In message <199503041917.OAA02916@duncan.cs.utk.edu> The Neuromancer writes:
> I haven’t the foggiest notion about what constitutes a good seat (other than > the input my bum gives me when I sit on it), so I can’t help you, but I had a > question of my own along the same lines: I recently saw an interesting seat a > bike and was wondering if it could be used on a uni. It was split-seat design > with a pad for each ‘cheek.’
ouch
NEVER, EVER, EVER put a bicycle seat on a unicycle. On a bicycle far more weight
is put on the rear of the seat (you push off the handlebars, forcing your butt
onto the seat) That’s why the bike doesn’t hurt your crotch danglies like the
uni can. Its also why the bike seat is narrow up front. On a uni with a bike
seat, your crotch probelm is intensified greatly. Also, you tend to slip forward
until the narrow part is going right up your rear, which would cause probelms
for both sexes.
A friend of mine tried this once, and we had to replace it the next day… We
couldn’t walk for a loooong time!
Ok. Here’s what I did about my uncomfortable seat.
I bought a piece of foam rubber FOUR inches thick. I cut out a piece the shape
of the seat plus about a half an inch. (I had already taken the cover off and
removed the stock “padding”).
Then I cut a section out of the bottom that was the exact shape of the seat
and about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch deep. This allowed the foam to cover the sides
of the seat.
I couldn’t get the cover to go back on, so I decided I’d have the world’s
ugliest seat. I wrapped it with furnace tape. Man, was it ugly. The only
drawback was that it covered the “lip” around the bottom of the seat, which will
make it harder for me to grab the seat when I dismount.
When I got done, my wife suggested that the cover would fit now and I slipped it
right on. The only way I can attach it well, though is to cut the tape where it
crosses under the seat. Since the cover is ripped on the ends I’m not planning
on doing that right away. I’ll probably make a cover for it, adding a drawstring
around the edge so I can just pull the string tight to attach it.
What I’d really like to see is a specialized seat-shaped inflatable<< thingie.
Ideally it would have internal cross braces to keep it from<< squashing out the
sides when you sit on it, but I’m probably dreaming<< here. <<
I thought maybe you could have three seperate inflatable parts for the seat.
Front left, front right and back. Left and right create the gappy doughnut
effect that normal inner tube seats have while the rear one supports your
buttocks. They could each be indevidually adjusted for pressure and would act
independantly. Then maybe some foam underneath and a thin slab of gel
(sorbothane) glued on top (5mm or so) .