Rod,
I've had a few good rides on the GB4 handle, one or two brief rides on a
Reeder, and thousands of kms on a std KH handle. Quite a few kms on the
miyata too (but forget the Miyata- it's almost the worst handle I've
ridden)
My thoughts:
-The KH handle is a solid platform but not a large one to rest your
hands on. I don't think it places your hand in an unnatural position,
but it does hurt after yanking on the handle for a while (but so will
anything). It has a lot of pulling power though.
-The Reeder handle allows your palms to close over the bar (a palmar
grip) and is angled to give a lot of pulling power. I think it is more
comfy than the KH for distances but I don't think it has any more
pulling power than the KH. The Reeder handle actually sits quite high
(ie points upwards) when mounted to a KH seatbase, because of the curve
of the base). I don't think you'd want it pointing much further up or
it will have no power at all when pulling on it- your elbow would be at
too flexed an angle.
-The GB4 handle is a great setup for distances, and lets you cruise at
high speed for long periods because of the position your hands rest in
(kind of like a time trial bar on a bike). You can also put both hands
on the handle, and that takes a bit of pressure off your saddle area.
However, because of the way it is angled (11 and 1 o'clock positions),
it has very little power/leverage. It freaks me out everytime I descend
a steep hill- I ended up on my bottom for the first time ever today when
the unicycle went out from under me. That would not have happened with
a KH handle. The GB4 also has less leverage for off-the saddle power
climbs, but is great for just cruising up a hill. I have modified it
slightly by putting a cut down bar-end on one of the prongs of my GB4
handle- that's helped a bit, giving more hand positions for high
leverage situations.
I don't quite understand the first part of your question- but as far as
I can make out- in terms of hand stresses, the KH/Miyata style handles
uses a hook grip (kind of like holding a suitcase), whereas the GB4 and
Reeder handles utilise a palmar grip (holding a bar). Both of them
utilise the same powerful extrinsic muscles of the forearm. I don't
think the stresses on your hand are any different.
In terms of your forearms, the GB4 handle sit your forearms in a
relatively neutral position, whereas the Reeder/KH/Miyata in a slightly
supinated position (turned anticlockwise- radius and ulnar). I think
for long periods the neutral position is going to be more comfortable,
since you're not using muscles to actively hold the forearm supinated.
The stresses on the shoulder and elbow would depend on how flexed they
are, which is dependent on how low/high the handle is mounted. I don't
think there's too much you can alter with these particular handles
because they attach to the seat (although you can adjust seat angles and
also where you drill the holes in your seatbase for the handles). The
GB4 handle seems to sit quite high though.
Anyway, I'd get the Reeder handle if you want to do MUni; or the GB4 if
you want comfort for long distances, and not too fussed about
leverage.
Hope that's useful,
Ken
--
GizmoDuck - NZUNI
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