Generally speaking, riding off road with both hands on the seat/bar is going to require a much higher level of experience unless the trail is very smooth. I consider myself a decent muni rider and I couldn’t ride single track with two hands on the bars.
Maybe what you’ve seen in two hand bar set ups for muni are the folks who are riding long distance and will ride stretches of paved road in between single track?
There are times when I don’t ride with my hands on the bars at all, just so I can rest my arms and relax. In fact, one of the things that comes with riding experience is the ability to climb and ride rough terrain without using your hands on the bars
Bars on a uni/muni are not the same as on a bike, you’ll understand this better as you become more experienced.
You can make one easy by building from the KH T Bar like I show in the first pics, all you need is a short piece of bar and a couple bar ends, then cut one bar end to serve as the mount for the other bar end…
The KH version was not bad, in fact it worked quite well and I used it all last Spring into early Summer, but it was heavier and more complicated than I needed, so I built the current set up.
I do miss the KH T Bar for the ability to place the bar end further out from the seat and being able to micro adjust the bar end angles, but for strength and simplicty it is excellent.
My rig is more of a replacement for the nylon grab handle that provides a better hand position for increased control and power. Nylon grab handles are really not much more than a fancy bumper.
For increased adjustability, the KH set up is superior, though durability could be an issue long term.
I will probably build some extras and offer them up to forum members at cost, but t’s the, when I get around to it sort of thing
Hey Ben, great set-up. I wanted to emulate it, so I got myself a KH stiffener plate and sent it (via my brother, who deals with lots of manufacturers around the building trade) to a shop for punching and welding. I’ve just spoken to my brother, and he reports that the guy at the shop reckoned that the plate isn’t steel and so he wouldn’t be able to weld it.
Now, clearly, yours worked out fine, so I’m inclined to just send it back and tell them to just get on with it. Any thoughts on this? Could the KH stiffener I got from UDC UK be a different material than the ones you’re using?
Edit: Oh, I checked the UDC and KH sites and they make no statement as to the material used…
jrwi, the KH plate is Aluminum, so it needs a different rig than welding steel.
I made a bar end grab handle a while back, and I just never got around to posting pictures. Really it’s been a long time since I’ve posted pictures, so here are some. I have the old style FR saddle, and no stiffener, so it’s not as stiff as I would like it but still a better handle than stock. I’ll be making a stiffener soon.
I had to slant the brake lever a little to the left, and the handle a little to the right so there isn’t any interference. At first I thought this would be a temporary fix, but it works surprisingly well, and It’s very comfortable.
Jtrops - thanks for the info. V. cool looking Muni you’ve got there.
I’ll go back with that and see what they say, but they did say they could simply manufacture a plate from steel very easily, so I might just get them to do that. I found out later, after I’d posted, that it wasn’t so much that they couldn’t do it as they didn’t think it would be strong enough.
Wishing now I’d applied myself more in metal work at school…
Okay, the KH stiffener plate is aluminum, so you should have no problem welding a piece of aluminum tubing cut off from a mtb bar, since they’re both aluminum.
The hole punch is easy, then all you do is have the tubing welded onto the plate from both sides, bolt it up, then cut down one bar end for the brake mount, then the other bar end is your grab handle.
To maximize bar end length extension, you shoudl replace the seat grab handle with a freestyle bumper. The bumper is $8 from UDC.
You can go custom and have a special bar end made that has more length, a different angle or a different bend, I just found it was easier to go with off the shelf parts.
Let me know if you have specific questions or if you need a different picture, angle, whatever.
I certainly noticed that, but I haven’t had anyone else comment. Most people seem to be more impressed with seeing a unicycle on the trail than to pay attention to a small detail like that. I keep thinking that I’ll put some sort of “T” handle at the end, and that should make it look less phallic.
I’ve got a stupid question
I ride 29 muni with a T bar for easy trails, but I want to brake with my hand on the grab handle when it’s harder
how can I do ??? !!!
I’ve got a stupid question
I ride 29 muni with a T bar for easy trails, but I want to brake with my hand on the grab handle when it’s harder
how can I do ??? !!!
