What was your most game-changing equipment upgrade?

@Maxence is answering :popcorn:

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Depending on the clips settings, it can be dangerous. They have to be a bit loose so you can easily remove your feet. IMHO, using SPD multi-directional cleats is a must-have, too. Some people use road cleats, but they are crazy - such as @toutestbon :stuck_out_tongue:
They tend to be useful for road touring or racing, but the discipline they excel at is muni. They add so much power, control and comfort I now find them mandatory.

By the way, as you state, if a rider has a lot of UPDs, they would be dangerous however they are set.

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SPD clipless pedals with SH-56 cleats with the minimum tightening are good for beginning. The foot is released with very little force.

For use on the road with a schlumpf or on a climb, it’s best if they’re tight enough so they don’t accidentally unclip.

Where you can get hurt the most is on a low speed fall, it is possible to have a foot that stays in the pedal.

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David, after over 35 years racing with the clips on a mtnb*ke I don"t even notice the release as I “dismount” on the muni it gives me an extreme advantage, and control. I’m sure Maxence and others who use agree. I started on the street with my home made uni and progressed from there.

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Didn’t start on a two-wheeler, but I agree: I don’t even notice the release when dismount, whether it is planned or not.

Aha, well I’ll consider them when I need the competitive edge :wink:

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Sometimes I wish I had started riding earlier, but now that I see what you all had to go through, I’ve changed my mind. No wonder people say that modern day saddles are so great… Compared to what you all had to go through I finally understand.

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Absolutely. Handles started out in the form of seat bumpers. The first really useful bumpers were on the Miyatas starting in 1980. They were like a handle, in that you had something to hook your fingers on under there. The early ones just had a single nut in the center, making them easier to grip than the 2-bolt kind. Separate handles started to happen around the late 90s, with the growth of Muni and then with the proliferation of 36" unicycles and people riding much longer distances.

I would love for that to be a thing! Don’t hold your breath. But retirement approaches; anything could happen…

I tried something like that once too, but not with wood. I think if you’d had enough time to experiment with the shape around your sit bones, you could’ve made the perfect long-range saddle for you.

That looks similar to the saddles used by Wally Watts, when he rode around the world in 1976-8. Like a loaf of bread.

I don’t know if I’ve seen one of those. You forgot to include a link!

You’re welcome. Those were based on drawings I did for Schwinn in 1984, right around the time we were putting together the IUF. My goal was to trick Schwinn into making a Miyata seat, so I made it look like existing Schwinns, but with bumpers. Unfortunately those bumpers were famous for falling off after a while. I think I still have a preproduction one, that came with one of two of the new Schwinns they sent us to give away as prizes at Unicon II (2) in 1986. The unicycles hit the market later that year. Those were the ones with a blue tire and seat for the 24", but the 20" was still chrome and black.

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Oh yes. how could I forget about that. I spent hours in our club stuffing these holes with anything to make the screw hold again. But, apart from that, these seats were pretty sturdy.

Disc brakes were one massive game changer for me on Muni. I never got on with Magura brakes and discbrakes made Morzine a play ground instead of a scary place.

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Bracing my aerobars to enable elbow steering with solid positive feel. Just this week I rebuilt the bracing on my KH36 from a single fibreglass brace to a double aluminium brace.

Allows for staying on aerobars even cornering. I can also relieve my weight on the seat by all weight on elbows.
Makes the 14km commute 3 days a week enjoyable and comfortable.



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Oh I’m sure you have! You should have tried one at Unicon!

Here’s what it looks like :slight_smile:
The far left one is symmetrical with angles on both sides. The 3 others are asym and offer a better and more natural position for riders who use only one hand (like me).

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Can you show the symmetrical and the asymmetrical on unicycles to see what they look like mounted. How much do you sell them for?

After further consideration, I can imagine that the clips mean you have to exert much less effort, because it probably eliminates the need to constantly maintain pressure of feet on pedals, by pulling up on the handle, for instance. If that is the case it would save a ton of energy.

I too would be interested in seeing how they look fitted and how much you sell them for.

Being a handlebar virgin and not a fan from a cosmetic point of massive great thing hanging out from under the seat I might be tempted to start off with a smaller one!

Well, not a ton of energy, but certainly a little. Especially on uphills.

Not to turn this into the clipless pedals debate, but not really. It’s a pretty well researched topic on bikes and the science shows that clipless pedals don’t provide measureable power benefits outside of sprinting situations and even there, it seems to only increase maximum power output, not efficiency. (There might be some hard to measure benefits on being able to use different muscles with clipless, which may reduce fatigue on long rides). I don’t think it will be much different on a unicycle.
Having the foot well secured on the pedal is the real benefit. I’m a bit curious to try (if anything, I’d try magnetic ones), but the way I like to ride does contain a certain willingness to take an UPD, I’m not sure if I want to have anything that could get in the way with that. Not that I’m flatout risking massive bails all the time, but especially in flat-ish, technical terrain, knowing that I’ll just land on my feet if I fail gives me confidence.

Which brings me to the other topic of this thread, handlebars. I have my own version/copy of @jaco_flans asym handlebars (might be building the next iteration soon, I’d like to change around some angles). Getting hung up on them on falls was my main concern, but it has shown to be not a big deal, since I run it close to the saddle. I guess the way that the seat angles down when you fall off forward helps a lot, so with short-ish handlebars getting over them is not a big deal.

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I can’t seem to be able to share a facebook post. You should be able to find it even without an account on www.facebook.com/flansberrium (or www.instagram.com/flansberrium). On my post from August 17, you can see my Muni with my Asym Handle on it (mine is not adjustable because I found my sweet spot). There are a couple pictures around on the forums, I’ll share if I find them!

They are 150$ CAD plus shipping to whereever you are. And like all my products, they are all handmade by myself in my workshop :slight_smile:

If you have any question you can message me!

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@Bug72 @m00ms

The mini T-bar is in the middle under a fusion one saddle. It’s short - this picture is with the handle at maximum extension.

And here a close up picture

For riding with one hand on the saddle the asymmetrical provides a very comfortable grip with an easy to reach brake lever.

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Which hand is on the handle bar?