I have started riding my 36er more often and further, finding that the seat is making the insides of my legs sore, not from rubbing, more like tendons (hamstring).
On my 36er I run a KH Freeride, 165’s
I ride my muni far more than the 36er, never have these pains, but then I’m not on the saddle as long or as much.
On my muni I have a carbon fiber base from UDC, 165’s
So, is the problem in the wider KH seat?
If so, is there an easy fix?
I have both seats set up at the same angle. The 36er is set higher since I don’t need to be out of the saddle as much.
I use Viscount. It’s heavy - but it’s narrow and contoured perfectly for me. I’ve ridden wider saddles in the past and when KH channeled ‘touring’ saddles became available I bought one which I rode for a while (a few hundred miles) reasoning that lighter was better. But I could not adjust. Viscount may have a bad rap in some circles but in others, it is the prince of saddles.
Newer KH seats (2009 and later I think) were made larger. The carbon base is modelled on the old shape.
What you need is a breadknife. I have chopped off about 2/3 of the foam from a KH seat and it is much more comfortable for long road rides. The wad of foam tends to chafe, and you only need a little padding (like a bike seat) under your sit-bones. Mine is down to about 5mm thick at the front, 15mm through the middle and maybe 10mm at the wider rear part.
I made it narrower too by removing the foam that wraps down around the sides in the middle of the saddle. There is no need to pad that vertical surface.
See page three. Lots of pices of my chopped and narrowed 2008 KH freeride saddle. I use this for distance rides as well as daily commuting and love it: Super comfortable Saddles?
If you use a touring handle, wouldn’t a bike seat be worth a try? (although you’d have to use a rail seatpost and your handle would have to be attached differently). It seems like that’s pretty much what Brycer ended up with after all his mods.
Rob
EDIT: It’s weird - I personally don’t get a lot of problem with chafing on unicycle saddles (mine are various KH Freeride of different ages at the moment), even though I don’t use a handlebar (although I do suffer from numb crotch if I don’t stand up for a bit every half an hour or so). I rarely ride more than 25 miles on a unicycle though, and I’ve never done more than 60 in a day, so perhaps I’m just not going far enough. I do find bikes much more comfortable though, so perhaps there’s something in using a bike seat and handlebar on a road unicycle (I know a few people already do).
I’ve been cutting down my seat for years but I did notice the slightly wider seatbase. It’s probably not a bad tradeoff if it allows you to use the KH bar though.
My favourite seat at the moment is the Impact Naomi- it’s like the difference between riding a bike seat vs a horse saddle on the tour de france. Unfortunately you can’t use a KH bar with it Good news is that I hear there is an even slimmer lower profile seat coming out by KH next year, and it should even take the KH handle.
I modded my Freeride seat foam as well. A sharp bread knife and some 60 grit sandpaper is all you need. I even cut about 1/2 the foam off and added a different kind of foam and just left the channel out. I did the same thing a few months later when I decide the foam I added was too soft. Then I skimmed about 1/2" and added a layer of Mincell foam. Each time I contoured the foam a little more to my liking . Now it’s perfect for me.
I ran into bad chaffing on 30+ mile rides. I have since resorted to bike seats. You’re not going to be comfortable on a traditional road saddle as that you won’t be leaning forward too much, and instead of straddling the nose of the saddle, (as you would on a bicycle) you will instead be sitting right on top of it. My 1st try was a Bontrager Earl saddle. It was intended for more along the lines of freeriding or all mountain use and so it used a wider nose. Your best alternative would be triathlon saddle of some sort, as that they use much wider noses. The rear area for the sit bones are typically narrower than what is found on a freeride saddle. I have been using a Brooks B-17 leather saddle as of a few months, and I love it. It uses a tension system rather than a padded base, so you’re always in a soft spot no matter where you sit. Almost like a hammock.
I like Viscount to! Except that they are not very durable
But if it comes to comfort… they are excellent.
And guess why race-cyclists always prefered and still prefer a tuff and narrow saddle, over too a soft and suspended seat…
And talking about too much contact… that new K3 seat with “30mm centre cutaway to reduce pressure in critical areas” am I the only one who think it’s stupid nonsense causing presure at the wrong place…?
I guess you could fill that up yourself if desired?
Chaffing isn’t the problem, I ride in bike shorts, use hyperglide, and manscape as needed.
The problem seems to be where the seat puts pressure on the inside of my legs at the crotch. I am going to trim back the seat foam at the edge, round it out some, but down the seat sides there is no foam to speak of.
A narrower seat would make sense since you don’t need that much support in front of the jewels
At this point I don’t want to give up the KH Touring Handle, I like it
