Gotway Seat Early Impressions

[Citi Wheel]

I've getting used riding with the Gotway seat on my muper3s+ and here are a few take aways.

1. It's kind of like learning to ride all over again: Remember when you learned to ride with your right foot only and had a lot of trouble when you tried with the left. I feel like our brains are very compartmentalized for specific tasks, and when you ask it to do something even a little different, the brain has to learn it all over again. Riding sitting down is no exception. It took a solid hour of practicing in my hallway before I felt comfortable enough to ride outside.
2. Comfort: For me at 5'7", it's not an uncomfortable riding position. Just like standing up, I can ride for about 15-20 minutes before my gluts start hurting. The nice thing is that you can alternate between standing up and sitting down when your feet or butt get soar, perfect for 1 hour plus rides.  
3. Standing to sitting, sitting to standing while riding: At first I felt very uncomfortable doing. @houseofjob has seat riding experience with his kingsong 18, and he said you just got to commit. Once you finally do it once and you don't fall, you get the confidence to do it again, and more smoothly. Obv, this is a key motion to master if you plan on alternating between standing and sitting for long distance rides. Otherwise, having to stop to reposition each time, does become a pain in the ass.
4. Performance: Braking and accelerating are probably 70% of standing because you don't have as much weight to through around. Maneuverability is also decreased bc your range of motion in your hips is also lowered. Additionally, you have to be very vigilant of bumps, because I think a big one could definitely bounce you off the unit at high speed. 
5. Wind resistance: At higher speed (30+ kph), I felt very little wind resistance compared to standing up. I would have to test it but I think this can def improve the high speed range of the unit.
6. Cool factor: Whereas most people say how cool the Gotway is when they see you riding standing up, the same people will laugh at you when they see you riding sitting down. Headphones or a thick skin are prerequisites if you plan to ride this way. 

I prob only have 15 miles of seat riding experience so far, so I'm sure this list is not exhaustive. Input from anyone else with more riding experience is much appreciated.

[Shoe73]

Thanks for the review, I've thought a seat would be good just take a load off the feet for a little while every now and then. I tried strapping a piano bench to a EUC to see how it was to ride sitting down and it was hard, like you said--learning all over again!

I'll move this post to the reviews section, since it may be of interest to people there, leaving a link in the Gotway section. 

[Cloud]

@logos122 ive been riding mine also, and agree with your impressions.

here is a few more to add to your list.

Overtime it becomes easier to use the seat and the combination of riding standing and sitting seems like a good scenario for longer rides. Since the control of the wheel is reduced when sitting down, riding in this position shoukd be limited to riding on smoother surfaces with not many people around. One of the challenges is to find a good spot to sit on since riding toeards the back, with half your behind off the seat is painful but allows for a better wheel control, while sitting close to the front is more comfortable but reduces the control capabilities. The trick was to learn to sit down while riding from the standing pisition, but after trying a few times it became easier. Standing up from sitting down is not a problem. 

My bottom line is - i like the seat and it can be useful -  after enough practice one can get comfortable enough. Of course it would have been nice if the top of the seat was softer. Another thing to remember is that one needs to be very careful riding in this position, and avoid it in difficult situation - a few days ago i got into an accident while sitting down, when a bike rider ran me over and i wasnt fas enough to avoid him.

 

[Citi Wheel]

28 minutes ago, Cloud said:

@logos122 Another thing to remember is that one needs to be very careful riding in this position, and avoid it in difficult situation - a few days ago i got into an accident while sitting down, when a bike rider ran me over and i wasnt fas enough to avoid him.

 

I'm sorry to hear that. Hope you're okay! 

I had a close call with a car while sitting down. He didn't see me initially and keep proceeding at an intersection where the bike's/peds have the right of way.  I had to jump up from the sitting quickly to make myself more visible.

[zlymex]

Thanks for the experiece and agreed very much. It took a lot of practice for me in order for sit ride. When I posted a photo of me sit ride several days ago, someone did think it is a funny position as well(and I agreed with that)..

 

[zlymex]

14 hours ago, Cloud said:

Another thing to remember is that one needs to be very careful riding in this position, and avoid it in difficult situation - a few days ago i got into an accident while sitting down, when a bike rider ran me over and i wasnt fas enough to avoid him.

I'm sorry to hear that too. I remembered seeing a video footage of a group of people sit ridding long distance(2000km, to Tibet, in 2014), one of them standed up for road crossing apparently to gain more control over might-be sudden events.
Here is the video: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XODIxMjYyOTU2.html

[Jose Otal]

Creo que los asientos carecen de altura y que sería mejor que inventar un adaptador y ser capaz de utilizar asientos de bicicleta y si se tiene un mejor sistema de amortiguación ,A little more height and better control in the feet

[Dingfelder]

Er... what Gotway seat?  And which models does it fit?  

I had thought only the Kingsong 18 had a seat to go with it, and that's one of the things that made me really want to get one.

Is the seat the one in the photo by Jose Otal above?

Any info?  I'm intrigued!

[TremF]

8 minutes ago, Dingfelder said:

Er... what Gotway seat?  And which models does it fit?  

I had thought only the Kingsong 18 had a seat to go with it, and that's one of the things that made me really want to get one.

Is the seat the one in the photo by Jose Otal above?

Any info?  I'm intrigued!

The new Gotway MSuper V3 and Gotway Monster both have seats and no they aren't as pictured above.

I have one for my Monster but haven't tried it properly yet. I had a quick try but it isn't easy so I am waiting for some softer ground hehe

https://www.speedyfeet.co.uk/collections/msuper-v3-parts/products/msuper-v3-820-1300-1600wh-seat-unit

https://www.speedyfeet.co.uk/collections/monster-parts/products/monster-seat-unit

[Dingfelder]

8 minutes ago, TremF said:

The new Gotway MSuper V3 and Gotway Monster both have seats and no they aren't as pictured above.

I have one for my Monster but haven't tried it properly yet. I had a quick try but it isn't easy so I am waiting for some softer ground hehe

Wow that is super interesting.  Please try it out and tell us what it's like.  

Speedyfeet's video was helpful but since the V3 is so much smaller than the monster, I don't think the experience and comfort level would be comparable ... not much anyway.

I've been thinking I'd buy either the KS18's latest version when Jason gets them in in June or the monster, but leaning heavily toward the Kingsong 18.  The ability to sit on either one would definitely put things a little more in flux.

[TremF]

14 minutes ago, Dingfelder said:

Wow that is super interesting.  Please try it out and tell us what it's like.  

Speedyfeet's video was helpful but since the V3 is so much smaller than the monster, I don't think the experience and comfort level would be comparable ... not much anyway.

I've been thinking I'd buy either the KS18's latest version when Jason gets them in in June or the monster, but leaning heavily toward the Kingsong 18.  The ability to sit on either one would definitely put things a little more in flux.

Ian and Jon have a video from their 1000 mile trip raising money for Barnado's which shows them using the Monster seat...

 

[Dingfelder]

Ah cool thanks.

I also found this one:

Looks like both riders who tried it found it fine, and my impression is one really liked it a lot.