I find that doing MUni is really sort of schizophrenic.
First you ride up and down long hills for 40 minutes, or until you puke, whichever comes first. For this part, I need the seat very high, because I’m not strong enough to stand all the time, or to crank up hills sitting down low.
Then you find some rocks and trees to hop on for 15-20 minutes. For this, I need to drop the seat quite a bit for optimal efficiency.
Then you ride for 40 more minutes. Then more jumping, dropping, or whatever for 20 minutes. And on and on.
I ride a KH24, and it has a pretty beefy seat adjustment mechanism, not much less significant then the vice I keep in the basement, what with the two hex screws and all.
My question is, do many trail and trial riders use a quick release for the seat post? Are there good enough products? Are they trustworthy and safe for jumping and dropping? Crashing?
It would certainly make the transitions easier if I could change the seat height without all the fanfare.
I just carry an allen wrench in my pack… I’ve got the Odyssey seat clamp: one bolt, plenty grippy, never had a problem! I do agree it is crucial to raise the seat for the longer climbs, but I couldn’t imagine putting a quick release underneath me… who knows what it could snag? I don’t want to find out
I have always used a Salsa Fliplock quick release. I have no problem at all with the seat moving, and I can’t imagine not having the convenience of being able to adjust the seat quickly, even if just for that person you meet on the trail that wants to give the uni a try.
How well a quick release holds has a large amount to do with the quality of the QR, but also can be affected by the frame and seatpost compbination. I have an aluminum frame and Thomson seatpost, which I think is an easy combo to keep snug. A steel frame and chrome seatpost is probably the worst combination.
I think you will have good luck with the Salsa. If you get one, keep a dab of grease or antisieze on the cam surfaces, and keep mud cleaned out of it. Operating it with grit in it can wear out the cams, and decrease it’s holding power.
I’ve always used a QR. I’ve got a cheap one and it works fine, never gone wrong.
Double bolt clamps are obviously very reliable and tight, but it’s just so much hassle to let people have a go on the uni. Also I sometimes swap posts between unis and having a QR is really handy.
I’ve never used anything but quick-releases from Bedford on my commuter and street/trials unis, and i can’t complain about them. Sometimes when you bail and the handle of the saddle hits the ground, the saddle gets twisted to the side, but straightening it takes 2 seconds.
I have a double hex thing on my trials unicycle, i’m not sure if I would trust a flip release one when jumping for tall heights. I used to have one when I was learning (on a skinny freestyle uni) and that got twisted and stuff now and again… so I’m afraid to try the fliplock thing (plus it’s about £14 / $24 + delivery).
i currently have a quick release and although its easy to use, i absolutely hate it. but that is pretty much because of the kind of quick release it is. http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=249, its simmilar to that one, except it will fit on any unicycle. dont buy anything with that kind of arm thing, because its extremely dangerous. i was riding one footed for a while then that arm caught in my shoe and i fell. when it came down the arm hit me right in the back of the heal stabbing me nearly in the achilles tendon.
Hey this was what I was looking for also! Thanks guys for the info. I will go buy a quick release since I am tired of bringing a wrench with me all the time.
The Salsa Flip-Lock (the quick release seatpost collar) is the only quick release I’ve used that clamps tight enough for muni use. I use it with a Thomson seatpost and it hardly ever twists or slips. The arm does stick out but I’ve never had a problem with it hitting me during a UPD. It works well and is solid. It’s a bit spendy but worth it.
There are single bolt seatpost collars that clamp tight. The Salsa Lip-Lock works well. Clamps as tightly as the Flip-Lock. If the arm sticking out of the Flip-Lock scares you then you can get a quality single bolt collar.
There are some other beefy single bolt collars as well.
Take your uni to a bike shop and have them measure the OD of the seat tube so you know what size of collar to get. Or if you have a caliper or micrometer you can measure it yourself.
The trick with the single bolt collars is to grease or anti-seize the threads of the bolt. That will allow you to get it tighter without damaging the threads. Tighter means less slipping. Same with the Flip-Lock. It needs grease or anti-seize too on the threads and on the cam surface. A little grease between the frame and the collar is also a good thing.
