Improvements on hip mount shaft

[Jiminsandiego]

I hip mount my gt, but the stock shaft seems to be designed for shaft mounting. I found that the straighter I could get my arm the better it was, so I moved the grip down as far as possible. I then moved the arm cuff back so that only one bolt goes through the shaft and the other is behind it (seems plenty strong). Now the arm cuff is above my elbow with the strap around my lower bicep. To raise the point of contact on my forearm I taped some foam on the shaft. Then I got a tip from a guy called Magic on another forum here and added a wrist strap. Just a few inches of Velcro that I "velcroed" to the shaft worked very nicely but I plan on gluing some neoprene on it for comfort. This set up (although pretty ugly right now) works a lot better for me than the stock set up. The wrist strap was a huge improvement and even with my 12x15 coil it seems plenty light enough to me. At the very least I proved to myself that a better shaft for hip mounting is a possibility. Maybe a bend upward on the shaft where the cuff is attached, maybe a "formed" forearm pad and maybe a grip that can adjust it's angle. As always any input would be much appreciated as I'm sure other people have improved the ergonomics of their shaft as apposed to simply lightening one.
Cheers,
Jim

 

[Critterhunter]

Yes, the arm and wrist should be perfectly straight. Putting the grip too close causind a bend in either will wear you out faster. Arm cup should be right below elbow. Shaft length long enough so that you keep your back straight and coil just rides above the ground.

That stock grip is very uncomfortable. Put a bike end bar on and your choice of rubber grips. So much better.