Sal,
That is an area I want to improve also. I will be doing a new style rear bumper to go with the handles. It will hopefully make it a little more comfortable and secure to hold the seat out front.
The next step is a whole new seat system. So much to do, so little time…
Scott
I also rode a Reeder handle for quite some time, and decided to trade in on a Miyata style handle replacement. I do agree that a bit more finger room would be optimal, but Scott is definately on the right track with what he has going. This handle is obviously in a beta state, making sure this design and fabrication process will work is the first step. From there playing with the shape and sizes, and colors of course, could be the next step in this process.
the best thing about your bumper right now is the fact that it copys the distance around the seat as the Miyata one does.
i like a rear bumper that protects my seat in generous proportions (ive got a leather cover you know) the Kinport goes around the turn nicely but not as far as a Miyata and the KH rear bumper leaves alot to be desired.
if you ride on seriously nasty stuff with a KH Velo seat,its only a matter of time before that Armortex or whatever turns into a hole on the back of your saddle.
A new rear bumper to assist SIF would be fantastic. Right now I’m trying to figure out how to add tubing to my Miyata trials seat. I’m not sure that the cover will stretch over the tubing. I put tubing on the CF air seat, but the cover is way bigger. Has anybody put tubing on a non-air Miyata?
For my off-road Reeder, I trimmed it and angled it more. Now it doesn’t scrape or bruise my leg at all. I use a large-diameter end plug for a little more hand security. But I think there is still room for improvement.
Can’t wait to see more from Scott Wallis!
i sould have this in my other post up there but i forgot.
i did all the stuff that U-Turn mentioned too,i cut about 2 inches off.that helped but there was always a bruise in the same spot regardless.
the biggest reason i forgot to say is the same thing that N,Hoover said in a reponse to my question it the Thunder Dragon reveiw thread. i asked him “when your uni got lost,how was it to go back to the Miyata” he said this
[i]I’ve been riding Muni with a Reeder handle for the last 18 months and much prefer it to the Miyata handle. But riding that first week or so in Bhutan on the spare uni was ok. I guess we just didn’t do so much non-stop riding in that period that it strained my fingers. Also I think I’ve learned to ride without really cranking on the handle the way I used to. All of that made it no problem. (The only problem was bailing off a trail into some trees ripping out a spoke or two and impaling myself on a sharp stick!)
—Nathan[/i]
that little portion in bold type is where im at. i think that a Reeder becomes less and less nessisary as skill develops.
That can be an interesting discussion in itself. When I first learned to ride, gripping the handle was hard to do. Pretty quickly though, I was holding it anytime I was offroad. Then, as time went by I got to where I only used it occasionally. I prefer to let the unicycle float and swivel under me rather than being linked up rigidly when riding in rocks.
But then…I realized that I was limiting my maximum climbing ability by not using a death grip on really steep stuff. So I started practicing pulling on the handle for all I am worth while climbing hills I thought were impossible. Suddenly I was able to climb using the half-rev stalling technique I had read about, and climbing hills that stopped me before. When I do a lot of that kind of climbing my lower arm gets really sore, so I know I am working it. Having a comfortable, and just as importantly stiff, handle makes it much nicer. A flexy handle is like a flexy bike frame when you are hammering up a hill. Even worse on a muni because the timing of the power strokes is so critical on a technical climb.
So I guess for me, experience has caused me to use the handle less, but much more forcefully than before. Of course that could change again by the time I get to Nathan’s level. What?..it could happen!!
Scott