I’m happy to say that new KH saddle updates are coming. Some of these were announced last March but are only coming out now.
Major Updates are:
New Fusion Slim saddle
New saddle front handle
Upgraded Fusion Street saddle; and
Improved security of the threaded inserts
Here are details:
New saddle front handle:
-No hole in the top, to avoid catching your fingers
-More rounded grip, with a reshaped underside. This both improves comfort and also gives more room for your fingers when gripping the handle towards the side.
-Slightly stiffer
-Has the correct recycling logo (PP#5) for end-of-life disposal.
-See the attached photo
New Fusion Slim Saddle
-Very thin across the entire saddle profile
-Center cutaway and stretch nylon top are easy to grip, even with sweaty hands.
-Aimed at flatland riders and anyone else wanting a thin-as-possible saddle
-Available in black with silver accent thread
-See the attached photo
Improved Fusion Street Saddle
-10 mm thinner in the back, to improve gripping from the side. I really like the new shape - for me it is optimal for distance riding with a touring handle, for trials, and for technical muni (for XC muni I still use the Freeride saddle).
-It is as thin as the Fusion Slim in the front and back, but has about 10 mm more cushioning and a deeper cutaway through the middle.
-Saddle cover top fabric is now durable stretch nylon (same as the Freeride). This fabric is secure to grip with sweaty hands, and it improves comfort by conforming to the centre cutaway. It also lets you curl your thumb around into the centre groove when holding the saddle on the side.
Improved security of threaded inserts
-Threaded inserts are now tack welded to the reinforcement plate to prevent turning
You should see the new gear at Unicycle.com in the next 1-4 weeks, and elsewhere soon after that.
It looks great and the specs sound great as well! I dont ride with thin saddles but if i ever try one out i will most defiantly purchase this saddle before any other thin saddles
Keep up the good work and thank you very much for your products
Very cool! The only thing I’m not so sure about is the gap-less handle. My fingers go through the gap, and they would be squished without it. But everything else looks nice
Great to see a flatter, less padded saddle (pretty similar to the Street?). The Fusion Slim looks like the discerning distance unicyclist’s saddle of choice. I look forward to trying one out.
awesome!! I’m really interested in the handle ^^
And how thin is the saddle really? is it has thin as koxx-one saddle?(luxery,alien backflip,…) if so… I’m maby also interested in that saddle because I keep on braking saddles and impact cf base it to expensive xD
How do you hold the handle then? I’d say I have average size hands and my fingers are no where near the hole. I hold it more in my fingers than my palm I suppose but isn’t this how most people hold the handle.
Thanks for the positive responses. =) Designing a saddle is a very expensive process (many 10’s of thousands of dollars) and it has taken quite a few years to get to this point. The front handle was the last injection molded part on my to-do list for this saddle, so it’s cool to see it becoming available.
The original (1st gen) saddle base and front handle resulted from initial conversations I had with Velo back in 2000. They already had the basic saddle frame mold but it was weaker and lacked any reinforcement plate (you could fold the saddle like book!). I worked with them (and paid for) the tooling for the original front handle and reinforcement plate, and had them modify the saddle base to be slightly stronger and also more comfortable to grab. That is the setup that KH saddles used from 2003-2008, and it’s still being used by anyone spec’ing a Velo-manufactured saddle (Impact, Koxx, etc.). The difference between models on those ones is foam and seatcover characteristics, not the base.
But modifying an existing base can only go so far. For the next gen KH base I wanted something completely new, that was stronger and stiffer but not supremely expensive like a CF base. That was the major project of 2007-2009. I worked with Scott Wallis on it (who makes the super nice and very expensive CF bases). We used computer modelling to examine the stress distribution across the base, so we could tweak it for the best strength-weight ratio. That resulted in the current base, which is used on all KH saddles and also under license by Nimbus. No one else uses this base.
Actually, I said so when Kris mentioned it in Mongolia. Not sure why its aimed at flatland…I think it’s going to be the best XC MUni and Road saddle out there.
Thanks Kris for these new improvements on your already excellent saddles!
Just wonder now whether the ideal saddle for distance is going to be the new Fusion Slim (RedWelly/GizmoDuck’s vote), or the new Fusion Street (your vote)???
I will definitely want to buy 2 of these: one for my 36 Uni, one for my 26 GUni - since saddle soreness is today, in my view, one of the key limiting factors in our preferred sport (especially for in-road use).
Will carefully look at UDC UK’s Web site to see when they get in!
Thank you so much for the upgraded designs of the KH seats! I love the idea of the bolts not turning but I was thinking that having the bolts welded on would make the reinforcement plate completely worthless once you break a bolt because you’d need to put in new bolts?
This new slim saddle looks awesome! I think KH seats are by far the best stock seats on the market. I do a lot of flip tricks, and my KH seat is still going strong after about a year. Add the stiffener plate and I don’t see how you could possibly break the seatbase. I have never tried a cf base, and with seats like this available, I don’t see why I would ever need one. Great work!
because I keep on braking saddles and impact cf base it to expensive xD