Hmmm…Unicyclist.com seems to be down at the moment so have to post
through Google.
We have one of the China Syndrome Miyata saddles which recently began
to develop the common crack in the handle. After studying the handle
for how it is stressed to the fracture point, my boys and I came up
with a very crude but surprisingly workable fix. I’ve posted a
picture at http://photos.yahoo.com/yoopers98 in an album called
“Miyata”. We’re not sure how long the fix will last but so far it is
quite rigid.
When drilling the holes, we had to take care not to hit the small
metal retaining clips under the handle. We also used lock nuts and
did not crank down too hard on the nuts knowing that there should be
very minimal lateral force on the screws. Other than that, it was
very simple. The crack in the handle is still visible but has been
taken out of the picture as far as usage of the handle goes.
Hopefully this will help generate some other ideas. Let me know your
thoughts.
Oooo, that’s a mighty fine idea… I hacked the handle off one of my seats the other day. I figured I use my first seat by just holding on to the handle-less front, so I can do the same with this one. Bolting the thing down is definitely something to try with the muni, though, which has just started showing signs of cracking…
Nice idea, some of my handles are completely bust to even blot it on! i got a Wilder lift handle and that seems to be doing the job for now, im having to use gloves cos the handle cuts my hands to pieces, oh well
Ok, I really like this, and I’ll probably do it to my new Miyata saddle as a preventative measure. Again, great ingenuity.
When I saw the pic, there was something in the back of my mind that bothered me, and now I know what it is. You drilled straight through the handle, seat cover, plastic base, and other side of the handle - simple, easy. How does this end up effecting the seat cover? I know some fabrics unravel pretty easy when you cut them and I’m wondering what drilling through will do to the Miyata cover…to the Roach cover…the the Gemcrest leather cover.
What if you drilled the hole, then took it all apart again and installed a gromet in the cover or sealed it up by sewing it up or even super gluing the frayed edges?
Thanks again, Bruce. I can’t wait to crack into my next Miyata saddle.
Looks fantastic to me, too. My nephews and I will give it a go. We’ll probably use stainless steel hardware, add flat washers on each side to help distribute the stress, and make use of blue or red locktite instead of lock washers. Thanks for the great idea, Bruce!
as for the fraying ends, try using a soldering iron to melt through the fabric or maybe just a nail heated with a torch. the heat should just fuse the ends together and hold it firmly. this should work with any synthetic material. another benefit is that it wont catch on the drill bit and rip the cover( assuming that you pulled the cover back before drilling which should be done) if anyone trys this, please let me know how it works. good luck
The standard Miyata cover is vinyl so I don’t believe we’ll have much problem with fraying ends (I’m at work right now but I believe it’s vinyl). My concern is the amount of material above the hole in the black plastic base (as the saddle sits upside down in the picture) . I tried to drill the hole low enough to leave a good amount of plastic for strength yet high enough to get as far away from the handle’s pivot axis as possible. Be sure not to drill too high. Again, as Nick mentioned, only time will tell how the plastics will hold up against the shear of the screw.
