I’ve had a Kris Holm seat for about 6months. Recently it’s started to
develop a lot of flex and makes various creaking noises when pulled on.
I’m not a particularly abusive rider, I do mostly freestyle and a bit of
light trials.
I was wondering how common this is, so I thought I’d start this thread
to do a little informal survery. Has your KH seat become suddenly more
flexible since you bought it, and if so, how long did it take to happen?
Any other problems with the seat? Please reply even if you haven’t had
any problems (including how long you’ve not had any problems for ).
Note, I’m not criticising this product, I have found it excellent in
terms of comfort and very practical for hopping etc. I just thought
that now it’s been out for a while it would be good to get an idea of
it’s durability. If we find, for example, that a lot of people need to
replace their seat once or twice a year, that would be useful
information.
When I got my Unicycle seat (around June) the material started pulling out from the staples on one side, producing an unsightly bulge in the padding. It started out like this and got worse with wear. It did not discomfort me but seemed not to be very well constructed. The flex was there from the start. The first models of KH seats, which mine obviously was, came with no reinforcement between the seatpost bracket and the front handle, just steel against plastic. This created a lever-like action - the handle bent the plastic around the edge of the bracket, eventually weakening and snapping it. Mine snapped in less than six months, I was not particularly hard on it, but it was in someone elses hands at the time it broke, so I can’t comment on his inexperienced technique, and maybe excessive force used. I am criticising this product, the first KH seats suck as far as durability goes, but I think they have potential with a bit of modification in future models, as they are very comfortable and practical like Nick mentioned.
The creaking noises you are experiencing could be coming from the nuts loosening themselves, as many people have complained about them. Be careful not to overtighten because apparently they can spin in the holes, making them difficult to deal with. Creaking and squeeking noises are definitely annoying sounds to listen to, and loose nuts are equally as annoying.
I have an airseat, but since I had a bit of trouble with corrosion on my fasteners, I chucked my broken KH saddle back on, to test how it rides on top of the angled rails adapter. The broken KH seat totally sucks for hopping, but is ridable. I tried sidehopping up a tiny curb, maybe 12cm. The seat bent upwards, crushed my nuts, and I fell off. Not good at all. I’m going to replace my airseat fasteners, but I am not going to hurry to replace my Kris Holm seat in case I get an old one again. I’ll wait till they all get sold, then when the ones with the reinforcing plate come out I will consider getting one again, since I quite like how they feel compared to other seats.
I feel I am owed some kind of discount for a seat replacement, since I was a guinea pig given an inferior seat for testing. I don’t really care if I get nothing, I just like sitting here complaining and moaning. I am glad that other people will reap the benefits from the improvements to KH seats. It’s a pity about everyone who got a flexy first-production model, tough luck.
I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I feel quite smug… I got a KH seat when they first came out last October, and mine has been and still is fine. Very little flex, no ripping or bending where it shouldn’t, after a year of abuse.
>I should probably keep my mouth shut, but I feel quite smug… I got a
>KH seat when they first came out last October, and mine has been and
>still is fine. Very little flex, no ripping or bending where it
>shouldn’t, after a year of abuse.
Mine is as old as yours and is fine as well. I was already thinking I
don’t use it enough, or hard enough. But, wait, of course we have the
European quality version!
Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
If the crank is moving then it really sounds as if it’s loose. - onewheeldave trying to pinpoint the cause of a clicking crank
I have one of the early models on my 24x3 and my only complaint is that it feels really flexy. It’s still lasted me about 5 months so I’m happy. The one that came on my Onza is much less flexy (although I’ve had it less than a week) and I’m really liking it. BTW, Rowan, I know how you feel, that happened with my miyata handle, and it really sucks.
I’m not sure if you understand me fully, but you probably do. My seat snapped in the middle, and the handle is fine. It must suck to snap the handle off, but a handle seems easier to replace than the middle of the seat. Any parts breaking sucks. I find that if a part can break, it usually does. The only things I haven’t broken are seatposts, and profiles. I’ve cracked a lollypop frame, stuffed my bearings underwater, bent cranks, snapped an axle twice, stuffed up some pedals, tacoed a rim beyond repair, broken the seat. The list goes on, I can’t even think of all the little things that have gone wrong. I’m glad I don’t own a car, because they have so many more moving parts to go haywire. I don’t consider myself to be particularly hard on equipment either, I think a lot of parts are made cheaply and are not intended for real-life use.
Mine is a bit loose but only because I’m too scared of over tightening it and spinning the bolts. New unicycle syndrome…you know how it is. How easily do they spin though? I love the seat.
Not yet, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. The big challenge is volume- it’s quite expensive to develop a seat (over $30,000 for the current model) and by making more than one model you essentially cut your volume in half on each, while doubling product development costs. As unicycling gets bigger as a sport, it should hopefully be possible to make more than one model, but we’re not quite there yet.
For those of you with early models of the seat, please realize that all of you are pioneers in the early development of a new sport. Equipment is already a thousand times better than it was even 4 years ago, but please be patient- development of specialty products is difficult and takes time.
So that said, what would people like to see in a freestyle seat, besides no handle?
Do you think something could be done within the scope of the existing shape of seat frame? Most parts of the seat are not too difficult to change except for the actual frame of the seat, which would be very expensive to change. Or do you think the seat frame would need to be flatter like the Miyata shape for freestyle?
Also, would anyone have any complaints if the weight of the seat was increased slightly.
The Fall 2003/2004 model (available soon) are slightly heavier because the plate reinforcement is thicker and stronger. The Fall 2004/2005 model will be slightly heavier still because the seatcover fabric will be thicker and tougher. My feeling is to make sure it’s strong enough and not worry too much about the weight, and produce an (expensive!) replacement carbonfibre seat base for people worried about weight. That said, I’d appreciate feedback if you want to give it.
well the seat is already a tank but you got to do what you got to do i guess.
like you,i use a CF plate and air for my high end uni anyway so for mid and lower range unicycles i think your seat is good,even for a high end uni your seat is good,just heavy.
any chance we are ever going to see some color options with the handle an bumper?
One of the main things I’d like see change would be to not have the cover stapled on. My seat frame itself is in great condition. I haven’t had any problems with it bending or cracking (and I try to be hard on it, but I’m a light guy). The front bumper is scuffed and I lost one of the nuts, while the cap fell off a few of the other ones.
These are all minor things. But the cover is starting to get holes in it, and the front righthand side is bunching up. And if there is the problem with the spinning bolts, I’d like to be able to get to that spot without performing any major surgeries. And it would be nice to be able to put in an airseat if desired. Almost all of these should be fixable if the cover wasn’t stapled and glued on.
Originally posted by danger_uni
Also, would anyone have any complaints if the weight of the seat was increased slightly.
well the seat is already a tank but you got to do what you got to do i guess.
like you,i use a CF plate and air for my high end uni anyway so for mid and lower range unicycles i think your seat is good,even for a high end uni your seat is good,just heavy.
any chance we are ever going to see some color options with the handle an bumper?
I was just curious to see if you prefer the KH saddle to a Miyata air-seat conversion.
I bought a KH 20 trials uni about 6 months ago, and thought that the KH saddle was a bit too firm for my liking (some people say its “a girl thing”), so I replaced it with a Miyata air-seat conversion. I then replaced this with a modified Miyata saddle with high-density foam padding, which I have to say I like the best.
About the KH seat:
I would like to see it converted to an air-seat model.
There is a bit too much flex in the front handle for my taste.
Overall, it is a “high quality” seat. Good job in designing it, Kris!! I know I, for one, really appreciate the fact that you can buy a nice seat all in one package, rather than having to purchase a seat, an air pillow, and a seat cover. Although you can buy the Miyata air-seats already converted, they add up to a lot more $$ than just getting a Kris Holm saddle.
I agree with Paco, I’d like to see the staples replaced. Mine have been pulling through, and I’d like to be able to convert it to an air seat. You could also compensate for a heavier seat base by replacing the foam with a 16" innertube, which would be comfier and lighter. Also, it seems as if the seat base is a bit too steep in front to be a good freestyle saddle. I understand that’d be basically impossible to fix, though. Finally, you might want to consider selling a KH seatpost which had a little aluminum or steel bar that ran from the seatpost bolts to the handle bolts, thereby eliminating the flex. My 2 cents (again). Oh yeah, I prefer the KH to a miyata air seat.
P.S. I think it’s kinda pointless to try to compete with Miyata in the freestyle market, because they basically have total dominance from what I’ve seen, and also, they’ve got a huge jump in product development on you. I mean, who hears Dustin Kelm or any incredible freestylists complaining about how their handles are cracking or their snapped seat bases? Wheelwalking doesn’t break saddles, and I’ve never heard of a freestyle performance with more than 12" hops and more than a 2’ drop. I’d reccomend improving the trials/muni saddle to perfection first. Finally, (and most importantly) happy wedding to Shannon and Kris!
).
