It’s great to see lots of interest in the various improvements made recently in
MUni/Trials equipment. Last Thursday a package arrived from unicyclesource for
me to upgrade my Telford. It now sports the Wilder SB1 Rail-type Seat Post
Bracket, and the new fold-over type of air pillow (20" tube inside) in the
carbon frame seat. I used the simple and inexpensive Pyramid seat post on John
Drummond’s recommendation, and may upgrade to suspension later. Installation was
easy and what a great thing to be able to adjust not only angle, but also
front-to-back position on my unicycle - just like a bike. I cut off just over 5"
of the seat post.
First test, Thursday night: I hopped and immediately the seat slipped up - make
sure you really tighten down the bolt on the post. Second test: feels bombproof.
Saturday: El Corte de Madera with Beau, Bronson Silva and David Poznanter. A
great ride, but not a good test of the new hardware since, due to David’s
influence, we spent the whole time riding the obstacles “David-style”, that is,
hands-off. Photos at http://www.movaris.com/nathan/photos.html An aside: riding
difficult terrain with no hands is fun and I think it is really good practice.
It’s possible to roll over, off and up things that you wouldn’t believe. Another
aside: look at the first photo (click on it to get the full 1MB version if you
like), and see the similarity between the David’s Hunter (right) and Bronson’s
DM Vortex prototype (left). The production Vortex ended up looking like:
http://mypage.ihost.com/unicyclesource.com//DM-Vortex26.jpg
Sunday: De LaVeaga Park with Beau, Bruce Bundy & Lloyd Tabb. Wow, the warmest
day so far in 2001 - we were hot and sweaty at the end. Beau was still into the
hands-off game, but many of the steep ups and downs required HARD pulling on the
seat, at least for me. I think I set my record for steep descent - barely in
control the whole way, wishing for a brake, pulling very hard. The verdict: not
a hint of slippage or weakness. The bracket and seat post work perfectly. It may
be a bit heavier than the setup I had before (Cane Creek Thudbuster suspension),
but not really noticeable.
Another tip: I helped David assemble a new seat for the first ride: a stock
Miyata seat, a single thickness air pillow (12" tube size), with Roach cover.
But he has taped up the handle with several layers of athletic tape. Not only
does this improve the texture (not as slippery) and hide the sickly green, but
it makes it wider and more forgiving. That handle is an anti-ergonomic design.
Having had plenty of trouble with sore finger joints using a regular Miyata
handle, his feels so much better. I didn’t have a chance to tape mine yet, but
will before the next ride.
A big thank-you to you innovators who designed a piece of my unicycle: Geoff
Faraghan (big piece), Kris Holm, Roger Davies, Scott Bridgeman and Chris Reeder.
—Nathan