I am looking for a better seat option than the U-seat our unicycles use. I know that the U-seat allows greater control, is important to prevent the seat from scooting out behind the rider, and is important in hopping and other fun things we do on a unicycle. But…this question is about just riding, probably a long way, on a seat that will not be the limiter for time on the uni.
I have been thinking about configuring my 29XC with one of the alternative seats while including a handlebar arrangement that would prevent the reduction in control mentioned above. I also do not want to do myself long term damage in the soft tissues that normally bear our weight while riding. Has anybody tried a combination of handlebars and a seat such as this one:
If I can find a solution that makes my legs versus my seat the time limiter, I would consider that a success. Anyone ever tried this?
Interesting seat, and question. Also for me, my seat (or rather the area that’s in contact with it) is very much the limiting factor for riding distance. I ride with a T7 handlebar set now (and a KH Freeride Fusion) and I have found that just lightly holding the T7 helps in stability. Not sure how much of that is through actual steering with the handlebar, as opposed to the increased information on swerving which is then corrected through the seat. But I guess there’s potential in this concept also for unicycling. Thanks for posting.
I am not familiar with the way a T7 handle goes on the unicycle and whether it conflicts with adjustment options for a rail type seat. What I am thinking is using a T7 handle which would allow me to use the handles to stay centered while using this seat to prevent the problems we are all so familiar with.
To answer the other question, I use a KH Freeride on my 29KH and I like it but I normally ride only about 8 or so miles at a stretch on my daily rides. I am seeking to find a seat option with a very low injury potential over time, and one that would allow extended rides without a need to stop or stand up to prevent numbness.
Klaas Bil…could those two pieces of equipment go onto a unicycle that is made for a rail seat installation…and if you did that, could you adjust the handle and the installation angle of the seat (on the rails) independently?
That’s an interesting looking saddle. It appears to be good for bicycle use. I would worry more about the side-to-side stability on a unicycle rather than the saddle popping out the back. I thought Lars Clausen used something that looked like a sofa that had a handle on each side on his Coker.
Yep. Works, but it’s not very comfortable. The curvature is great, but the seat narrows in the front, so it tends to slip out behind you. If you could find a seat with the same curvature as a bike seat, but that widens at the back and the front, I think it might be comfy.
Have you used a rail adapter? If so, the T7 attaches just like it. The handle is fixed in position relative to the seat, so an angle adjustment to the seat adjusts the handle equally.
The T7 comes with a rail adaptor. The seat is bolted onto the handlebar set ‘above’ the rail adaptor and hence has no appreciable range of separate adjustability. I.e. seat and handlebar rotate together.
The Spiderflex seat in its standard configuration would not be compatible with a T7 anyway. It would require some design and machining to combine the two. It would probably be better to design a custom handlebar set to go with the Spiderflex.
Interesting seat design. I’m not sure how well it would work though, it doesn’t seem long enough.
I’ve been going on about long distance seats for as long I can remember unicycling. I guess I’m now the second most qualified person to give an opinion
In a nutshell, you need to think like a bicyclist if you want comfort.
Unicycle seats have traditionally been used for freestyle and doing tricks with, not for riding for hours on end. That’s why they’re big, fat and curved upwards to wedge against your crotch.
On the other hand, Bike seats and riding positions have been refined over the last hundred or more years to work for long distances. They’re low profile, and do not impede movement or wedge itself against body parts.
Bike seats DO NOT curve upwards to squash your squishy bits. There is not reason to need this as you are not using your crotch for control. Maybe for freestyle unicycling, but most definitely not for road or distance riding.
The bike position is comfortable because it spreads your weight out, rather than the more upright position that unicyclists traditionally used. If you look at the position that Sam held during his 24hr Record, his back is pretty much at a similar angle to someone riding a bike. And likewise with me. Having bars that stretch out your weight also lowers your centre of gravity which makes you more stable at speed.
A unicycle seat should be flat, with good bars that you can hang on to that stretches your body out.
Well, as others have already pointed out, the Spiderflex seat wouldn’t be compatible with a T7 handlebar, or, indeed any of the recognised unicycle handlebars currently available.
I can’t imagine it working at all without some kind of handlebar to hold on to, because otherwise it’d just slip out behind you. Maybe the Purple Haze (see trading post) would work.
Personally I use a Nimbus Gel Saddle, and with my longest ride so far of 144 miles in 2 days, the only limiting factor has been where the baggy outer shorts rub against the lycra padded inner shorts. The saddle on it’s own is very comfy.
Here’s the thing. In the 28 years I’ve been involved with unicycling, I’ve seen people marketing seats like that for bikes. But I’ve hardly ever seen one out “in the world.” Maybe never. This says something. If they were really effective, people would use them. It’s not a new idea at all. In fact I have a picture somewhere of a 100 year old bike in a museum somewhere with a seat like that.
Having covered that particular seat type, I agree that “regular” unicycle seats are not the best for long-distance riding, especially if you use a handlebar and put some weight on it (like I do). You could start by taking an existing unicycle seat and tilting it downward, or thinning out the foam at the front. I think Scot Cooper used a bike seat of some sort on his road uni. But you definitely need to be holding a handlebar for a narrow or bike-type seat to work well.
