OK, so I went and examined the Velo seat again when I got home from work. I had to push my 16-yr. old neighbour off the uni to get at the seat (he’ll live…).
It is definitely flexy. I hadn’t tried actually bending it before.
But it is not an issue when riding, hopping, jumping or crashing. At least, not that either of us have noticed. And it has hit the ground (pavement, dirt, rocks) many, many times in the last week, with no sign of damage. In fact, the handle and bumper look almost unscathed, compared to my Miyata handle, which was badly scuffed up after the same length of time.
In the pictures of the Kris Holm seat and the Miyata seat next to each other the seat frames look about the same. So, if the Velo saddle is really that flexy, could a stiffener plate fit on it?
As soon as the Velos are actually available I’ll get one and take it apart. At that time I will either write up some installation instructions or possibly revise my handles and make them compatible with the Velos.
If a stiffener plate is indeed necessary I may take steps to make these available. They would be similar in design and price to the stiffener plates available for Miyatas:
Haven’t been following many threads lately but I think there was some discussion of flex on the Velo seat.
The original ones had some flex to be sure, although I think it is OK for most riding.
That said, an upgraded version of this seat will have a stiffener in the front to prevent flex. It will be slightly heavier but totally stiff- I have a prototype and it’s great.
An “upgraded-upgraded” version will be available sometime after that with a changed plastic seat frame- it will have rounded edges on the rear underside to make seat-out-in-front hopping more comfortable.
All of these things were in my original design drawings but it just takes time for the manufacturer to understand whats needed.