Purpose of handles?

I think the biggest reason a lot of distance unicycles have handles is
because they come with KH or Miyata's which have handles on them
already. I wouldn't advise putting tooo much pressure on the handle,
doing that for a long long time can wear it out and possibly break it.
unlikely, but possible.

and holding the handle gives SOO much more stability riding over rough
terrain. a lot of the time riding over rough terrain I don't actually
sit on the seat, I stand on the pedals and hold the seat so it won't
fall out and that stuff. so yes.

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The handles help to let you get a little weight off the seat. They also
help you to control the unicycle.

The handles are also helpful for climbing or descending. But the fancy
touring handles are less helpful for climbing than having a good handle
right on the nose of the seat. A good KH, Miyata, or Kinport style
handle right on the front of the seat is the best handle for climbing.
The further out from the front of the seat a handle gets the less useful
it is for climbing.

The fancy touring handles are most useful on the flats and gentle hills.
For steeper hills a good handle mounted directly to the nose of the
saddle works better.

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James_Potter said:

*I think the biggest reason a lot of distance unicycles have handles
is because they come with KH or Miyata's which have handles on them
already. I wouldn't advise putting tooo much pressure on the handle,
doing that for a long long time can wear it out and possibly break it.
unlikely, but possible.

and holding the handle gives SOO much more stability riding over rough
terrain. a lot of the time riding over rough terrain I don't actually
sit on the seat, I stand on the pedals and hold the seat so it won't
fall out and that stuff. so yes. *

You misunderstood, partially my fault. I dont mean like the miyata or KH
plastic handles, I mean like the GB4 type handles.

Like This

[image:
http://gallery.unicyclist.com/albums/john_childs_misc/JC_Coker_Handle_Beta1.sized.jpg]

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ohhh, those handles!! well, those I think ARE to take weight off the
seat, and just get in a more comfortable position. even though I don't
think it looks that comfortable.... anyway.
I doubt those kinds of handles would help with stability though, the
standard front of seat handle would be better for that.

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glopal said:

*You misunderstood, partially my fault. I dont mean like the miyata or
KH plastic handles, I mean like the GB4 type handles.

Like This

Also, John, where did you get the parts for the above *

The description of the parts necessary to build that handle are in my
'Miscellaneous Stuff gallery'
(http://gallery.unicyclist.com/john_childs_misc). Click on the links in
the text descriptions to read the threads about it.

You'll note that I've got a plastic Kinport handle on the front of the
saddle. I use the Kinport handle for climbing and descending and also
during some regular riding. The handle extension gives me an
alternative hand position that is more comfortable when I'm just
cruising along. Having some alternative hand positions helps to keep
your arm from getting cramped or sore from holding a handle in one
position for many hours. I've got a carbon fiber seat base so there is
no flex in the seat when using the Kinport handle.

I tried a GB4 handle and I didn't like that hand position for climbing,
although it was a comfortable hand position for cruising. I opted for
my design so I'd have an optimal hand position for things like climbing,
muni, and descending. I have the extended hand position for when I'm
cruising on the flats or gentle hills. That gives me the best of both
worlds.

I take the front handle extension off when I take the Coker out for a
muni style ride. That long extension just gets in the way for muni and
could actually be a bit dangerous. That's another reason why I opted
for the modular approach

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