Up until recently, I thought handles were for hopping, and…to make it look pretty . But two days ago, while riding on my 29er, I was getting a bit sore, so I put my palm on the KH handle, and put some weight on it, WOW. So is that why a lot of long distance Coker’ers have handles, to take some weight off the seat?
Another thing, there is this 60km trail I am planning to tackle this summer, it doesnt look very technical, but it is in the bush. My question is, would handles improve my stability over the rough terrain, and also is 60km to far for a 29, like I am planning to camp.
So now I am planning to put some handles on my 29, I have an idea of what it is going to look like, so once I make up a design I will bounce it off you guys.
Here is where I found a lot of design types, if anyone has any more to contribute, designs, tips, etc, I would greatly appreiciate it.
I think the biggest reason a lot of distance unicycles have handles is because they come with KH or Miyata’s which have handles on them already. I wouldn’t advise putting tooo much pressure on the handle, doing that for a long long time can wear it out and possibly break it. unlikely, but possible.
and holding the handle gives SOO much more stability riding over rough terrain. a lot of the time riding over rough terrain I don’t actually sit on the seat, I stand on the pedals and hold the seat so it won’t fall out and that stuff. so yes.
The handles help to let you get a little weight off the seat. They also help you to control the unicycle.
The handles are also helpful for climbing or descending. But the fancy touring handles are less helpful for climbing than having a good handle right on the nose of the seat. A good KH, Miyata, or Kinport style handle right on the front of the seat is the best handle for climbing. The further out from the front of the seat a handle gets the less useful it is for climbing.
The fancy touring handles are most useful on the flats and gentle hills. For steeper hills a good handle mounted directly to the nose of the saddle works better.
ohhh, those handles!! well, those I think ARE to take weight off the seat, and just get in a more comfortable position. even though I don’t think it looks that comfortable… anyway.
I doubt those kinds of handles would help with stability though, the standard front of seat handle would be better for that.
The description of the parts necessary to build that handle are in my Miscellaneous Stuff gallery. Click on the links in the text descriptions to read the threads about it.
You’ll note that I’ve got a plastic Kinport handle on the front of the saddle. I use the Kinport handle for climbing and descending and also during some regular riding. The handle extension gives me an alternative hand position that is more comfortable when I’m just cruising along. Having some alternative hand positions helps to keep your arm from getting cramped or sore from holding a handle in one position for many hours. I’ve got a carbon fiber seat base so there is no flex in the seat when using the Kinport handle.
I tried a GB4 handle and I didn’t like that hand position for climbing, although it was a comfortable hand position for cruising. I opted for my design so I’d have an optimal hand position for things like climbing, muni, and descending. I have the extended hand position for when I’m cruising on the flats or gentle hills. That gives me the best of both worlds.
I take the front handle extension off when I take the Coker out for a muni style ride. That long extension just gets in the way for muni and could actually be a bit dangerous. That’s another reason why I opted for the modular approach
. But two days ago, while riding on my 29er, I was getting a bit sore, so I put my palm on the KH handle, and put some weight on it, WOW. So is that why a lot of long distance Coker’ers have handles, to take some weight off the seat?