My brand new Nimbus 24" mountain Uni rubbed my skin raw in the blink of an eye. I haven’t rode in 35+ years and was wearing jeans. So, that doesn’t help. However, Nimbus Stadium saddles have no curvature built into the sides.Plus, the seat is very stiff. I rode less than a 1/4 mile and my rear end is still a bit sore 3 days later.
I’m thinking about getting a Kris Holms Freeride .My biggest concern is the width. Will it compress and contour to the natural shape of my legs? It appears to be a wide seat in the center with little tapering on the sides.
The KH Street saddle is firmer but seems to have a lot of tapering.
I’m okay with less abusive pants, but I rode a Schwinn for years in jeans. The seat had heavily contoured sides and a soft seat. I want soft and tapered but don’t think it exists.
The KH free ride and street are both comfortable but you can add an air saddle cover to your stadium and I think you will find that will solve your problem for less money. Also riding will build up tolerance, if you are just getting back at it, it may take awhile to get used to things. A couple things I do is either wear an athletic supporter or padded bike shorts.
I appreciate that, I prefer a seat without an exterior shell.What brand of padded bike shorts do you recommend? I’ve been considering biker underwear as I’m not sold on the look. Call me old school but it’s not my preference at this time.If they work, I might be persuadable.LOL
I bought padded shorts on Amazon, baleaf brand. I wear the padded underwear type and regular shorts on top. My problems had been keeping things in place and numbness in by butt, I really do not have an issue with chaffing. I am not a fan of the stadium saddle but I do like the older nimbus gel saddles. I am a big fan of the air saddle cover I have one on my nimbus 29er and my UDC 32 Titan both over KH saddles. It has made long rides possible for me. They do make an air saddle but I can’t speak for that.
I hate to say it but it’s trial and error, what works for one rider will not work for others and you’ll probably spend some money until you get it right. Good luck.
I use padded bike shorts underneath my regular pants/shorts. (no underwear)
I also use a Fusion Freeride in complete comfort for as long as I want.
What you used to do may not be attainable with the body you now have. (you’ve never been as old as you are now)
Your body doesn’t tolerate as much as you get older.
So maybe hot cotton isn’t tolerated anymore.
Start with short rides and slowly increase the ride time as your tolerance builds.
Increased pressure along the middle, instead of distributing it. Almost no one sits only on their sitbones on a unicycle saddle (or bike seat for that matter), a very large radius curvature effectively makes the seat slimmer.
It seems like good clothing costs as much as a seat. A seat will last years and I gotta believe the padded shorts don’t. I probably need both , especially at my age.
I hear ya, its not a game of one size fits all. What’s up with all the technicolor padding with flashy colored form fitting shorts? Who really wants to see a 62 year old man riding a unicycle wearing garb like that???
Start with short rides and slowly increase the ride time as your tolerance builds.
Yep, that’s the NEW plan. Just riding was a struggle after 35 years. Plus switching from a Schwinn 24" street tire to a 3" mountain tire with 170mm cranks is not the same animal.At least, that’s what I’m telling myself. LOL
Roughly a 1/4 mile of riding, lots of falling off on my long uneven slopped dirt driveway.Great difficulties mounting. My rear was sore for days.Skin rubbed raw by the sharp angle on the sides of Stadium seat. That’s why I’m so interested in a curved seat right away.My Schwinn had a soft seat and long curves on the side.It was a great seat.I’d get one of those if I could.
If you come up with something that works, post back and let us/me know. I’m not convinced seat designers know whats best. I was content with the seat on my early 70’s Schwinn. I rode it for years and never replaced it. Yet, everything’s changed supposedly for the better.
Terry,
I agree with you about the Stadium saddle, I made it about 1/4 mile on one and came to the same conclusion.
A few years ago I started riding after a 50 years break from uni riding. The saddle I used 50 years age is and was not that great. I think newer saddles are an improvement but one solution does not work for everyone and I think there is still room for improvement in modern saddles.
This is my current set up that works for all day rides up to 100 miles, as long as I take a butt break every 15 of 20 minutes. It is an older UDC Club/Trainer saddle (I’m not sure if they sell the exact same saddle now) with the nose quite high so more but not all my weight if transferred toward the back of the saddle. I ride in light weight stretchy cargo pants with no padding and smooth anti-chafing legged boxer underwear.
Recently I have been thinking complete outside the box on uni saddles. With my “Improved Road and Distance Saddle” I can ride for hours on end with no saddle issues. It essentially takes all the pressure off of the sensitive perineum area but would not practicable for anything but road riding.
You can probably pick up an old Schwinn for less than the cost of a new saddle and take its saddle. The four bolt pattern is the same now as it was then.
Decent padded shorts will last years. I personally don’t even find the padding strictly necessary, just a tight and smooth layer that the other layer can slide around on is good against chaffing - running tights or similar could do the same job.
Thanks, I thought about using a regular bike seat myself. It seems impractical for trails and difficult for mounting.
They still make a club seat. I don’t know how soft they are? The foam is 2" thick, same as a Stadium. I’ve gotten some specs on seats recently.
They told me at Unicycle.com the seat had to break in as they are stiff when new. I didn’t think to ask how long they take to break in.
I have checked out the air covers. They are in the back of my mind.I plan on riding through the woods when I get used to riding again. When I lose control I’ll just step off and let the Uni drop. I’ll save me first, If I can grab the Uni fine, most likely ,I’ll let it hit the ground. What’s your opinion on the durability of the cover hitting the ground ?
