Quick Release?

General
1

So I have been experimenting with different seat heights for MUNI. Right now I do not have a quick release for my seat post. My old torker lx had one, and it was nice but I found it did not really hold very well. I broke my LX and Right now, my torker DX does NOT have a quick release, but the clamp holds my seat well so I rarely need to knock my seat around to get it straight after it hits the ground. Do y’all use a quick release? Is there a kind that holds strong? I guess once I get the right seat height dialed in…maybe I will not have any use for one? Thanks for any advice.

2

I don’t have a product I can name, but here’s some general info. For the most part, if you want your seat to stay put, use a dedicated clamp with regular bolt. But if you make adjustments enough that you’re willing to deal with some seat twist (like multiple riders), a quick-release can be very handy.

Unicyle.com offers the following:

  • United at $5.00. This one looks the same as the one I have on my Schwinn Giraffe. That one gets the seat raised and lowered in shows, and used to for fitting into the car (now I have a minivan). It’s cheap, and stronger than most quick-relases you find in bike shops.

  • Nimbus also at $5.00. A little confusion here, as the main text says it’s 22.2mm only, but the detail text says it “fits frames/seatposts in the 25.4mm size.” It definitely looks nicer.

  • Salsa. At $24.00, I’d have high expectations of this one, which is available in two sizes. Naturally, measure the outside frame, not the post, to find the size.

The United is the only one that’s “unisize,” fitting any size frame/post. But you may have to use it with a “generic” clamp, and those are often the weak point. Having a clamp that covers a wide area of post, instead of just a line at the top and bottom of the clamp, is much better for your frame, and for seat tightness.

Most quick-releases I see in bike shops are made to be light. Bike seats don’t get anywhere near the kind of twisting torque on them that we put on unicycle seats, so lightness is more important than tight grip, so they’re generally expensive and weak.

With any quick-release (especially if it’s holding the front wheel on your bike) it’s very important to use it properly. The lever is just the final part of the tightening process. First you hand-turn it until it’s most of the way there, then the lever should add the final torque to lock it down. If the lever can be flipped or released with one finger, it’s not going to be tight enough.

3

I just updated this thread which was about a broken KH clamp. I ended up replacing it with a HOPE QR clamp. No twisting so far BUT this is on a 29er doing mainly XC.

4

i donno for Muni… but i HATE quick release…

5

If you are going to say you hate something at least say why you hate it.

I have a quick release and have had two different kinds so far and I find they are a mixed blessing. On one hand I can change my seat hight whenever I please which is amazing, I love it as I change seat height alot (mostly for other people then I just leave it to whatever they wanted cause I’m lazy like that). But on the other I have hurt myself pretty badly with it. On my old set up I had a loose quick release that flopped around while I was riding, it held tight but it had a lever that liked to stab my achilese tendon and losing all sensation in my foot isn’t fun. I replaced that with the united style clamp and I really like the fact that I can tuck it away for falling unis and stuff but I still find it to be way to bulky when I try and do stand up and a few other things. I think a quick release would be a great thing if it were on a long neck, or if they could somehow make it very form fitting.

6

I ride a salsa QR clamp and it is awesome. It holds the seat really well and it doesn’t stick out too much. I have had other quick release clamps and I have had to turn them around and sideways so they wouldn’t eat my leg as much. The salsa is good though.

7

Thanks

Thanks, I may try to get my hands on one of those salsa QR.

8

salsa makes good stuff but it’s pricey. on both my muni and trials i run a primo viking double bolt clamp. the only uni related QR first hand experience i have is some older torker stuff which totally sucked.

9

Another vote for the Salsa. Works well for rugged Muni. Put a little anti-seize on the contact areas of the latch to keep it from wearing out quickly.