Another photo:
Did a 15km short test due to unpleasant weather.
I can say the “Vogelfrei” saddle is good and anyone interested can easily order the two part and give it a try.
The test was road/gravel/dirt, today was rainy and strong wind (most sideways, for 15’ minute opposite), mostly slightly cambered, some poth holes, some mud, only one short but steep climb. My aim was to ride till my brother’s house and came back again…, but the opposing wind brake my legs and my brother decided to came back with me for lunchtime… so I ride only half I had scheduled
Your mod does look really good! I’m excited for your long term report.
Makes me want to experiment with bike seats too. I’m thinking of a base that would mount a bike seat on their normal rails, and either something t-bar like or even a normal plastic handle in front. The mad4one handle saddle is inherently too expensive due to those relatively complex bends, and other than the visual similarity to “normal” saddle that doesn’t offer much advantage in my point of view.
But the amount of choice using a bike saddle standard would give…I think I like it. Maybe I’ll draw something up in Cad over the next few months, but I won’t have time to do any prototyping before January…
Diy?
Very nice mod. Looks a lot better than the official padding!
What is the handle saddle made of? Aluminum or steel? What is the outer diameter of the tube? 7/8”, 1”?
I am thinking of bending/welding the same tubing to make my own. Anyone have the same thought? A challenge I can think of is the small radius bending at the front for aluminum tubing. Any expert can shed some light?
Here is a quite crude but fully functional part that adapts the bike seat rails to a standard four bolt uni seat post. The handle bar clamps directly to the seat post. A disadvantage is that the adapter angle can not be adjusted other then the by slipping the four bolt connection forward and back or by adding shims/washers.
It worked for my experiments and I have now moved on to a fully homemade saddle rather then adapting a bike saddle.
Why dont you use a bike seatpost??
I loooove your gallery lots of details and mods, keep researching!!
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Five reasons; 1. I’m cheap and don’t like to buy things that I can make, 2. I did not have 25.4mm bike seat post, 3. I wanted steel and they don’t seem to sell 25.4 mm steel seat posts (sometimes I weld thing directly to the seat post), 4. I needed a seat post only for trying out the noseless saddle and there was a good chance that I will not put this into long term use, and 5. I just like to build things.
Thanks,
Jim
I wish I had used a standard seatpost! Ah ah ah
Gotta Love this !
Boy Jim, I’m with you one hundred percent! Somebody has to make what they want correctly so that others benefit.
Well, I’ve joined the club.
I haven’t tested it on a proper ride yet but it looks promising so far. It’s much lighter than my old setup (although I’ve also switched from a steel to an aluminium seatpost, so that makes a difference) and nice and stiff. The KH bar had too much flex for my liking.
The saddle cover does feel a bit loose and vulnerable and I’m not sure I like the way it gets sandwiched between the saddle and the seatpost. Maybe it’s ok in practice.
I still need to tinker with the brake lever placement and the bar angle. The seat angle feels good but the bar is a bit higher than I’m used to.
It definitely feels like a prototype but I really like the concept. I look forward to putting it through its paces! 
I cycled with a 26 and a mad4one handlebar saddle yesterday for commute and it was pure pain all the way. The handlebar is nice (I am new to handlbars) in terms of control and turning but no matter how I shifted my position and after trying to adjust the height and angle I just could not get comfortable.
Ruar, what other saddles have you tried and which ones were you most comfortable on? What was the reason for trying a handle saddle?
I have not found the perfect unicycle saddle (maybe there isn’t such a thing yet), but the most comfortable for me is the Kris Holm freeride. My sit bones are most happy on that saddle, but my other parts eventually become unhappy. I do get some chafing as well. I have tried the nimbus stadium (probably 2nd in comfort) and the Kris Holm fusion one. The Fusion One works for me for about 15 minutes and then just becomes more unbearable on my site bones as the ride progresses.
For cycling, I have found a comfortable saddle in the Selle SMP series. Most notably the narrowest ones. It was a revelation to go on a ride where I wasn’t constantly readjusting my position to try to be comfortable. Chafing was most of the issue, but the narrow saddles and bike shorts with minimal padding did the trick for me.
I do try different bike shorts with the unicycle. I’m still happiest with bike shorts with low padding, but haven’t found the perfect combo yet, but I keep getting closer.
I tested out the handle saddle with a bit of light muni (the only kind of muni I can do :p) the other day. Verdict: I like it.
Thoughts so far:
- The handle being higher than my old setup doesn't bother me at all.
- The extra rigidity over the KH bar is confidence inspiring and very welcome.
- I bought the long version because it was the closest to my existing KH bar geometry, but I rarely found myself holding the bar out at the end. I could probably get away with the medium version and be a bit less prone to drop damage.
- I'm finding the one handed brake mount a bit hard to control compared to my old centrally mounted starfighter setup. Probably just a case of getting used to it.
- Comfort is good for muni but the jury is still out when it comes to longer road rides. The front part of the padding is quite wide and square at the top and a potential chafe point.
Not sure I’m going to race out and buy another one to replace the Shadow bar on my 36er, but for muni it’s excellent .
I just picked the handle saddle for Christmas. I am building a 29" MUNI which this will go on. I am excited to give this a go, but I am sure it will take some getting used to.
I have not been using my handlebar saddle. I find it incredibly uncomfortable to the point I almost suspect there is something wrong with it. However I dug it out again as @Ulrik would like to give it a try. However, he might have a fight on his hands. My cat has really taken to it and seems to believe it is his pillow (though I am sort of glad someone in my household finds it comfortable!)
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Any Ideas so far? Just got out of bed again pondering …
Just tested my new Handle Saddle (medium, leather, wide)
And the short verdict after this 15 mile ride - it’s the best saddle I’ve ever tried.
I have time on all the KH stuff and that’s where standard saddles starts and ends for me.
- My control and speed was up
- Body position was more aligned
- I could hold the grip in many different ways and vary the pressure and pull options
—
It did initially feel a bit odd with the way it makes you sit and I found saddle height and foot placement on the pedals key to getting in the right spot where I felt super connected, pain free and relaxed.
I’m already salivating over the Long one. This is all being tested on my normal 29er with a view for it going on my G29er when that is being assembled.
But there’s part of me that thinks I’d enjoy the long one even on a 29er, especially when geared up.
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Oh Yes!
I’m with you, I got the long handle saddle on my 36er and I’ve now ridden it enough that I think it’s my favorite for road and I wanna try a shorter one for muni. I went with the wide cushion and I might try to round off the outside edges at the front a bit, since it feels like that could help a little, but it is pretty comfy overall and might just replace my KH One + T-bar, which I currently run on my G29
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I’m not really sure that a long handle saddle is at any disadvantage for muni. I used to favor a grip on the front of my medium saddle when climbing, but these days I find myself grabbing the saddle firmly on the side regardless of what I am doing. I could switch to a long handle saddle and I think the only disadvantage would be the extra weight. Perhaps a short handle saddle would have an advantage, but I don’t have any experience riding muni with one.