At the moment, I’m using a T bar connected to a Naomi saddle (grey base) on my 32. When riding i’m noticing a bit of creaking and maybe a tiny bit of flex despite every bolt being tight. The creaking goes away when I’m not hands down so I have to assume this is coming from the saddle base.
I ride both hands down almost all the time and am looking to extend my bars a bit so am looking to either stiffen or replace the setup outright. The way i see it there are 2 practical options:
Stiffener Plate for Impact Bases
Replacing the T Bar with a Shadow handle set
I’ve used a shadow handle before (with aerobars) so know the system but that’s a lot of cost where maybe a stiffener might do the job for the time being.
Looking for thoughts to sway me in either direction…
I have had pretty good result with a stiffener plate, even though this adds quite a lot of weight.
There’s also the solution of adding some sort of attach onto the seat post. There’s no standard piece to do so, so you’ll have to fiddle something there.
In the past I used stiffener plates with these T-bar - kind of viewed that as essential as the plastic is just too flexy.
But the hassle of mounting the bolts into the saddle with all things lining up, as the plate is thicker is a mega frustrating experience - and I recall I cross threaded one of the insert sections which was a shame.
Since moving to the Long HandleSaddle from Mad4One I can’t say I’d ever go back to the KH T-bar. Think I’d even put a Long HandleSaddle on even smaller wheels as it just feels more comfortable and very very ridged. Perfect for two hand riding.
Plus you can even bolt an extender onto that for even extra reach if needed.
If you dig the Naomi saddle feel then might be work seeing if there are some long Ursli bars available from Markus at ursli.li (they’re great too - and allow for saddle of choice usage and get to that HandleSaddle feel)
Something that I didn’t like with the HandleSaddle and the Ursli bars is the fact you can’t easily adjust the height or the length of the bar. You have to cope with whatever you bought. The KH T-bar, on the other hand, is fully tunable. If you want it higher, or shorter, or longer, there’s nothing preventing you to do so.
That being said, the KH T-bar isn’t perfect. Too flexible, too heavy, too expensive, …
Very true. If adjustability is key then sure this is the only option (barring a P-Frame )
I think I’m lucky in the Long HandleSaddle working perfectly for my arms + it has grown on me the more I’ve used it. Maybe not even having the option to adjust it has led to me learning exactly how it feels / where it is that it becomes second nature.
I was always changing stuff on the T-bar to try and get it “right” - perhaps needlessly
Yeah, my other 2 T bars are on stiffened KH Fusion and Miyata bases (this was a pain and involved boiling water). The reason I didn’t go for a stiffener with this build was that it was put together around 2017 (before there was an option) and then only lightly ridden until last summer.
I know the Naomi works for me and is readily available so don’t really want to change the saddle out as well. Thanks for flagging the Ursli and M4O options but i think both would be too narrow for me and more of an adjustment than i’d like.
Not really the same for me - i get it where i think i want it and then only experiment with changes (having marked the old setting) after getting thoroughly irritated with something.
Weight isn’t an issue - I don’t mind an extra kg of non-rotational weight, just don’t add it to the rim
I think it’s the saddle curve and width for me. The hardness is something that can be got used to…
Measuring an old fusion street, the Naomi is about 0.5cm narrower at it’s narrowest point and the Impact/Nimbus bases are flatter than the KH Fusion/Miyata ones. That being said I do have a soft spot for the QuAx Eleven saddle, they’re surprisingly good.
I started with the Naomi while it was still Miyata based, UDC had a batch of seconds on sale for £12 where there was an issue with the cover that was easily fixed. Boiling saddles was being discussed here at the time and so “hey, have cheap saddle, let’s experiment”. The result turned out to be a great distance saddle after a quick re-boil to fit the KH stiffener.
When the new base came out, knowing that i could ride the foam and the new base didn’t look that different to the curvature of my DIY flattened saddle, I stayed with the design.
Now if you want a truly uncomfortable saddle, may I interest you in the lightly ridden KH Zero in my spares box. It’s a coin toss - it’ll either be great or the most painful thing you’ve ever ridden…
While it’s not the post you directed me to, I saw down the thread the idea to use Bimini fittings (“marine jaws”) to anchor the back of the long bar to the seatpost. That should turn the bars into a triangle with the saddle and seatpost which will give me some more time to think, adjust and experiment…
You should try it. I’m still a big fan. Latest iteration has been great and sturdy since it was built years ago. I think the key is to not tighten the bullhorns at the end too much so they will just rotate slightly in case of a violent UPD because then they will absorb the impact nicely and nothing else will move or break.
)
