Question related to long distance unicycling.
Has anyone tried the Nimbus Air Seat?
I know unigeezer and Ed Pratt fully endorse them, but those guys have iron bottoms from riding forever. How about us normal riders, who don’t normally go that far. Please testimony from “male riders” only. You gals know why?
I’m ready to spend my $120, but not without proof.
I put 620 miles on the Nimbus Air Saddle and had it for three months before it started to tear in the middle. It is quite comfortable though. UDC sent me a new one and will talk to the manufacturer about the saddle.
I use the air cover over my Kris Holme street zero and it has been a game changer for me. I ruteenly ride between 3 and 10 miles on street and paved trails on my 29er and find it very comfortable. I no longer wear padded bike shorts just a athletic supporter.
You put pictures on FB, correct? I saw a torn Air Stadium cover recently there and couldn’t find it anymore thanks to the non existent search features of FB… 
Yes, that’s my pic of the air saddle. It is comfy, just didn’t last long.
I’d say that the Nimbus Air Saddle is just like most other saddles, everyone is different and it will work for some but not others. Other then my noseless air saddle, any one saddle will not be comfortable for all riders.
Like Terry Peterson said in his review maybe the best thing to do is to have a few saddles and just switch them every so often. Ed Pratt reported in one video that the air saddle was great and in the very next video he said, “… My bum hurts, even with my new saddle”.
Likely my biggest concern would be the lack of durability. The photo above of the Nimbus Air Saddle after only 620 miles looks worst then my 50 year old vintage saddle.
Do you/did you use any kind of lubricant that might have affected the material?
I wonder what the difference between the cover on the air saddle is and other saddles that seem to hold up well for a long period of time (I’ve never seen one crack like that before)
Yes, I use Vaseline as a lubricant and it could have affected the material. All of my saddles eventually crack at the center of the saddle, but that is after more than 600 miles for sure.
Ahh, petroleum jelly is not going to do good things to (presumably) PVC based saddle covers.
According to this, PVC has limited resistance to Vaseline at 20C, getting worse as the temperature increases.
I’ve seen others use silicone based products as well as Chamois Butt’r for years without damage or cracking.
The air saddle cover which I have is made of a nice material and seems to be holding up quite nicely. The “pleather” looking cover on the air saddle looks cheap the way it is cracked. Nimbus is not new to making saddles and developing a saddle that allows riders to ride for long periods of time comfortably is a game changer. I’m not sure why they chose that material to cover such revelutionary product.
The air saddle cover looks bulky over my KH saddle but it sure is comfortable. I recommend it highly if you ride any distances.
Just an observation, I have several saddles of each on different Unicyclesl KH, nimbus and even a few 40 year old Schwinn saddles that have no cracks or damage other than road rash. I will note that I do not use any types of lubricant or any preservative on the cover materials.
Interesting, perhaps I will switch to a different type of lubricant. It would be nice to have my newer air saddle last longer.
