Yeh hopefully UDC can make it as good as the stadium saddle. Said no one ever.
I went on a 12 mile ride on my “long” Mad4One seat/handle, yesterday. Not a super long ride, but I still felt I was in better shape “down there” than I would have been after riding on a conventional saddle. I ride almost entirely with two hands on the handle, I am supporting a fair amount of my weight on my arms, and I am able to situate myself on the seat exactly as I want. I mentioned before that I use rubber handles for old-people walkers. I situate them where my sit bones go. I am considering adding a third handle right between the two, at the very back of the saddle.
I think the criticism of Mad4One’s padding is unjustified. The whole purpose of the saddle/handle is to experiment. And, for something like a saddle, I don’t trust the first impressions of riders. Don’t expect any change to your setup to improve your riding immediately.
At the last California Muni Weekend, one of the riders had the Mad4One set/handle with a conventional seat attached to it. I really liked that setup. It is probably still lighter than the Shadow. And the bar ends are brought down lower, relative to the seat. I wouldn’t mind for my saddle/handle to be a couple inches lower to the ground at the front end.
For future versions of the saddle/handle, I would suggest 1. A bit wider throughout, and 2. A greater degree of forward/backward adjustment in the interface.
Also, I have the brake on my 26" attached to one side of the handle. It’s angled into the center, so I can operate it with either hand / both hands. I’m too engineering-challenged to think of a solution where the brake pulls up straight from the center. Small detail…
They say the following:
He feels like he can’t land any tricks any more … that he can’t hold it better than his normal seat and lacks of control when landing tricks.
The other guy tells, that it is incredibly painfull, as he sits right with his tailbone on the metal.
They are not enthousiastic about this saddle … and are in two minds.
They suggest a “life hack”: just tape any kind of protector onto the saddle with masking tape and it will instantly be more comfortable.
Hello!
I have one (size M) on my G26 for 1 year. I ride this unicycle almost everyday mainly for commuting, and without bike shorts, sometimes I use if for muni with a bike shorts. Once the adjustments are made, for me, it is one of the best saddles, which allows you to push and pull on the handle thanks to its great rigidity.
Two weeks ago, I asked Marco about the leather version (I want a second one), he told me that it should be released very soon (last week ;)).
The only negative point I find there is that my butt slips a little forward, I think it’s due to the back which is a little too wide for me.
Thanks a lot, Eric. Much appreciated
I guess I’ll have to buy the base an experiment with different sorts of padding.
@toutestbon:
About the cover, was Marco speaking for the M version or all three of them?
(I’m interestes in the S one, urban stuff)
I didn’t ask him about that…
Tilting issue
I did test it for 1 hour in an hopping training session. I added 2 nuts between the handle saddle e the seatpost. Now I’ve achieved my usual saddle upfront tilt. I suggest doin/ the same to experiment. However I understand it’s me being unable to weight on my hands.
For the cover i try leaving the hole in the center uncovered. It is ok if you sit far back (by adding tilt or by using more weight through hands), but I need to cover the side of the center part, when hopping I squeeze it with my legs and it’s too much hard for my skin. A little padding will help also there .
It is definitely a great saddle, it is changing my riding stile and today with it I was able to make my first rev sit in front
Just to show you, what we are talking about.
(photo from Marcos facebook page)
I`m curious, how it is fixed to the handle
Looks like a vast improvement over the duct tape version.
While I’m waiting for my hoop handle I decided to experiment with one of my aerobar tubes which weighs almost nothing and doesn’t even register on my digital scale. It’s instantly 1.5 lb less then my KH T-handle & brackets. I cut out a lightweight piece of wood to fill the recessed area under the front of the saddle, (Scott Wallis CF base) then drilled two holes through the wood piece and aero tube, and attached it.
I don’t mind not having an up or down adjustment since this particular configuration is just right for me. I can always use washers to change the angle if necessary. This setup is actually ideal since I usually only ride with one hand on the handle anyway.
So as pictured, my G 26er weighs in at 15 pounds 10 oz, and when I get my carbon rim, coming later this week, plus double-butted spokes, polyax aluminum nipples, and go tubeless, total weight will be in the 14 pound range! Also upgraded to the Hope tech 3 E4 disc brake and floating rotor.
@MuniAddict:
I’m no engineer but I remember Archimedes’ lever principle.
Can you really pull a little hard or put some weight on that long handle without tearing off its attachment?
:o
Definitely seems to be solid. It’s held by the same bolts used for a lift handle or KH brackets. If necessary, I guess I could reinforce it with a couple of U brackets.
I’d worry about it failing - when you push down, all the stress is going to be at that forward bolt, where there’s a hole drilled top and bottom to weaken things. That’s a recipe for fatigue failure, even if it’s solid enough in the normal sense.
Probably be fine for me, since I don’t ride much, but not for you!
Time will tell.
People are always so worried about failing parts here… They don’t usually lead to spectacular bails, just regular ones.
The “Schwanzus Longus”-style handle (“Biggus Dickus” in German) is quite popular with a few riders I know. Although commonly a shorter version than MuniAddicts. U Bolts through the seatbase are how they attach them , and it seems to work.
I’ve yet to ride a handle saddle for a longer distance, I liked it a lot for trials, and on a Muni I tried it for a few minutes. Wasn’t as uncomfortable as I thought.
I don’t think there is a good way to use my index finger on the brake with the handle saddle, which I kinda think is the “correct” finger to use, so that would be a big issue for me. Other than that, ergonomically, it makes a lot more sense than the conventional seat and plastic handle. I’m also not a fan of the KH T-Bar design, since my own spin on Murphys law is: “Anything that can be adjusted, will go out of adjustment frequently.”
I redesigned the setup so now the wood insert that fills the recessed area is attached directly under the saddle via the existing four bolt pattern. And the handle has now been attached in the center using two pipe straps. Everything now comes out in one piece and is very easy to install without needing to remove the saddle cover. If I want to flip the handle 180 I simply remove the screws from the center of the straps, flip it 180 and reinsert screws in the corresponding holes on the other side. Out for a test ride and this modification is super sturdy.
Reckon it’s an improvement.
Now if it was to fail, I reckon it would be at one of these spots where the pipe strap attaches. I’m going off an assumption it’s attached screwed into the wood piece or plastic only. If the screws are really long, then I reckon it will be fine.
Those are machine screws and they go all the way through with holes countersunk on the other side for the corresponding lock washers and nuts so it’s pretty secure. But because wood can crack I am planning on making a mold with J-B Weld to replace the wooden insert. If that turns out not to be satisfactory then I will find a piece of half inch nylon or polyethylene and cut that out to the same shape.
Having an aerobar break with your weight on it, on a geared road uni, is pretty much a worst case failure - result would likely be a high speed faceplant into a rock hard road surface. Ugh.
U-bolts sounds like a pretty good way to attach a bar - no holes drilled in the bar, and bolt spreads the load out instead of concentrating it at single already weakened point.