Some people like the Reeder handle and others don’t. If you happen to find the Reeder handle works well for you then it’s worth it. If you happen to find the Reeder handle doesn’t work for you then it was a waste.
I tried a Reeder handle and didn’t like it. Others have the Reeder handle and love it. Here’s a good thread on the Reeder handle: Reeder handle orientation.
One other thing I didn’t like about the Reeder handle is how it would hurt the crotch if I messed up on a jump and ended up landing on the nose of the saddle right on the Reeder handle. Ouch! I’ve had missed jumps like that with the Kinport handle and with the Miyata handle and was unhurt. I think I’d have seriously lost a nut if I had the Reeder handle.
The good news is that if you drill out the CF base to fit the Reeder handle and then if you decide that you would rather have the Kinport handle there is no problem. The CF base can handle the extra holes. My muni saddle has holes drilled for both the Reeder and the Kinport/Miyata handles. Other than the CF base ending up with a few extra holes (like Swiss cheese), it’s not a problem. The CF base is plenty strong.
The “Reeder handle orientation” thread also has pictures of my Kinport handle setup. I’ve modified my Kinport handle with a bit of vinyl tubing and tape to make it more comfortable on the fingers. The Kinport handle works great for me. It’s stiff enough. I can pull on it or push down on it. I give it two thumbs up.
If you go with the Kinport handle I would suggest also getting the front handle reinforcement plate. That little plate fits in the Kinport handle and takes the place of washers. It prevents the bolts and nuts from pulling through the plastic. The picture in the “Reeder handle orientation” thread of the underside of my handle shows just small little washers. Those little washers proved to be inadequate for keeping the bolts from pulling through the plastic. I now have the little reinforcement plate in there and no more problems with the nuts pulling through.
Be sure to check out my airseat gallery for some details on how I construct my muni air seats.
A little vinyl tubing on the edge of the carbon fiber base will give you a nice hand hold for seat in front jumping. My airseat gallery shows the details. Another possible option would be the plastic U shaped channels used to protect the underside edge of a car door from getting scratched up on a curb. I haven’t personally tried the car door protector plastic bit, but it should work.
It’s easy enough to drill the CF base yourself. Unicycle.com charges quite a premium for assembling the seat. I also trust my drilling and assembly better than theirs.
It’s very easy to drill the carbon fiber seat base. A hand drill is all you need. I actually use an old hand cranked drill. The big problem with drilling the holes yourself is making sure you drill them in the right place. Measure twice, drill once. I put masking tape on the bottom of the CF base so I could mark the holes. I also marked a center line so I could make sure the seat bracket and handle stayed centered.
I used 1/4 inch carriage bolts in the seat. Drill the holes undersized (smaller than the bolt) and then use a small file to make the holes square to fit the shoulders of the carriage bolt. The hardest part of the process is filing the holes square. It’s hard to make sure things come out square with the file. Fortunately looks don’t matter. It only matters that the holes are square enough so that the carriage bolts don’t spin. The other hard part is making sure the holes for the seat post bracket and handle stay centered so the seat isn’t out of whack once it gets assembled. Measure twice before drilling and make sure you don’t get things out of kilter when filing the holes square for the carriage bolts.
Go to a specialty fastener shop to get the carriage bolts. They’ll have carriage bolts in more lengths. You can get 1/4 inch carriage bolts in 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch lengths. You can buy a bunch in both sizes and decide later which size works best. I can’t remember what size I used in my seat.
For the seatpost bracket drill the two rear holes first. Square the holes with the file. Insert the carriage bolts and secure the seatpost bracket. Now mark and drill the two front holes. This process will you make sure that the holes all end up in the right place.
I tried the high volume leather cover and found it to have too much room for the style of airseat that I make. I find the standard fabric KH/Roach seat cover to be just the right size.
It really is easy. I just takes time to do the measuring, measuring, drilling, filing, and other bits.