothing but lots of saddle time will sort that.
Congrats on the fast learning and welcome to the community
I used to get a lot of saddle sore but I found the KH slim saddle made a huge difference… I still use butt butter for rides over 25miles which really helps. You could also try shorter cranks as that will put more weight on to your legs and off your seat.
I’ve tried a pair of padded cycling underwear to help with riding comfort but never got used to them. I prefer the freedom and circulation that you’d find with regular underwear and a pair of cargo shorts - but then my XC rides are generally less than 20K at a time.
Be sure to avoid pants with a large seam on the underside like some jeans have, that gets uncomfortable quickly. Before you go about trying to re-invent the equipment, spend more time in the saddle and improve your technique.
bike shorts- the ones with padding stitched inside
that’s both from my personal experience of riding over tens years, plus, the general consensus from the majority of riders on threads like this.
(Assuming that the riding in question is distance stuff i.e. riding for an hour or more).
The ‘good seat’ is not the same for everyone, but, it’s often not the one that comes with a budget unicycle. I’ve been using a KH fusion for the past couple of years and always use bike shorts, and, can generally ride an hour with no issues with occasional rides of 2hrs.
I find that consequtive days riding can lead to accumalated soreness and then the main problem for me is chaffing based issues e.g. areas where the top layer of skin is removed- very small patches, but, obviously, the next ride wears in the same place. I’m attempting to address that by looking at various ointments like sudocreme to tackle skin damage post ride.
the other type of saddle soreness i.e. pressure based, rather than friction, I think you’ll find simply diminishes as you get used to spending longer in the saddle.
Thank you very much for all your input. Definitely something I have to think about when choosing the seat and other additional “comfort” gear. I’m eager to try to mount a bike seat though just to see it myself if it works at all.
Today I had another unicycling session and that saddle is a terrible pain (I guess it’s a standard Qu Ax saddle).
