Due to the unwillingness of my KH seat to stay firmly attached to the seatpost of late I invested in one of these new-fangled gel seat wodjimaflips, and had my first brief ride with it this evening. It was mounted on the 29er; the obvious choice, given they’re both a nice red and black colour scheme.
Within seconds of getting on I was impressed… I could steer again! With the thick padding of the KH seat you try to turn and just squash into the seat a bit until it eventually flops around to the direction you wanted to go in ten minutes ago. With this it’s instant; the big wheel of the 29er felt so much more nimble and manouvreable than before. Having ridden nothing but KHs and airseats for ages I’d forgotten how responsive a uni could be.
It’s surprisingly comfy for something that feels like a plank of wood when you first get on. All the pressure on the bits you want pressure on, and none where you don’t. For long distance rides I could get used to this.
A quick lap of a very bumpy car park revealed it’s largest downside so far, in my opinion; the padding of the KH may make a uni steer like a truck but it does add enough suspension to smooth out the bumps. With the thinner gel seat every bump comes straight through, so you have to take a more careful line or have more weight on the pedals to stop each jolt launching you skywards.
On a fat-tyred muni it might be okay, but with the smaller, harder tyre on the 29er I’m not sure whether it’ll replace the KH as my normal off-roading seat. Of course, in my normal beautiful sense of timing I have until Saturday, and the Red Bull 24 hour, to decide. No pressure…
Does anyone else use this seat for off-road, and if so did you get used to the rougher ride, or is it still a bugbear?
I’m not one to go by because I’m on a Sun 28" that comes with the most uncomfortable seat known to man/woman. I took my velo gel seat off my bicycle and put it on the uni and fitted the cover that came with it, over. Not the best solution, but it helped me 90%. I did the LBI Unithon on it (hurt like hell after 19 miles)and I ride MUni all the time, with no pain. Of course an airseat would be the ideal seat for you to have. But if you don’t have the time, the gel should do just fine.
I use a cut-down KH fusion saddle with KH Carbon seatbase. I’ve never been a fan of airseats for the very reason Phil mentions. A solid but THIN saddle works best- steers well, and doesn’t get in your way like the KH brick-style saddles. I reckon the gel seats sounds great- I might have to get one to cannibalise for my carbon seatbase.
I’ve had one on my Coker & 29er (first Koxx, then UDC) which I never use on-road for 4 months & they’ve been great, and I agree with all your points Phil. much more preferable than the standard 2004 KH. the gel is only at the front of the saddle, not all over so it would be a firmer ride. I’ll post a pic later, as the broken Koxx is now part of an airseat.
I’ve had one on my 24x3" for about 50 off-road miles and quite like it. It seems to rub a bit less on the inner thighs. I havent noticed any difference in control but then I was never in control that much anyway:) The only real downside is that I do feel a bit of pressure on my @ss bones (whatever they are called) Oh,and I’m not a huge fan of the UDC text on the back.
Judging by the three KH seats I’ve had so far any logo at the back gets covered in a layer of brown muck before too long anyway, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem! Besides I like having unicycle.com written on the uni somewhere so when people ask where it came from I can just twizzle it round to show them.
Thanks for all the responses. As there appear to have been no outcries of rage about being launched skywards by bumps I shall give it the benefit of the doubt and keep it on the 29er. Here’s hoping…
