The leather on my stadium saddle is getting tears from hitting the ground. I would consider that normal wear and tear on a unicycle.
…but I think it’s completely avoidable; the bumper should be designed so it sticks out a bit - like the handle does. Just a ½ inch or less. Don’t you think?
Seeing my new Eleven saddle I’m getting worried how long it will last - they aren’t cheap after all.
You could cut a chunk of an old tire to the right shape and attach it to the bumper with some shoe goo and rivets.
I’ve got the same dilemma going on. I’ve got a couple of M41 handle saddles, but the leather bumper they come with on the rear and the leather wrap on the front are just too pretty to serve as actual protection.
True. I could do a lot of things; what I really want is a change in design.
@rogeratunicycledotcom is probably the man to reach out to, right?
BTW: now that I look at it a bit more, I think it’s more likely the saddle rubbing on the bumper. At least in this case.
The lack of a bumper is one of the main reasons I haven’t bought a M41 handle saddle (besides the price + shipping). That said, I haven’t seen many scuffed up handle saddles–if any–on this forum.
Leather is a very tough material…
sorry that was replying to Duff’s comment the leather on handle saddles.
I have similar wear on both Naomi saddles I use on my 20" and 24". My riding style and conditions rarely involve the saddle striking the pavement, though. I am wondering if, in my case, my considerable weight and posture of sitting on the back edge of the saddle…are not primarily to blame for the wear.
I agree, however, with your basic point. If the plastic back of the saddle stuck out more, that’d protect the saddle better.
Bumper and handle clearance to the soft material is certainly a contentious subject.
Yes, by moving the bumper further out it will protect the saddle more (1/2" is massive amount, it would not need anything like that). Although during design and research in to the saddle shape and position of the bumpers it was made clear that these hard plastic parts can and do cause problems when riding. Some riders were cutting the bumpers back to make them smaller so they imping less on riding/contact. As with most saddle problems, there is no answer that will suit everyone and the saddles tend to be a compromise that suits the most amount of people.
For the impact saddle… we are already looking at changing the materials to make the covers more durable.
On my Fusion Zero, I added a second bumper, attached to the first one. It did well at protecting it since the original bumper had a purely cosmetic role.
I’ll see if I can find a picture.
I know english isn`t my mother language, but i like woed jokes.
So I would call it “humpty bumpty” 
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Could you elaborate on that?
Do you feel there is nothing more to be done?
I was just think about adding something real simple. Maybe even something that could help holding a “bum-bag” or something.
If the plastic is higher up, some people will find themselves sitting on it. If it sticks out, riders doing tricks will catch it.
Nothing is perfect and I am always working on the next model, so do throw the ideas. Development takes time. Each modification also costs money and we need to get that paid for, so a mod to the tool as you suggest would be somewhere around $1000. We also try and keep things realistic on the prices, so mods tend to accumulate until we have enough to make a new tool.
Now that 3D printing has hit mainstream availability and affordability, has this changed the development of unicycle products for you at all?
For something like the new handles, I can imagine it was traditionally pretty tricky/expensive to create a design prototype, whereas that might be easier now?
Obviously there’s still no less design time involved and functional prototypes still aren’t going to be possible with budget 3D printing, but I was just wondering whether it has/or you can see it in the future changing the development of parts.
Not eveybody needs to use the same model. They are easy to switch out.
I guess it would be easy enough to 3D print a few prototypes - all you need is a good idea; but that’s really the hard part 
True, but for injection moulded parts you need to have a large enough production volume to justify the tooling costs of a new mould and hassle/costs of stocking and managing yet another line item. Having most unicycles using the same parts helps to keep (even increasing) prices down.
I think we are increasingly moving to a point where there are distinct products for beginners as well as more advanced riders though.
Beginners are more likely to appreciate more resilient and protective bumpers and more curved saddles with plenty of padding and wider front sections, whereas more advanced riders tend to lean towards flatter bases, less padding, and less width at the front.
Personally I’ve no interest in a larger bumper for my KH Fusion One as an example, partially because it would need to be so huge to actually protect anything on my 36" wheel, but also because I can’t remember the last time I scuffed the back of the saddle on the ground. Handlebars at the front yes, anything on the rear no.
On this saddle; It’s the seat being pressed down and rubbing on the bumper that wear holes in the saddle.
I digress, but now that you mention it; better and more options on handlebars would be good. Currently, we only have the KH T-bars and I just don’t like the Qu-Ax Q-Handle.
I would like to see something more in the style of Nimbus Shadow Touring Handle, but without the need for a special type of saddle.
Having a place to put tools, a pump and spare parts is a good start.
Bicycle saddles have these two rings on the back and most saddlebags require them. So that could be a place to begin designing from? I dunno…
Ahh. I don’t have much experience with saddles that don’t have a more traditional fabric back section.
I presume that’s why the KH Fusion One moved back to that design after having an impermeable section on the Fusion Zero.
An add-on accessory like JimT made might be the solution there. It could even be simplified like it is on a lot of bike saddles by just being made from bent stamped metal.
Maybe that should be the next part I model…
