Gmuni 24-26-27.5-29 post your handlebars here

Since I have my guni26 I have been playing a lot with different handlebar settings.
Because I use it for muni, downhill, cities and roads/bicycle paths, and because this is a 26er (27.5 because of the knard 3") and a “sort of” 42er at the same time, I have to deal with very different and contradictory needs that I can resume like this:

-For hops, downhills and very technical muni, the closer the better.

Issue: a short T bar close to the saddle makes the unicycle less stable when I want to lean forward with both hands on the bars, especially while riding in 2nd gear.
Plus I find it harder to accelerate when I have just shifted in 2nd gear.

-For road, large trails, long distance a longer T-bar lets me hold the bar-ends with both hands and I can lean forward which is stable even in 2nd gear.
Plus I can pull on it more while I am accelerating after I shift up or when riding uphills on uneven floors…

Issue: it is harder and less precise to do hops and not very adapted to a downhill practice I guess

So I presume other geared muni owners who want to ride both muni and other kind of rides, like long distances, have to deal with this kind of dilemma.
I propose to post your own setup here and explain your choice.

My own case:

Few days ago my last set up was this one:

I have tried longer, shorter, higher, lower set up and finished by this one.
It was the better compromise I found until then with this material, not too far away from the saddle so that I can still do hops and ride steep downhills by pulling the brake lever, but not too close so that I can pull on it to accelerate in 2nd gear, but I wasn’t fully happy cause I found that the “both hands on the bar-ends and leaning forward” position was not stable enough in 2nd gear.
I even found it barely doable indeed.

So I removed the bar-ends and put the same long and curved ones that I use on my 36er and I set it close to the saddle.

this is some pics:


As the bar is 20cm long, I can hold it by the part that is close to the saddle to ride some serious downhill and do some hops / rolling hops, but I can also hold it by the further part and it gives me more leverage when riding uphill, over big roots or whatever, and I can pretty well keep my both hands on it while leaning my body forward when I ride a long part in second gear (or in 1st gear as well).

This was the theory.
I tested it today on a 23km loop that contains all sorts of floors and even several short but steep downhills.
It worked pretty well indeed, confirming the “theory”.

The only weird stuff at the beginning was that the closer part of the bar-ends is oriented toward the outside and this is the part I hold while performing the steep downhills (while pulling hard the rim brake lever), or while doing some hops.
The position of my right hand was unusual but it didn’t take much time to adapt.
I wish I could have a pair of “Z” bars that are oriented toward the center both on the close part and the further part of it, but I haven’t.

Concerning the further part, as it is oriented inward, the position of my hands on it (one hand or both) is pretty natural, and it really helps riding in 2nd gear, passing over big roots or stuffs, riding uphill, or simply leaning forward with both elbows against the body.

The only downside for now is the foam protection that won’t last very long as it gets more damaged at each UPD.
Have to find something else, like thick silicone stuffs or so…

I don’t ride mixed terrain, but that looks like a really good all around setup for it. For Muni, like you say, the closer the better, and because of that, I don’t even ride with a handlebar other than the plastic grab handle, which I find perfect. The obvious downside there being that you can’t run the brake under the saddle grab handle because the handlebar is mounted there. You could use a seatpost mounted handlebar if you wanted to do that.

The other option that you may or may not have thought of is that you can attach more than 2 bar ends to the handlebar. There are a few pics on the forums of this, but just mount one set facing you, and the other set facing away. Then you really have tons of options for where to put your hands. You’d probably need to get another T-bar though. You could even mount 3, and have a mid position if you used something like the bontrager race lite bar ends, which is what I have on my road uni. They’re very durable, but I’ve only dropped them once or twice, and it wasn’t on pavement.

As for hits on the ground, foam won’t last very long, but if the end is a problem, I’ve found that furniture rubber ends work really well. Way back when I had a T7 handle, I had some foam bar ends and stuck those on the end in case I dropped it. Works really well, but you need smushy grips to hold them in place.

Just finished putting this together yesterday afternoon. I call it the ‘Full Nelson’ (I have a 'half nelson on my DH uni) This is the third handlebar I have developed over 6 years of GMuni riding. I have to say I don’t like the standard KH/Nimbus handle options for a number of reasons. Having a long boom and short bar ends really limits hand positions to one spot which means if you like it close for technical muni, then it is no good for long days in the saddle when a position further out is more comfortable. I also don’t like the central positioning of the brake lever in a lot of these set ups. I only ever use my dominant hand for braking and with my set up you can take advantage of the ergonomics of the two finger lever in it’s correct orientation.

I made this handle to specifically fit my uni and riding style so no up/down adjust-ability is built into the handle design (but can be achieved by using spacers under the plate the aero bars are welded to). I’ve got to say that I really dislike the complexity, and aesthetic of the KH bar- it never looks sleek, always too much extra material all over the place, and then all the force transferred through a thin set of plates attaching onto the seat base anyway! (which are prone to breaking over time with hard use).

Full set up for mine is:

  • Flatfish Carbon seat base
  • QX foam and cover (modded with a drawstring instead of staples)
  • USE triathlon bar extensions (6061ALU) welded to 4mm ALU plate with 4 bolt pattern (33cm long and 100mm spacing over length of bars)
  • Shimano Deore Disc brake- 2 finger lever.

The whole set- up is very light and stiff. Very little deflection between bars while holding onto the ends and reefing in high gear (may investigate making a cross bar to attach the two ends together increase stiffness and protect my calves for the odd UPD where the handle ends up near your legs.

Mark

Juggleaddict:
I do have two pairs of bar-ends on my 36er, as you can see here:

But it was not very adapted for the G26 as I sawed the little bar so that it is only about 12cm long, like Kris holm did (to prevent rubbing legs because of the low seat and 150 cranks + fivetens + low T-bar)
So there is not much more place to put it (also because of how the brake is mounted)

My other idea was to let the plastic seat handle and the brake lever under it by using my Qu-ax handle, like I did in the first place when my 26er was not geared.
But as you can see the stem is not long enough (about 13cm I think) so my legs are rubbing against the loop, but with a longer stem it could also be a good alternative solution.

The way it is mounted is not good for the frame, but if fixed on the seat post it’s no longer an issue.

@napalm:
Once on the uni it must be a pretty good config.
To be honest I find it a little bit too straight & long in 3rd person view, but this is just an aesthetic and subjective matter.
In 1st person view I find it fine.

I’d be interested to see your “half” version.

I tried some time with T-bar first original width, then cut short, but finally I decided to go one-handed and it is enough for me and saves my thighs. On road I can still rest both my hands but they need to be overlapped a bit.
I still want to get rid of the t-bar parts down there, but that’s the next step.

Hey UniDreamer, have you tried a setup like Turtle uses? You only get one hand for the muni position and you can’t brake from the cruising position, but otherwise it might give you what you’re looking for.

There’s a pic here: http://www.unicyclist.com/forums//showpost.php?p=1428771&postcount=15

I’ve tried a few other peoples set ups with the Brake in the central position. I don’t like how it forces you to twist at the shoulders- it makes me feel less mobile in my torso and limits my ability to make balance adjustments in tech terrain. I find by having the brake on the dominant side, my shoulders can stay squarer and gives me a greater range of movement up top. This might all just be what I have gotten used to and it is a preference because it is more familiar.

Plenty of strong riders using the central brake position- turtle, Scott Wilton, Jamey M, Maksym etc. In all my time riding GMUni’s I haven’t seen anyone with the same set up as me- not sure if it is because it is not a good idea- or if it just hasn’t been catered to by the current mainstream handlebar designs.

Mark

I have tried central position, but like napalm I don’t like it.
On my g26 the brake lever is fixed on a small bit of an older bar-end, set very close to the right actual bar-end so I can brake with my right hand which is the hand I use the most to hold the handlebar.

So my brake and handlebar setting are kinda close to napalm’s one.

On my 36er the brake is centered (like the guni of turtle) but I barely use it this way, it will finish fixed to the right curved bar-end which has the same diameter as the brake lever’s fixation.

as requested by UniDreamerFR here are some pics of my ‘Half Nelson’ bar I have on my DH uni.

photo 3(2).JPG

Mark, that’s a nice construction. Mine is made from bike handlebars that were not totally straight, so it is also a bit to the side, just not that much as yours.

Thanks napalm for the pics of you great “half” version.
By half I was imagining “half the size” not only one side :slight_smile:

A little update:

In this pic:

The foam is supposed to protect the bars, but how to protect the foam?
The simplest and cheapest answer I figured out was this simple DIY solution:


An old tube and a lot of lube, as simple as that.
As you can see I also changed the fusion free ride by a fusion street.
(the kind of stuff a unicyclist does when it’s rainy outside :smiley: )

So do you guys build your own T-bars or just buy them with a saddle that can handle them. I mostly ride this Nimbus Oracle 29" on both asphalt and in the forest. Last week I finally figured out how to use the handle bars on the 36" and it actually is very comfortable, so I want to have them for this 29" as well.

I contacted Municycle.com in Germany where I bought the Schlumpf, but they said they don’t sell a handlebar that is suited for the saddle that I have, but I think it is a very comfortable saddle. They offered a KH saddle, which reminds me of the saddle that came with the KH29 with Schlumpf which is very uncomfortable.

So my question is, since there is this pipe on the Nimbus saddle, what kind of handlebar is supposed to be connected to it, or is it only there for the brake. And if I would want to be creative myself (I can’t weld), what would I need.

These are my pictures of where the T-Bar is supposed to be. Seems like a nice thing to show in this thread :slight_smile:

That part you have is for mounting a brake lever only. To fit the KH T-Bar you would remove it and install the T-Bar mount in its place. Now, it’s possible that the KH T-Bar may fit your saddle.

Explanation:

There are KH and Nimbus versions of the brake mount. How many bolts does yours attach with? The KH version attaches with four bolts and the Nimbus with two (giving a more universal, but less sturdy, fit).

My muni uses the same saddle as yours (Nimbus gel) and I used the KH (four bolt) brake mount. Since the KH brake mount fits my saddle I assume that the KH T-Bar would as well, although I’ve never tried it.

One final caveat - I believe there are two different Nimbus gel saddles in circulation, with different bases (and possibly hole patterns). Mine uses captive bolts and domed nuts for the seatpost/bumper/handle attachments, whereas the other version uses bolts with a hex head which screw into captive nuts built into the base. I’m not sure if the hex bolt version would fit the KH brake mount/bar.

Hope that makes sense, and somebody please correct my facts if I’ve missed something!

Also forgot to mention that you have other handlebar options:

  • [B]KH T-Bar[/B] - Fitting details outlined in the previous post. Quite adjustable but maybe less sturdy than the other options. Note there's also a "touring" version which has a longer, curved boom.
  • [B]Nimbus Shadow[/B] - Less adjustable but nice and sturdy. Involves a new Pivotal style seatpost to fit the handle (the seatpost should come with the kit). A bit fiddly to set up but once you have it dialed in you won't need to touch it again. Probably more popular for road riding but could be used for muni too.
  • [B]QuAx Q-Bar[/B] - Similar to the Coker Pi Bar in attachment/adjustment. Looks quite sturdy but some people have complained that it's a bit too wide and can contact the inside of your legs.

Thanks for the info. The KH T-Bar seems like a nice solution, but the saddle itself isn’t so comfortable. The Nimbus one came with the 36" and is very comfy. I will see if I can use that saddle on the 29" as well, if so I will just buy an additional.

I also read that about the Qu-Ax and Municycle.com also warned me that people hit that handle bar with their knees.

I’ve been using KH T-Bar on my Nimbus saddle some years ago. The fit was not perfect but still it was possible to mount the T-Bar itself. It was however not possible to mount the reinforcement plate, so you could feel some flex and I was not using it in an extended position.