I have a question about riding comfort as I sit here in pain after a unicycling sesion last night. I have an old 24" Schwinn, and now a torker giraffe. The Schwinn is really uncomfortable to ride on for more than 30 minutes or so, and the Torker is slightly more comfortable, but I have not ridden it for 30 minutes without dismounting…
anyway, I am wondering if there really are seats out there that are not painful for riding long distances and/or doing trials stuff.
Are the endurance M’uni riders out there comfortable, and could someone recommend a non-crotch-killing seat that doesn’t cost a fortune (<$100) ? (Am I too cheap?).
By the way, do people generally wear some sort of crotch protection such as a strap or supportive biking pants, etc… while riding?
Even when I ride every day for weeks, I still have to do major adjusting once I mount to get comfortable. Freemounting is ok from a standstill, but how do you do a suicide or rolling mount and maintain your…
“Testacles still intact” ~ My mom’s reaction after watching me do a
suicide mount.
>I had the same problem with my crotch but after a while I just >got used
>to it. Give it a month at most, and you’ll be fine.
If you are still having problems after a while, try using an air seat. I don’t have one because I don’t think I need one. There are lots of people here who use them and can give you tips on how to make them.
if you really want to get comfortable get a good seat, get some professional bike pants (then you only have to adjust yourself once) face the issue on more then one frount and it will be solved. i rekon the miyata seats are pretty good, for what your doing the kh seat is most likely better, with a seat and bike pants it might cost you over 100 usd but “some things” are worth protecting
Air saddle conversions are the way to go. They are unbelieveably comfortable for long rides. You can do a search for some posts showing a couple of different styles that I made. If I have time later, I’ll try to post a link to some of those old threads
I’m a bit confused. When i first read this thread I thought it was talking about chafing in the inner thighs. I didn’t know it was about protecting yourself. My only tip for that is when you get on push the seat back and then pull it forward. That puts “it” up front, not underneath.
Tomshank,
Thats partly why its called a suicide mount. You just do it and hope for the best.
I always wear snug fitting cycling shorts when I ride. They keep the dangly bits from getting sat on and they minimize chafing. I usually wear the cycling shorts under a loose fitting outer short.
Find a good pair of padded cycling shorts. They make riding much more comfortable. Cycling shorts are designed to be worn next to the skin. You don’t wear underwear under them.
Many of the new padded cycling shorts have a pad with ridges and channels or even a smooth corduroy like pattern on the pad. Those fancy new style pads don’t work well for unicycling. They work well for bikes, but on a unicycle they cause chafing. Look for a pair of shorts with a smooth pad with no ridges.
i have a new torker lx and i think the seat is fairly comfy. i was looking at the kh seats…it looks to me that the pad is a bit bigger on the kh seat than on the torker…is that the only difference between them as far as comfort goes?
i was also thinking about an air seat conversion for my torker seat but i think they are kinda spendy…most if my riding is going to be Muni so i think it could be a good envestment.
what do you recomend a kh seat or a air seat conversion for my torker?
KH seats suck,
ive gone through 6 this year because they just fall apart. Plus they suck for seat out hopping ( very uncomphortable) . I got a viscount with a reeder handle and put on air seat conversion on it. Works awesome cause i can use it on my 20 and 24 for trials and Muni.
IMHO this is an absolute must, especially for rides of more than 30 minutes. Start with this. The only time I don’t wear cycle shorts is for rides of less than 5 minutes. The torker seat, at least, will be fine. I can’t speak for the Schwinn. Don’t know.
Also, I cannot ride the giraffe for as long as other unis. I think I sit heavier in the saddle and don’t resituate much. That thing can get away from me quick. However, we regularly ride multi-hours on MUni and 29er (KH seat on each). But I always wear the padded cycle girdle.
The first thing to keep in mind is that seat comfort is a very personal thing. It’s not only about what fits your crotch the best, which is not the same for all of us, but what’s most comfortable to you for the type of riding you do. This will be very different between a freestyler, a Trials rider, and a guy who cranks out 20+ miles with little or no stopping.
What that means is that your mileage may vary. For each major brand of seat out there (not necessarily counting the cheap ones), there is someone who thinks it’s the most comfortable.
That said, the general consensus of this board is that air seats are the most comfortable. That could be air on a Miyata base or other type, though I think the Miyata-based ones are the most common.
But air seats are either pricey to buy, or a bit of work to make. I’ve made some and it’s pretty easy, but you do have to dismantle the entire seat and be willing to experiment a little.
If you don’t want to do any work, I think the consensus of this board is also that the most comfortable non-air seat you can buy is the KH. Nice and kushy! I use both. I believe my air seat was the more comfortable one on the 24 Hours of Adrenaline ride I did this weekend. I used two different cycles, one with a brand new KH seat and the other with a carbon-based air seat with Roach cover. The air was better but both were fine. I rode the 10 mile loop three times.
Depending how old your Schwinn is, the foam inside the vinyl cover may have deteriorated. Our old ones used to turn to powder eventually. That may contribute to the problems with that seat.
