I have 2 KH air saddles, a 2009 Nimbus Gel and a 2010 KH fusion. The Fusion REALLY is much better that the Nimbus. I’ll only use the Nimbus on my 20" uni because it crushes the boys.
I LOVE the KH air saddles, it takes some tweaking to get the tube exactly where you want it but when you do… it’s pretty awesome. Also, you may want to install a couple of more grommets so you can lace the cover on a bit more securely.
That being said… I have the 2010 KH freeride on my 36-er and it’s awesome, much better than I though it was going to be and MUCH better than the Nimbus. I’ll keep the air seats on my Muni’s and the Freeride on my road uni (36-er).
I know about road saddles all too well : ) I ride a brooks. . . . and I really want my brooks on my uni, but I have yet to figure out a good handlebar setup to make that happen yet. I think it can take a good beating though, it’s already gotten smacked to the ground after I got hit by a car : / I think it can take being dropped every once in a blue moon.
I even thought about a brooks flyer Universal Cycles -- Brooks Flyer Saddle - Honey [B396H A07203] it would be pretty sweet with the right handlebar, and the springs would take a little edge off the bumps. it’s still pretty rigid even with the springs, especially if you’re light.
my thought was to make an airride saddle with a pretty high air pressure so I could put the support where I wanted it. Perhaps I need to suck it up and start modeling out a decent handlebar setup, because I don’t think brooks is going to be making a unicycle saddle any time soon 
Some Things to Consider
I was hoping a thread like this would come up. It really helps when there is more view points on the problem and how different people come up with ways to mitigate the problem. I think Sasketchewan is right about no saddle is going to be “one size fits all” and these are my opinions only. Your mileage will vary.
My experience with air saddles is: if there is enough air in the air bladder to cushion the ride, there will be some air that follows the path of least resistance up into the groin area. When the air bladder is forced up into the groin area there is contact with sensitive architecture. The contact with the groin, no matter how slight, is the fatal flaw. As you turn the cranks there is a cycle of impact to the tender nether region. Most prize fights are’nt won with a single punch. The damage is typically cumulative. A few thousand slight taps to the entertainment center is equivalent to being kicked in the junk once by a horse. Kinda hard to get happy after that one.
You can abbreviate the amount of air in the bladder so there is not enough air available to “balloon” up and touch the chandeliers but at that low air pressure it is ineffective as a cushion and the same as sitting on top of a flat tire.
For myself the base of the KH Freeride was just a bit wide and after a while it felt like trying to straddle a 2x4 and the chafing on the outer portion of the sit bones was pretty much a deal beaker. Narrowing up the KH saddle helps but as it becomes narrower it is also able to infiltrate crowded air space. Too wide is bad but too narrow is no better. If the width is just right but the foam is too hard there will be chafing. If the width is good but the foam too soft, the foam will work it’s way up and into slapping the twins.
The back of the unicycle seat seems like it should be a little wider at the back to disperse the weight and that is how a bicycle seat is configured. Why can’t the unicycle seat retain the hour glass profile for retention in the front but be a little wider at the rear to disperse weight? If a distance unicycle seat more closely resembled a bicycle seat yet had the figure eight silhouette and the right width and right foam/gel density and the center bay was open with no fabric or any other obstruction thus eliminating the opportunity for contact would that be sweet?
This seat has some promise so far, but even if it were perfect in all respects it is a only a part of the puzzle.
Right now I like the handlebar set-up that Brycer has going. I saw it in another thread. I like the adjustability of one I saw that Corbin did also. Maybe even extending the PI Bar like Terry did and adding the support similar to Brycers? Brycer and Zeke did 109 miler recently and there is some good pics in that to look through. Maybe those guys will post here with pics. and we put our ideas together and create a template with some wiggle room.
Qu-Ax Air Saddle
there is a new Qu-Ax Air saddle in the market. I have a few in stock, but didn’t ride it yet for a longer time, so I can’t really comment on how good it is. Is there anyone out there that had the pleasure of testing it out?
link here:
http://qu-ax.com/en/Blog/20091/20090701-New-QU-AX-Air-Saddle
“The new QU-AX Air saddle is perfect for long distance-rides. More Air and less pressure ensure more comfort. Already common on bicycles, new on QU-AX-Air saddle. Well padded and bumpers/handle that are compatible with the other QU-AX saddles.”
Funny, it says it’s common on bikes. I’ve never seen a bike use an air saddle. It’s also way too fat to be anything I would use on a distance ride.
When I saw your pics, I was intriuged . . . it looks like a bike seat rear-ended a KH saddle and became stuck together, but seriously, I like the concept of taking what you like from both designs and joining them together.
The 109 miles I rode with Zeke used my aero bar set-up with upper frame set-up with the “set-back” saddle concept that Gizmo started talking about a couple years ago. This 109 miler was done on a very modified KH freeride that I started work on in early 2009. After taking the seat apart, I cut a pie slice shaped wedge out of the front of the plastic seat base and cut two other wedges in the sides to bring the nose down 3/4", then I had a plastic welder weld these cuts closed and reinforce the area a bit.
Then I did the same narrowing procedure to the foam (thanks terry for the idea about using the bench grinder to remove foam like a laser), making it narrower up front and glued the foam back together. These changes were good, but the last mod was to remove about another 1/2" of foam of of the front/top part of the saddle . . aka . . .“the killing floor” for the boys. The saddle is essentially flat now (and the killing floor is now used for peaceful purposes) and significantly narrower up front. Last bit was to modify the saddle cover to fit the new shape.
So, best bit about this saddle mod was this: At the end of most 100/10/1 centuries, your saddle soreness is usually at the top of the list of gripes, but with this ride, a strange dull ache in my right foot was the only sore area . . . really.
I’ll post some saddle build pics if folks are interested in more nut, saddle, taint and sack talk.
Brycer
The Qu-Ax “Air” is not an air saddle in the way we think of it. There is no bladder in it. I think it’s called “Air” because it allows air to flow through it. I would be interested in trying one, but they aren’t available in the U.S.
Definitely interested, I love sacks of cashews . . .
but really, I’d like to see it : )
I think straightarrow is definitely onto something, I’d love to mod a bike seat into a uni seat.
I’m also under the impression that a longer handlebar and maybe even aerobars are essential for comfort on the long rides. The more bike-like your seat, the more bike-like you need your positioning.
StraightArrow: I enjoyed your very colorful write-up. Groin Area, Sensitive Architecture, Tender Nether Region, Entertainment Center, Junk, Chandeliers, Twins. I have never seen so many in one place.
I still like my airseat
I won’t argue the merits of airseats. But my buttock spends more hours on one each year than all but a few riders. Most, if not all, who try my setup hate it.
Still works the best for my long rides. Even bicyclist dislike their seats after a century unless they are conditioned.
Trainning you buttocks is vital for getting enjoyment out of long rides.
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Love the idea of adding to a bicycle seat rather than taking away from a unicycle seat. I’d like to see a seat like Straightarrow’s smooth out the junction between the two a bit more but I think that has a lot of promise.
A better seat for riding all day is pretty much at the top of my list right now.
Love the idea of adding to a bicycle seat rather than taking away from a unicycle seat. I’d like to see a seat like Straightarrow’s smooth out the junction between the two a bit more but I think that has a lot of promise.
A better seat for riding all day is pretty much at the top of my list right now.
Long rides …
I didn’t know you did long rides. But then I need to remember John can ride circles around me any time he chooses.
P.S. John, you need to update your signature line. I turned another year older a while back.
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Amen. Having done a couple of century rides (bicycle) on a Brooks saddle, its you backside that breaks in not the saddle. On a hard saddle you only sit on those two bones and they quickly lose feeling. If you want to know what I mean pinch the skin on your elbow (where the callous is) real hard.
I’ve done a few long rides, but never a century. Lots of people here have ridden much longer distances. However all the training for, and the actual RTL riding should qualify any of us in that department. 
Sorry about the aging sig line. I’ll keep my eyes open for something better, which I haven’t seen, or maybe just something newer…
That new Qu-Ax seat looks interesting. I think it’s the first production (not handmade/expensive) unicycle seat with a hole in it. I’m sure it will do the trick for some of us!
Brycer: Definitely if you post the pics. on the saddle mods. people will be interested in seeing them. The handlebar set-up is a good idea I think. I look at what other people are doing that relates to things I’m interested in and the things you fabricate are always outstanding. Same with Corbin and Terry, innovators. You and Zeke are “all around bastards”.
The Qu-ax saddle might be great for some people, sure worth a try and a good step in the right direction I kinda think. I see alot of variation in how people set-up the angle of their seat and that Qu-ax seems similar to many that were popular, just that were’nt right for me, but the cut out should be great for space and ventilation for the pork and beans.
The air-saddles work great for some people. I just listed out my thought process for me personally ,for other people to think about too, and it’s just my observations not an indictment of air saddles. bungeejoe and Bruce Dawson proved air saddles work just fine for them and completed the STP, which no secret appeals to me. There is alot of good info from bungeejoe and Bruce Dawson on the STP thread last year. Some good info I think I just got from bungeejoe in conversation and it all helps.
I hold some hope that KH will look at the best ideas in the forums and pursues them maybe and then everyone wins and he makes some money and is the “Holm” town hero
On bike saddles…I’ve tried a bunch of different saddles out, and for my touring bike I use a cheap-o saddle that has been the most comfortable bike seat I have used. Here is the shape:
I have never had ANY problems with saddle soreness with that saddle on my bike.
Straightarrow may be on to something as that serfas seat looks pretty similar.
I have never actually used a bike seat on my 36er before though, so I don’t really know.
See the Max Taint Century Saddle saddle mod pics. Should be able to see what is going on there. The side by side shots are of a stock Fusion Freeride saddle.
A couple of notes:
-
[LIST]
- I cut the stock steel stiffener in half and reinstalled the rear part of it.
- The orange tape is to hold the hex-nuts in their "wells" in the base.
- I ride with bars and no lift handle as it seemed like a vestigial organ at this point.
- The last shot shows the final product after I went back and removed 1/2 - 3/4"
- Idling is harder with this saddle, but still do-able
Others may not have as many issues with the freeride as I did and this major surgery might not be worth the hassle, but now as I ride this, I hear a little voice in my pants . . . its my taint, I think . . . and it keeps whispering “dady like-ee” as I ride.
B
Nice Job! looks great. Thanks for posting these pictures. I think that there is a market niche waiting to be filled.
The foam and cover mods were easy to do and can be done by anyone. The plastic seat base mods, however, were a lot harder to plan and the plastic welders time was relatively expensive compared to a metal welders hourly rate.
I’m considering making up a couple more of these in the future and V2 should look a lot better and need less foam carving. . . . . then again, thats a heck of a lot of work . . . .maybe someone here could take this idea and run with it to build a distance saddle base for handlebar use that has these same features.
Also, I tried a bunch of different bike seats to see if there was something there that could work and I found them to be just too narrow or too hard for distance riding . . . none of them were even ridable for more than a few miles before I put them in the reject pile . . .or maybe I just have really delicate taint??
B