They are just some long ones that I got at my LBS. Make sure to get some old ones because the newer style is short bar ends.
I loved the way the drops felt at RTL, I just wanted them farther out. I drilled it before I knew about this seat mod.
That does look like it could be a big issue, though less so with a Guni (of which I am lacking).
I gave up on the bike seat concept, maybe a little too soon. Meanwile, I have been working on a narrowed KH seat base, foam and cover for my distance set-up. Its not done yet, but it takes about an inch off the front width and drops the nose down about 1/2". Pic of the standard KH Free ride on the Right and the narrowed and plastic welded base on the left. Once I get it back together, I’ll post a ride report.
Brycer1968
I like your rewelded sadle, thats good thinking of you
I sold my bike 15 years ago. I do have vague memories from way back then of climbing hills. I guess it was too easy, so I sold my training wheel.
That being said, I’m not that good at seat-in-back riding. This is exactly what happens to me if I’ve got a narrow seat and I’m grabbing towards the front of my handlebars. I’m faster and much more efficient with a closer grip and the seat right where it should be.
Geoff
My point was that if your posture is the same as on a bike, the climbing effort should be the same. I tend not to pull up very much when climbing…in fact, I probably spend more time resting my arms on the bars more than anything, especially when I’m climbing off the seat.
As usual I agree with Ken, because pulling up hard with your hands for some reason takes away from the ability to balance. Nevertheless, I still prefer a very forward hand position for climbing, and a hand position nearer the saddle for descending.
all right… i see i finally managed to jump in a thread of my interest while it was in progress!
I have a concern about all “V” type frames and any other extension mod. Although I do agree that simply increasing the length of your handle bar accomplishes little and weighs a little too much, when you move the seat behind the center of the wheel, it creates a bottom bracket offset, which I feel may be inferior in terms of efficiency. Just a hunch, I can’t prove it and have been looking for information on this topic. I recently inquired a few high profile bicycle companies about what they thought about the offset, and hope to hear from them soon. What is your opinion on my concern? Like I said, I’m not too confident that there even is a downfall to this design, I’m just a little skeptical and would like to be rested assured that my cash dollars will not have been spent in vain.
on the side… i would like to suggest a last stop seat for those with bicycle seats: http://www.brooksengland.com/shop/cat_classic.aspx
not your style? mabye,
expensive? perhaps…
but i am buddies with someone who participated on a 24 hour mtb xc race and in no way did he begin to feel fatigued, while others with bontrager race seats could barely overcome their agony…
I have yet to personally try one, as that I am behind in many aspects of getting ready for the upcoming season. But as soon as I have done some research I will get to work on my dream unicycle! http://www.unicyclist.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif
also… unicycle.com has railed KH seat posts for $12!!
get em while railed seats are in!
Climbing with a bike seat
Ken, I guess my posture is different than on a bike. So is the low gear. If I ride up a steep hill on a (borrowed) bike without a really low gear I’ll be off the seat completely and leaning forward with my weight distributed between the two wheels. At least that is my conjecture. I’ll have to try it someday. I don’t have that luxury of distributing my weight between two wheels on a uni. I don’t think I’d be pulling up on the handle bars much on a bike.
Bikes aside, I don’t pull up much on the handlebars when I’m climbing a steep hill on a uni either. It’s more pulling up just enough to keep me in place. If I pull up at the more distal end of the handle bars then my seat heads backwards just as munirocks reports. If I put weight on the handle bars then I’m working at cross purposes with myself, plus it feels wrong. I’m depriving my pedal of some downward force that could be used to propel me up the hill.
I’m not trying to convince anyone of the right posture or hill climbing technique, or whether I’m good at any of it. I’m not a world class unicyclist. I just like to have fun noodling around the mountains out my front door. What I’m trying to do is figure out what the ergonomic ramifications of these different designs are. We are currently experiencing and driving a wonderful specialization and development of unicycle designs. Gone are the days of “You have two choices, this Schwinn 24” and this 20". Take your pick." A new design, a new modification, a subtle nuance for each purpose and for each rider.
These new T7 mods with a bicycle seat perched way in the back and handle bars stretched out in front look to me like they would be record-breaking distance unis as long as they stayed on the relative flat. Obviously they are not munis. But I’m curious what their limitations are. Am I right in thinking that if I want to climb steep hills then this is not the right set up for me? I’ve been wrong before. I’d love to hear the road test reports from those of you who have ridden these up steep hills.
Turtle, you seem to always be riding up and down really steep hills. What have you found?
Geoff
I push down when climbing hills, so as long as the bar holds, they seem good to me.
Im planning on modding my coker soon.
I don’t know what you mean by ‘bottom bracket offset’, but have posted an answer on http://www.adventureunicyclist.com/?page_id=263&cpage=1#comment-74
As for 24hr rides. I’ve ridden for 24hrs on a unicycle, and I have no doubt that the ‘bike position’ would have extended my ride and comfort by a large amount.
I would have had much fewer issues with saddle soreness, back soreness, and cramping in my arms. The second photo in my article is of me doing the 24hr world record. Try holding that body position for any length of time…it was painful.
I suspect on a bike, there is some pulling and it’s not in the upwards direction, it’s pulling towards you when you are grinding up a hill.
Likewise, I wouldn’t try pulling ‘up’ on a Unicycle with extension bar. I’d try pulling ‘in’ towards you also.
Hey,
I don’t think that the shape of frame has any relative impact on the level of bottom bracket offset at all, because the rider’s weight will always be distributed over the wheel regardless of the frame shape. If you’re leaning forward onto a handle, your core is going to shift back to balance it out, irrespective of whether it is a V shape frame, an R shape, or some other type.
Kris
this will be my last mention of this issue.
i apologize for not seeing what seem to be so obvious to everyone else! :o
…but im looking at
thanks for putting up!
ha
depending on the hill I either push or pull on the handle and i guess it kinda feels like I pull up on the handle, but with my body position I’m just pulling in towards me. it’s sort of weird to explain.
…got my T-piece…but it’s to long. i can move the seat, but i’ll also put a real handlebar with barends on it… i still trying to find my best position…
the positive things about a T-frame: you cabn put it on every normal frame, you can esely move the handlebar and the seat and it’s light (mine isn’t right now)
the laboratory rat…i mean turtle
ps: my uni doesn’t fit in my trunk anymore 
That really looks way too long to me. So how do you like riding with that mighty T? Are you going to shorten it somewhat? Just curious… I think I would want to chop a good piece off the rear end.
Wow what a great thread. I should read more carefully since I didn’t find this until today. I love where we are in the evolution of unicycling (road and otherwise). It’s so much more fun and interesting than in a mature sport.
I am also experimenting with handles etc on my KH36 Schlumpf but haven’t done anything nearly as radical as these ideas. All this stuff makes our previous efforts seem so archaic. For example, here’s the cycle I rode in Norway in June 2003.
at the moment i wont shorten it, i’ll put a stem and the handbar on it, so i can move the seat and the handlbar forward and backwards, also i can do some adjustments in the hight of the handlebar. with all that, i’ll figure out the best thing for me … i’ll it also test for XC
Question- I did a road ride last Saturday with my handle and paid attention to how much I used it. Most of the time I was on it but there was still quite a bit of time (e.g. manouvering, stoplights, just adjusting my position for comfort) when I sat upright. On the V-shaped setups the frame is going to shift forwards if you let go of the handle and the frame becomes more “upright” directly beneath the saddle. When that happens, do you find that you end up banging your knees on the frame or feeling like there’s too much up front?
Kris
That looks very close to the bike position I’ve been trying to achieve, but I think you need it very slightly shorter. If it was a bike, I think your arms need to be slightly flexed…it looks overstretched.
Remember that on a bike…subtle adjustments in stem angle/length make a huge difference in the ride.
