When I started unicycling, I found road camber and side wind very annoying. They both made me my sit in my saddle in a somewhat twisted way. When there was side wind AND road camber, they could either amplify the effect or cancel it.
One day I thought I finally got it and could sit straight despite camber. Then on a camberless stretch I found I sat twisted and realized the saddle was not straight. This means saddle direction could also cancel camber and side wind effects.
Would it be a useful idea to find a way to fasten the saddle to a contraption that could be used to slightly change the saddle angle? I tried to sketch my idea (far from realizable).
Gray is for the part attached to the seat post, blue ist the saddle with three notches for positioning the lever and red are the movable parts connecting saddle to seat post. I know this is not a very strong connection between rider and unicycle, but you get the idea, I bet. Feel free to modify it and send me one (fitting a KH27,5) when you built it.
This is a really interesting idea. It’s a problem that has plagued most riders. I like all of it except the part I quoted. Build it yourself, test it, and report it.
I have a KH adjustable post on my road unicycle, and it’s semi-broken - the pin that holds the top part into the rest of the post has sheared off, and it lets the seat spin a little to the left and right. But so far it hasn’t fallen apart completely, so I ride it like that.
It does seem to help a little with camber if I ride with the seat turned. And having it free to turn isn’t really a problem; it stays wherever my riding position puts it naturally. I don’t notice that there’s anything going on if I’m riding straight ahead.
Anyway, I’d say it’s worth trying based on my experience. And I wouldn’t worry about locking it into position; some free “float” is all you need.
edit - or maybe the top part has come unglued from the base, but the pin is still holding it in place? I’m not sure exactly what broke.
I’ve dreamt up such a device myself, only you took it a step further and put it to paper! I’ve only once came across a road shoulder that was unbearable to ride because of camber.
This will definitely work!
Not as elegant a solution, but this is my “invention” of choice for that situation (below). Not practical to do while riding, but adds a lot less weight to the unicycle.
I have that exact tool; carry it with me on all rides of any length. It’s super handy for most unicycles without being bogged down by sizes I don’t need. Correction: mine has a philips head instead of the T25…
When I ride, I have to twist my body away from the middle of the road, so I guess I‘d have to compensate by turning the saddle in that direction. I can‘t remember how it was with the wind, but I think I also turned towards it.
At the moment I can‘t reconstruct which direction the saddle had accidentally been turned, but it compensated being left of the road crown.
I‘ll have to test this with the Foss method.
Yes. It worked well in Ride the Lobster. I originally did it to race on a 200 meter indoor track at one of my early unicycle competitions (1981 National Unicycle Meet). The track is almost all curve, with only a little bit of straight on each side. It definitely made a difference for that!
Riding my main ride a 26 with no handlebars, on my regular run, there are sections with camber. As already mentioned, the effect of the camber varies with tyres, wheels size, pressure etc…
What works for me, is assuming a camber is going down to my left, I place my right arm at right angles & close to my chest, hand flat (thumb on top, fingers together) Hmm…easier to do than describe!
Obviously, if camber is going down to the right, do the same with your left arm.
Looks like that would change the center of gravity to the left (Nasher’s left in the photo) and that should have the same effect as leaning to the left. Maybe this would be easier then long term leaning to the left.
