I have the same concern with it causing upds, but I think if it were mounted close to the handle it might not be a problem, or there might be room to have a guard over the top. It’s just an idea I’m contemplating and there are some other issues regarding space between the handlebar as well. Like you mentioned, brakes protrude to either side and the space between the sides of the handle is tighter than you might think. That’s one of the reasons I think it may need a very long brake handle, since if you do squeeze a brake in there it doesn’t leave much room for your fingers to grasp the handle.
It would have to be mounted on some sort of adaptor as well so just the brake handle itself protrudes above the handlebar. I think that mounting it directly to the handlebar would position it way too high.
On the topic of brakes, I wonder if a brake setup allowing the rider to set/lock the brake at a certain level of engagement…could be useful. A secondary lever could then be used to increase/decrease brake pressure from the set/locked value. If the brake lived in the hub, like a coaster brake, the braking force could be modulated by the amount of forward or backward pressure on the pedals. For example, when there was excess pressure pushing forward on the pedals, that’d decrease the braking pressure, and when the back-pressure was placed on the pedals, braking pressure would increase.
I’ve thought this might be useful for freewheel, and initially thought I might be able to get a normal lever to at least allow me to get the bit point basically immediate (rather than having the free stroke that all brakes have), but without adding far too much fluid to the system with the pads already extended there’s not normally that much adjustment in any any disk brake that I know of.
I don’t think twist brakes are very smart, since it’s hard to control the twist of your wrist independent from pulling/pushing on the handle.
I just found it pretty interesting that someone else came up with that idea and executed it too.
The thumb is the most important finger when gripping something, it makes little sense to me to use it on the brake…
In my mind any brake/ handle setup needs to allow the index finger on the brake and a full grip with the rest of the hand. There are multiple options to make that happen, but if those two aren’t fulfilled I don’t see it as viable.
When you’re gripping the saddle of a unicycle however you’re generally primarily pulling up to either help climb, hop or to keep your feet planted firmly and not using your thumb in the same fashion as you would in most other activities. On a lot of saddles using your thumb isn’t even much of an option. For wielding a hammer, pulling a rope, climbing a ladder, etc… use of the thumb is critical, but I just don’t see it being so on a unicycle.
Using the forefinger to brake with would be an excellent option as well, but the current crop of saddles and bicycle brake levers don’t really lend themselves to it. I generally find myself operating the brake with my middle finger due to the length of the brake lever.
I made a brake handle extension today. It’s just 1/4” aluminum square stock that I rounded the edges on and tapered with a disc sander to fit inside the brake lever and lie a little bit more parallel with the saddle. I was going to drill and tap the extension and the brake and attach it with screws, but I decided to jury rig it temporarily with zip ties and electrical tape for testing purposes. I’m actually not bothered by the looks of it though and if it holds up I think I’ll just leave it as is. It makes the handle about 1 inch longer and allows me to operate the brake with my index finger.
Neat idea. And yea, this is totally possible. Look into motorcycle throttle tubes. The tube has slots in it for the cable ends to fit. Then as you twist the tube, the cable is pulled. They make them in plactic or aluminum. You should be able to get them in 1 inch inner diameter or 7/8 inner diameter. You should be able to make it work. Post pics!
Ok, so, here is my plan, and the parts for my homemade handlebar.
Parts:
1/2" copper tube
3/4" copper tube
2- 1/2" to 3/4" elbow to connect the copper tubes
Mad4One handlebar extension (my son gave it to me he’s not using it)
Bicycle handlebar stem
I won’t have time to assemble it today as we are soon to get guests, but I wanted to get all the parts today so I don’t have that to do. My plan is to solder all the copper pieces together to make the part that will connect to the bike handlebar stem, then jam 1/2" copper pipes into the Mad4One handlebar extender, then mount the whole thing on my Unicycle and mount my brake lever on the new handle bar. I can change the angle quite easily.
When I get a chance to make all this, I will make an update post.
I can’t seem to find my post, so maybe I did not actually post?
Anyway, here is my idea of a new handlebar build based on the following pieices:
1/2" copper pipe
3/4" copper pipe
2- 90 degree copper elbows with 3/4" on one end, and 1/2" on the other
handlebar stem, 110mm, 35degree angle for 25.4mm handlebar
Mad4One handlebar extension that my son wasn’t using
So, this is my parts and my plan. I will solder the copper bits together to make a way to mount the handlebar extension to the handlebar stem.
I won’t be able to build it now as I have company coming over right away. I will post again when I have assembled everything.
Since you are using elbows in the location that should receive the most force from a upd, that part looks strong, but where the copper meets/goes into the madforone extension, that looks to be a potential failure point. Copper tubing is not particular strong, I have a friend that made some bars entirely out of copper and that didn’t go well after about two upds. But at the end of the day it’s just a little copper tubing if all else fails so see what happens, looks like a nice setup if it ends up being strong enough. Btw, I can see both posts.
You can buy them for “tape” mounting without holes or as an Ursli bar to be mounted underneath the saddle (I have one of those).
But @dawson you may also consider drilling the holes neeed for saddle mounting. Before drilling I believe M4O puts some material (wood?) inside the end of the tubes to make sure they are solid and do not collapse when mounted.
@Hammer Ah, Ursli bar? I have know idea what that is.
As for mounting it under the saddle like I have my brake lever bar mounted now, I had considered that previously and it seems like it would be a good idea, except that:
my saddle has the acorn nuts rather than m4 or m6 hex screws, so there would not be a long enough thread to mount the bar extender
unless I bend the bar, the seatpost bolts don’t line up very well to the bar extender
But, beyond that I will have some flexibility in what angle the bar extender is mounted in the bike handlebar stem.
Maybe threaded galvanized would be a heavier but stronger choice. You can get 1/2 pipe as well as 3/4 to 1/2 Inch elbows. Wether it will fit in your saddle attachment that you have pictured I don’t know.
Thanks @Bug72 that’s not a terrible idea, but I am basically trying to stick with bits I have laying around. I do have a KH slim saddle ordered, so I might possibly be able to do like what @Hammer mentioned earlier. But at this point I want to try out my idea and see how it goes first.
I know they are pricey now but the kh touring bar is very nice. I have it on 2 of my unis. It is versatile. If you look up bar set ups on this site you will see countless variation based on this platform. In fact I’m looking for another one in the used market place myself.
When you are leaning on your bars from the front to take weight off of your butt the last thing you need is a catastrophic collapse with your face heading toward the pavement. Think twice about using sub standard materials. While I have welding skills I have yet to weld up anything associated with my unicycles. Keep in mind a low temp plumbers soft solder is completely different to a weld.
In this instance I can’t see the solder joints being an issue. At each joint there is going to be two layers of copper and some solder in between, making it stronger than just the tubing elsewhere.
Yeah, I think it should be fine. As for riding something I’ve made, not an issue. My son and I put together a unicycle from a 20" unicyle and an old bicycle fork. At first he put it together with bolts, which I then later welded (when I got a chance to borrow a FCAW machine) for more strength. Hasn’t been a problem. I had more of a problem with a cheap used unicycle that I had bought and rode One day while riding down a hill one of the forks broke right off. As for soldering, I have been soldering things since before I was a teenager and now at 57 I think my solder joining skills are up to this task. I will take it really easy, and as I am only still kind of learning how to hold onto the saddle I won’t be straining it too much. If I see an signs of joint failure, or that stuffing the copper tubes into the handle bar extender isn’t working out, I’ll probably end up getting a Mad4One handle saddle as I really like these.
Ok, I finally got time to work on this project some more, but haven’t really had a chance to ride with them. I hope to do that tomorrow when I ride to work and back.
The first one is just after I have soldered up the copper pipes and elbows and stuffed the smaller copper pipes into the handlebar extender:
It seems like the handlebar extender wants to slip off the copper pipe assembly (Coppper pipes are just stuffed into it). That could be fixed with some holes drilled and some bolts and nuts applied. Although, I have a better saddle on order from Costa Rica, so, I think I’ll wait on hole-drilling, and then make sure everything lines up correctly and probably just assemble it right onto the bottom of the saddle.
The assembly doesn’t clamp onto the seat stem as tightly as I’d like … I had to shim it up a bit with bits of old inner tube
The brake hose is kind of short, but when I cut it at first I didn’t think about leaving enough space for handlebars. Sigh. I still have some brake hose, but I am not entirely sure how to go forward with that as that brake hose has no mineral oil in it … it will be a bigger job.
Anyway, I am very pleased with how it looks overall.
Dawson
Oh, I’ll post an update on what it is like to ride with this setup.
