I’m turning pages in Part 3 of Lars Clausen’s book, “One Wheel–Many
Spokes.” An enjoyable book, I think, and recommended reading for the
Coker-owners and/or touring types. Gosh, I’m inspired to crank-out
some longer distances on my unicycle. (I’ve pedaled just over 50
miles over the last two weeks on my new Coker. Thanks, Martin!)
Anyway, I’m writing to learn a bit more about the strange saddle and
handlebar arrangement Lars used on his 9,134 mile trip. I’ve seen the
photos in the book and on his website (www.onewheel.com), but these
are not helpful. Can anyone out there (John Childs, Lars Clausen?)
provide more information about his saddle-n-bars? A couple of
up-close photos would be wonderful. (And, gosh, it sounds like he was
bustin’ an inner tube 'bout every 100 miles on that air saddle. Is
that typical for air saddles? I gotta get past that 30-minute time
limit on my KH saddles, and so I’m now in-the-market for the air
saddle and handlebar conversion.) Thanks! --carl (North Dakota)
Lars did say that he gets lots of flats in his air seat. His air seat is a bit unconventional. The tube is inflated a lot and there is not a lot there to keep the tube from rubbing. Air seat flats are often caused by the tube rubbing. The constant rubbing makes a weak spot in the tube. Lars’ air seat is just slapped right on top of a standard Viscount seat. I’m not sure what he’s using for the seat cover to hold the tube. I’ve had two flats in my various air seats. One was on my muni and the other was on my Coker. Both appeared to be because of the tube rubbing.
The handlebar setup is also a bit unconventional. It makes mounting a bit challenging. You cannot do a rolling mount. You first have to step inside the handlebars and then do a static mount. Not easy with short cranks. It also wouldn’t be easy to mount on even a slight uphill.
Experimenting with a handlebar setup like Lars’ wouldn’t be too difficult make. A MTB stem, a suitable handlebar from a children’s bike, and possibly some shims is all you’d need. Not having tried a setup like that I can’t say how well it works.
Lars’ setup works for him and that’s what matters.
About air seats, Matt Herbert has a kite buggy inner tube in his viscount air conversion and says that it’s much more stable and less wobbly than the 12" inner tubes that many people use. It’s about the right size, but a fat small wheel tube rather than a thin tube. Unlikely to get broken too, thicker than a kids bike tube.
I don’t think most airseats get flats that often though. I can only remember one ride I’ve been on where an airseat has flatted.
About riding a long distance, the big thing (that you’re obviously doing) is riding a lot. That’s what makes the big difference to seat comfort. Even on a standard saddle, the 30 minutes can go up to more like 2.5 hours between breaks if you’re doing a lot of riding. I ride a 40-50 minute non-stop commute twice a day and feel fine at the end of it now (on a standard kh saddle).
I got to meet him a couple weeks ago, and was pretty impressed about the setup he rode over 9k miles on. I’m pretty sure I’d hurt myself trying to mount his unicycle.
Lars has 125’s. I think this is what he used for pretty much the whole ride.
It should also be noted that he used a stock frame and stock wheel. So for everybody who wants to jump right into an upgraded coker, take note about what can be done on a standard.
I was looking at some of the Lars-cycle photos. Yes, it looks like a large piece of foam over a Viscount seat, with fabric over the top of that. Not sure where the air part fits in, but like John C. said, if he kept getting flats it was probably because something was rubbing or pinching. I have way less than 9000 miles on my three air seats (or 1000), but all of them are on the original tubes. I think the key thing to do is make sure the tube will not be pinched or otherwise compromised when you ride on it. It’s possible Lars even had a rough edge somewhere in there that he couldn’t detect, that was causing all the flats.
His handlebar system is interesting. I can imagine a very stable ride, once you get used to having your hands on those bars. You can lift your butt right off the seat, and the hands-down position is probably very stable. It’s not very aerodynamic, but at country-crossing speeds aero is probably a relatively minor thing. Except in a headwind.
I was surprised to see how his whole rack and handlebar system was attached to the seatpost by what appears to be a single, basic weld. Looks like a weak spot there, hope he didn’t have problems with breakage on his rides (haven’t read the book yet).
It’s easy to look at the cycle now and see ways to improve it. I don’t know if Lars started out with such a setup, or it was developed over the course of much riding. It should be easy to take a couple of pounds of excess metal off his setup without changing any of the ergonomics. The Viscount seat base could be replaced by a lighter one, and the handlebar setup could be done with a lot less tubing. Upgrading to the Airfoil rim would also probably save a pound or so. But by using the stock wheel, Lars has shown the world just what a plain Coker can do.
Not having tried side-handles myself, I’m comfortable with my own handle setup. For longer rides, I think I’d want something to rest my elbows on while keeping my hands in front of me, like a triathlon bike setup. This would allow me to lever my butt off the seat as desired to reduce saddle weight, and be more aerodynamic. I don’t know if I’d get a sore neck (like other ultramarathon cyclists have) or have other problems. The triathlon position is also what Christian Hoverath used on the European Unicycle Tour.
John-n-Joe-- Thanks for the responses to my inquiry. John, thanks for
the pointing me in the direction of more photos of Lars’s Coker.
Thanks too for pointing out the limitations for mounting a Coker with
a rear-mounted handlebar–hadn’t thought about that! Yet, my sense is
that Lars may have benefitted from the unique arrangement under
certain circumstances (e.g., pedalin’ the steeply-banked, wriggly
coastal highway in Oregon). My sense is that the hand positions
afforded by the handlebar might also be helpful when navigating
against a strong crosswind. I’m thinking here that the leverage might
be a bit better than one might get with either a GB4 or Reeder handle.
Joe, Thanks for the encouragement to keep pedalin’ longer distances.
I’ll resume the efforts, no doubt, at least until the snow begins to
fall. The smaller innertube notion (from a kite buggy) sounds
intriguing. I’ll have to look into that option. Right now I’m a
little hesitant to rip open the KH saddle to mess about with the
innards. I’m going to consult with an upholster-type person to get
the nod before pulling out those staples.
Does anyone have a pattern for a roach saddle? I’ve a swell hunk of
leather that I’d like to massage into a cover for the KH air saddle.
Thanks! --carl
I can add a few things about Lars’ Coker. Of course, he can
provide the complete details about it. He should
be crossing the Mexican border Friday, Aug. 20 on his trip from the
Pacific
Northwest. My boy and I had the pleasure of riding with him a bit
here in Santa Monica. The Coker was a stock Coker with a welded-on
portion of a bike frame and handle bars to the rear of the seatpost.
The rear position accounts for his wonderfully straight riding
position. He rode my Coker around a bit and said that he missed his
handlebars. He wheeled it around in tight circles. He showed us how
he freemounts his Coker (as he has done thousands of times across the
country). He lays the Coker back and steps through the bars. Then
right foot up on the pedal, right hand holding the saddle. Then a
mighty swing of the left arm, stepping up onto the Coker (“just
straighten the leg”), releasing the right hand to balance, and
pedaling off. The hands are always on the bars which he says makes
steering and climbing easier. He was most interested to see if the
tire would make it to Mexico. Threads showing. It’ll either make it
or blow. If it makes it, he says he’ll send it to Coker. Lars is
another very interesting and friendly uni rider like many of the
contributors to this group.
All the best. We cranked the new 5 foot Torker together last night
and my kid rode it up the block, around a couple circles and back into
the driveway. Good boy. I fell onto the washer/dryer while trying to
climb it in the garage and have a sizable posterior bruise. Ah, the
difference 50 years makes. But I ain’t givin’ up.
After wrapping-up his 1,800 mile uni/book tour, the riding portion
which I understand will end in Mexico, Lars Clausen will fly to the
midwest. Details follow:
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
Thursday, August 26th, 7:30 p.m.
St. Martin’s Table Book Presentation
2001 Riverside Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454 • (612) 339-3920
I’d love to zip down to The Cities to see him, but the nearly 600-mile
round trip would be too cumbersome to pull-off on a week night.
–carl
“Beyond a certain point there is no return. This point has to be
reached.” --Franz Kafka
The smaller innertube notion (from a kite buggy) sounds