Klass Bil has posted the following review in the r.s.u. forum. He is unable to post it here because he doesn’t have access (being a nonmember) so this is being relayed on:
This morning I tried my Velo KH seat that I obtained from unicycle.uk.com.
(Disclaimers: I have limited experience with other seats to compare
to. I have never even tried an air seat, and the only seat I use
regularly is my Semcycle Deluxe seat. Also, my views may change with
more hours in the saddle. Anyway, for what it’s worth:)
Positive:
Sitting comfort (where you actually sit i.e. the butt) is
fantastic. It’s just sooo cushy.
You can pull up on the seat (handle) a lot more than on the Sem
without any form of front grip. This is of course obvious but it sure
enhances my MUni riding which I did hitherto on the Sem seat.
For me the seat is not too wide at the front. I mention that
because others complained about it.
Although the handle and seat combo does flex somewhat when under
stress, this was not negatively influencing its effectiveness. It
doesn’t seem flimsy either.
The seat looks great.
Negative:
To my taste the front curves up too much. My “twins” get squeezed
more, in part because the seat itself is soft and thick so you sink in
it more due to your weight. (Note: I have mounted the seat as far
forward as the four bolt slits allow so as to tilt the seat up more,
and sit more on the back of the seat.)
2. The handle isn’t the best in ergonomic design. Not that I would
know how to improve it (other than a “phallus-type” handle). But I
generously pulled on the handle during my one-hour MUni ride and had
sore fingers towards the end of the hour. Mainly what hurt were the
middle phalaxes of all (4) fingers. I found myself do the
stretch-flex-stretch to relieve some mild pain.
If anyone wants this on the review forum, feel free to post it. As a
non-member (I use the newsgroup only) I have no access.
Klaas Bil
All my posts are made with 100% recycled electrons.
After a week of use, I found the Velo Kris Holm-designed saddle to be much more comfortable than previous saddles I have tried (a Miyata with a homemade airseat conversion, and my original heinous formed-rubber saddle). As Bill, Phil and others have already said, the padding is soft and cushy. On long rides, I never felt like the padding on the saddle was “bottoming out” and feeling hard, as I have experienced on my Miyata. Though I cannot comment for the males, I can attest that the Velo saddle considerably improves the “labial chafing” factor that may be experienced by some females on long rides. As well, the front handle feels very natural and is very easy to grip, perhaps because of the textured surface. It is longer than the Miyata, with more room underneath to insert your fingers.
So far, the only possible disadvantage of the Velo saddle is perhaps for freestyle riders who are only in the seat for short periods of time; the padding may be too large and not worth it if you are focussed on intricate tricks or routines rather than transport. Currently, I have no tricks to speak of in my repetoire, so this is not a concern for me.
The Velo saddle came perched atop my new Norco KH 20” trials unicycle (purchased in Canada, so it has the standard cotterless hub). What a HILL of fun! I’m loving it! I will write a review for my new TUni after I have used it a bit more.
With the Velo saddle, every time I stand up on the pedals, the dangling male private parts seem to slide between me and the saddle, resulting in pain when I return to a seated position. I don’t have this problem much with the air-seat conversion on the Miyata saddle.
This was also the unanimous opinion among the guys in my uni club who tried the Velo saddle today.
Most of us were wearing proper biking shorts. Maybe we need some high-tech suspensories to go with this high-tech saddle.
(Other than that I have no complaints, except maybe that I don’t like the looks of the staples that hold the fabric on the underside – I am expecting them to pull out after a while.)
I bought my Velo back in October, very shortly after they first came out. So far the staples are showing no signs of moving at all. I suspect if they do they could be whacked back in for a while, and maybe replaced altogether; they look like fairly standard staples.
Another disadvantage I find is doing seat-in-front stuff. The miyata was good for this as it was thin enough to get a decent grip; with the Velo being much thicker it is more difficult to grab it in a way that seems as solid as the miyata.
I have discovered that the bolts that hold to the seatpost may come loose in the plastic, just like in the Miyata, causing the bolts just to spin freely, instead of removing the nuts.
After some trial and error (Krazy glue, loctite, epoxy) I bought some more nuts, and screwed them down tight to the seat base, and this keeps the bolts tight and secure. The seat post can now be screwed back on.
The downside? Now the seatpost is really only touching the 4 nuts, not the whole base of the saddle. After a brief ride, this doesn’t seem to be a problem.
I only looked in the closest hardware store, and grabbed a handful of different nuts. I figure the thinner the better, but mine (of ‘average’ thickness) seem just fine.
It’s a positive review. To the people wondering about the staples pulling out, it sounds like this will be unlikely, based on the experiences of the guy who disassembled one. He found the cover to be completely contact-cemented to the foam, and the foam completely contact-cemented to the base. Sounds very solid! just don’t try taking it apart. That’s apparently not the idea with this seat, the best foam unicycle seat I’ve ever sat on.
… I would go as far as to say ‘it is the best seat I’ve sat on, including air’ (although I’ve yet to try an air/foam combo…). Air feels harder, regardless of pressure, to my back side…
The back of the sadle is a bit wide for seat transitions… and there is that bit about sucky bumper colours (all black); other than that, it’s a vast improvement. Thanx Kris, thanx Velo.
I had my first ride on the KH saddle yesterday. Went for about 3hrs, mostly on-road and some off road.
I found that the saddle tended to push my appendiges upwards- that big angle seems a bit weird. It was also quite flexy especially in the downwards direction (I’m scared it would break when standing and hammering). Probably slightly flexier than the miyata before the carbon fiber conversion.
Otherwise I quite liked the saddle. I agree it’s the best saddle out there except for an Air/foam carbon seat.
I would also add that the Kris Holm saddle is much heavier and much higher than a normal saddle. It feels twice as heavy as my Torker seat (no-handle type). You will have to move your seat post down 2.5 to 3.0cm to account for the extra height.
I think that extra weight is worth it. That foam feels wonderful.
The dimensions of the Kris Holm seat are:
26cm long - top of the seat (measuring straight, not bending with saddle. 28cm if measuring with the bend)
37cm long - underside of the seat, including the handle. (38 cm if measure with the bend).
The handle sticks out 4.5cm from the front of the seat.
The seat is 14.5cm at the widest point in the front.
It is 6.5cm wide across the center at the narrowest part of the seat.
It is 14 cm wide at the back of the seat.
It is 7.7cm high at the middle of the seat where the seat post attaches.
Ya- thicker; I adjust the sadle height based on how high it is compared to my navel- as opposed to some mark on the post. This point is a bit different than with other sadles, since there it has such a pronounced curve.
I would like actual weights for the sadle though: mine doesn’t feel twice as heavy as a Viscount, but comparable; a Torker sadle is exceptionaly light, and isn’t typical. You couldn’t fend off attackers with a Torker- not for long anyway; same thing goes for sitting on one.
The kris holm velo saddle is the best stock saddle on the market. I had never used the miyata saddle before I got my kris holm saddle. The first time I used my kh saddle was at a unitics meeting in nyc. We rode for like six hours of on again off again riding. I was naturally slightly sore at the end of the day. No complaints really.
But this past week I opted not to use my saddle and I used U-turns souped up miyata with grab handle (stifener plate and grab handle) and the seat is really hard. It is also square on the edges and has a lack of padding. My legs were really hurting at the end of the day. And I almost dreaded getting back on the seat. It was really an uncumfortable ride.
If you have a waist of over 34 inches, I’m betting that the KH velo saddle completely sucks for you.
It’s a real NutCrusher for me.
There is simply too much curvature.
I suppose that I should have known better. I mean how big is Kris Holm anyway? He looks like maybe 120 lbs. and a waist of 29-30 inches. Am I right?
I agree that the thing is well constructed and would provide a good platform if it happens to fit.
I’m not completely sure how I’ll get it the middle/ side portions back together, but I am in the process of customizing the foam to fit my sizeable ass. Ripped out the staples. Unbolted the handle and bumper. Peeled the foam away from the frame. Loaded the dremel with a grinding stone. Found a bit of 80 grit sandpaper, hemostats, and curved surgical scissors. The foam on the nose and tail is coming out of there. No turning back now. The goal is to lower the fore and aft by carefully removing foam from the underneath of each area. I think it will work if I can just get the staples back in. Proabably have to use some contact cement here and there. If anyone is interested, send me a note and I’ll let you know how the surgery went.
I tried to do surgery too, but I chickened out halfway through because it looked like it was going to ruin the seat. When you put the whole thing back together, try using brass thumbtacks to hold the cover on. I found that they work better than staples and they are easier to remove if you need to do more surgery.
I too found that the KH seat was a crusher. Some of that was me just being a new rider but mostly it was just me getting crushed by the shape of the saddle, I just couldn’t get my weight off of the skinny center portion. I found that by lowering the seat a little farther than “ideal” I was able to sit up more on the back of the saddle without sliding down into that skinny section. Much more comfortable.
I put them on the inside pointing out. Just like the staples. I have had the thumbtacks in for a while now and the saddle has taken a beating with nothing coming loose. Make sure you get a brand that isn’t too long though.
Got tired of removing foam from the underside and decided to go at the topside. I tore the cover completely off of the foam and wnt at the newly exposed foam with a surform. It was much faster this way. I used contact cement to mate the cover back to the custom shaped foam. The cover neede a little trimming. Plain old heavy duty 1/4 inch staples were used to reattach the middle portions (not all went in completely and most had to be carefully bottomed out with the help of needle-nosed pliers).
Just took it for a spin around the block. Doesn’t suck at all like it used to.
Is it just me or does jumping with the kris holm seat make your fingers really sore? My joints kinda hurt. Am I doing something wrong, or is this just an effect of unicycling?
