Saddle tilt

[pierrox]

Hi everyone,
First message here, I spent some time reading first but couldn't find an answer.
I started unicycling (again) last summer, but it's really this year that I can practice a lot. I have a Nimbus muni 24", and a basic Kahero 20" for home practice. I sort of master the free mounting with one foot down, thanks to a thread on this forum.
I have a saddle question. Height was easy to adjust, roughly like a normal bicycle, plenty instructions out there. But the saddle tilt puzzles me. The guys at unicycle.com told me that each his own taste, but that's a bit vague. I kept mine as it was when it arrived: pointing up. It's sort of comfortable, though sometimes my nuts tend to feel compressed!
But really, does the tilt affect the riding? I find myself doing a lot of zigzag whilst riding, and sometimes when I go (reasonably) fast, it feels like the uni is a bit out of control. Would I be better off, putting the saddle more horizontal, or won't it make a difference?
Sorry if it's a subject covered by dozens of threads, but feel free to share your experience re: saddle tilt.
Pierre, in Belgium right now.

[Nurse Ben]

I try to set my seat angle so that my "sit bones" are on the most padded part of the saddle, too far bak and the "fall off" the seat, too far forward and I start to get pressure on the jewels.

If you have the standard seat post that is only adjustable by slide the seat on the post base, then most people will run the seat all the way up/forward.

If you have an adjustable KH seat post, you have far more choices.

[pierrox]

Thanks for your reply!
The saddle on mine are roughly adjusted as you say: front is almost at its maximum position. I guess the zigzag motion is inherent to unicycling and will reduce as I progress.

[UniTographer]

Originally Posted by pierrox

Thanks for your reply!
The saddle on mine are roughly adjusted as you say: front is almost at its maximum position. I guess the zigzag motion is inherent to unicycling and will reduce as I progress.

Right- that's you stomping on the pedals. As your balance improves, you'll spin the pedals more and stomp on them less.

[Fungip]

Someone advised me to place a few washers under each front seat screw. It tilted the front of the seat up. This worker out really well for me. I think I placed two washers on each screw.

[pierrox]

Originally Posted by UniTographer

Right- that's you stomping on the pedals. As your balance improves, you'll spin the pedals more and stomp on them less.

And that explains why I do it more on the 24" than on the 20" on which spinning smoothly is much easier.

[Nurse Ben]

And that explains why I do it more on the 24" than on the 20" on which spinning smoothly is much easier.

The key to reducing the side to side "swing" is to spin the cranks vs push down on the pedals, a subtle difference, but it makes a big difference.

And yes, a couple washers will jack up the nose of the seat, but if you are running a Nimbus saddle and are having "crushed jewels issues" it is more likely due the seat being curved in the waist in contrast to a KH Freeride which is flatter through the waist.

Try the washers, jack it way up, then see how it feels. You'll know it's too much if your sit bones are falling off the back of the seat.

[pierrox]

Originally Posted by Nurse Ben

spin the cranks vs push down on the pedals, a subtle difference,

Indeed!
But right now, it's hard for me to visualise the difference, to be honest!