hi,
i bought a torker unicycle recently and the seat really hurts my, uhhhummm, area. does anyone have a suggestion for a much more comfortable seat that i could upgrade to? the torker seat is FAR too small. i took a look on unicycle.com at a few seats, but couldn’t decide.
thanks!
The stock Torker seat is designed for little children. It’s no surprise that you find it to be uncomfortable. On the unicycle.com site, the KH Velo seat is probably the best stock saddle. After that, the Viscount, although not as comfortable as the Velo, is a giant upgrade from the stock Torker saddle. I think the Viscount is unnecessarily heavy. Whatever you do, don’t buy a Savage saddle. Savage…think about it. What does it mean to you?
Re: seat
I know the community is divided on this, but I decided to buck up and spend the extra for the Miyata saddle with the Roach air-pillow conversion, and I’ve been a happy ass ever since. The pillow allows much longer time in the saddle (for me), and when you need maximum contact with the saddle, you can just let the air out and you have a standard Miyata feel, which is a good saddle.
My $.02, Tom
I am also curious about which seat is best. I recently obtained a Wilder Lightrider 6160C and it claimed to have “the current best technologies available to the saddle”. It comes with a Kris Holm saddle by Velo and it seems to be far better than any seat I have ever ridden on, but I must admit I was a little disappointed that it did not have the “comfortable double-layered air saddle” that is promised a few lines further down in the description. The seat is definitely comfortable but I would like to hear a comparison from someone who has tried both the Miyata-style saddle with high-capacity leather seat cover and air pillow with folded 20-inch tube and the Kris Holm saddle by Velo. I bought a Gemcrest Carbon Fiber Seat Frame and a Reeder Seat handle due to peer pressure from people who reviewed them, but I am yet to install them.
Kris Holm Saddle by Velo:
Myata Air Saddle:
I don’t recommend buying the Kris Holm seat without having tried it out. It is designed for someone who has a very small frame–the seat has lots of foam, but it dips too much in the middle to be comfortable for someone with my frame. I get a horrible pain in the groin, because I get crushed in that area by the seat. I actually find the Torker standard seat (the one designed for kids) more comfortable than the KH–which isn’t saying much.
I tore the cover off the seat, hoping to find someway to modify it–there isn’t. An air conversion is not possible. I am going to use contact cement and put the seat cover back on it. But basically this seat is worthless to me. I don’t know if anyone else has had bad experiences with the KH, but I am really dissappointed. It could be a really good seat if it didn’t have that deep center dip.
My two cents, Amos.
Re: seat
amosbatto wrote:
> I tore the cover off the seat, hoping to find someway to modify
> it–there isn’t. An air conversion is not possible.
According to jesus_butter not only is it possible, he transplanted his
Miyata air saddle directly on to the KH Velo without a problem.
Your can read about it here:
Cheers,
Jason
I can’t speak for the Velo seat, but if you go for the Miyata with air pillow, you should consider carefully whether to go for the leather seat cover or the Roach ballistic nylon cover. Especially for off-road riding where you expect moisture, mud, sweat, etc., the nylon will take a lot more of a beating I think.
Tom
Arrrrrrrrgh. That’s me with the Savage saddle I had once earlier.
I’m totaly 100% with Greg Harper. Don’t buy the Savage Saddle.
Get the KH Velo or a Miyata. Viscount Saddle is good to me But not for Long distances. Some may disagree, That’s fine by me.
Good luck and let us know what type of Saddle you got.
David.
Re: seat
In article <tomblackwood.lwsaz@timelimit.unicyclist.com>,
tomblackwood <tomblackwood.lwsaz@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
)
)I can’t speak for the Velo seat, but if you go for the Miyata with air
)pillow, you should consider carefully whether to go for the leather seat
)cover or the Roach ballistic nylon cover. Especially for off-road
)riding where you expect moisture, mud, sweat, etc., the nylon will take
)a lot more of a beating I think.
I had this discussion with Nathan Hoover, who has the Gemcrest
leather. I have the Roach cover on two different saddles, and all
four side seams are blown out, and the blown seams increase the
chafing on long rides. The cover itself is bulletproof, but the
stitching is not. Nathan said he’d had no problems with his leather
cover.
-Tom
Re: seat
On Mon, 14 Apr 2003 18:39:43 -0500, tomblackwood
<tomblackwood.lwg9n@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>I know the community is divided on this, but I decided to buck up and
>spend the extra for the Miyata saddle with the Roach air-pillow
>conversion, and I’ve been a happy ass ever since.
The excellent comfort of the Miyata with air-seat conversion is
undisputed. What divides the community is the lack of rigidity of the
(new) Miyata seat base and handle attachment, but there are fixes for
that.
The Velo KH seat is also a very good seat, comfortable and sturdy, and
requires no upgrades which is a plus.
“When someone asks you, ““A penny for your thoughts”” and you put your two cents in . . . what happens to the other penny? - George Carlin”
what about the Viscount Saddle?
Thanks so much for all the responses!
Is there much difference between the $50 KH saddle and the Viscount Saddle? The viscount is much cheaper! I am trying not to break the bank, but also want to get something good since my Torker seat is way too small feeling.
Chris
Re: seat
On Wed, 16 Apr 2003 11:20:38 -0500, graber
<graber.lzl8c@timelimit.unicyclist.com> wrote:
>Is there much difference between the $50 KH saddle and the Viscount
>Saddle?
The Viscount is a good seat for the price but the Velo KH seat is
definitely better.
The most common name in the world is Mohammed.
I agree with Amos. As another fairly large frame guy I find the KH seat uncomfortable too. In fact the only seat I’ve found less comfortable has been the savage. My complaint is that the seams chaff my inner thighs something chronic.
Most people seem to find the KH seat a nice step up from anything other than a miyata converted air saddle. For the average person a KH seat is going to feel wonderful but it will not suit everyone.
The good thing about an air seat is you can customize it to your own body shape. Unfortunately they can be fiddly things to set up “just right”. Expect a few hours of playing to get it set up.
I’m starting to like my KH saddle more and more. In fact, I will go as far as to say I prefer it to my Carbon-fibre/Miyata/Roach/Wilder air-seat. The only disadvantage I find with the KH is that is a little flexy. I think that will affect mainly trials riding when you are pulling/pushing on it a lot. I don’t think it’s any heavier than the airseat and I find it more comfortable. And it holds it’s shape 
Rowan,
That’s a sweet muni you’ve got yourself there!
As regards seats, I prefer my Miyata/Roach airseat to my KH Velo. This is probably because I’m more familiar with it and have ridden it many more miles than my KH. Also it is more cushy to sit on. This isn’t to say that the KH is a bad seat - many people swear by them. A popular use is long distance riding - so they must be fairly comfy. Saddles are a personal thing: what others find comfortable may chafe you like sandpaper.
Your muni came with a KH seat rather than a Gemcrest airseat probably because it is cheaper to spec and setup a KH Velo. I don’t think you’ve been ripped off in the seat department as long as you didn’t specifically order an airseat upgrade.
Like you, I haven’t installed my carbon fibre seat base yet and probably won’t until I break the current stock Miyata one. The reason is that airseats are really fiddly to set up and I don’t want to mess with what’s working OK now! I used John Childs’ method to setup my airseat. This involves using a 12" inner tube in a single layer and the original foam on top. This keeps the shape of the airseat really firm, but still gives a cushy ride. John may have posted a step by step guide to this procedure somewhere.
Hope this is of some help,
Tony