Hi everyone, I've been lurking for a while, but I thought I would post up some details. I picked up a KMX Typhoon (2017 model?) a couple of months ago out of curiosity (also, it was £310, so cheap) and I've been getting to grips with it since. It hadn't been used much, and I wanted to see if it would be practical for my (very short... 1mile!) commute and general relaxed pootling around. I usually ride uprights, and raced them up until a year ago, but I don't have the time to train at present, and it's nice not to have sore neck/shoulders after a ride.
So, I've been enjoying some aspects of trike ownership - the relaxed nature, seating position, the view! (admiring the stars on a clear night, not something I ever did on a DF!) The KMX is very comfy, even with swapping the large, cheap tyres for something narrower. And it moves fairly well, especially on the flat and downhill, but the gearing is a bit of a limiting factor. I was able to attach a rack fairly easily (a Topeak Super Tourist Disc that I had lying around), and attach a good front light (Decathlon VIOO 900, nice and bright!) with rubber bands - visibility is really important, I'm finding!
Some aspects - not so good. The KMX is a 1x8 setup, with 42T chainset and 11-34T cassette (24"-71"), which is ok - it gets me up a nearby 16% hill without my knees exploding, barely, but I really miss the high gears on the flat and downhills. I tried a 53/39 on the front, which helped, but there's no pillar for mounting a front mech to, so manual changing was a bit hair shirt... also it kept throwing the chain off going over bumps.
16" tyres! 306 size! What a pain. The only even semi-decent ones I could find were Schwalbe Road Cruisers, which are... not great. At least the 20" rear takes a Kojak.
Speed! These things aren't for collecting KOMs, are they? Should have saved up for a Windcheetah. But this is all that there was for sale in Northern Ireland!
So, my plans are:
- 56T chainset ordered from China for about £30.
- 11-40t 9 speed cassette ordered from China, for about £13.
- SunTour barend shifter run on friction setting, so I don't have to worry about compatibility, £10.
This should give loads of high gears, and lose a little off the low end (26"-95")
And at a later date....
- either rebuild front wheels onto 20" rims, or else buy wheels from KMX (£75 each, but they use proprietary hubs, it seems)
- some alternative arrangement for the front shifting - has anyone seen a FSA Metropolis Patterson chainset? 2 speed 28t/45t chainset, about £200.... hmm, the possibilities...
I will be asking questions about this setup soon!
Andrew
So, I've been enjoying some aspects of trike ownership - the relaxed nature, seating position, the view! (admiring the stars on a clear night, not something I ever did on a DF!) The KMX is very comfy, even with swapping the large, cheap tyres for something narrower. And it moves fairly well, especially on the flat and downhill, but the gearing is a bit of a limiting factor. I was able to attach a rack fairly easily (a Topeak Super Tourist Disc that I had lying around), and attach a good front light (Decathlon VIOO 900, nice and bright!) with rubber bands - visibility is really important, I'm finding!
Some aspects - not so good. The KMX is a 1x8 setup, with 42T chainset and 11-34T cassette (24"-71"), which is ok - it gets me up a nearby 16% hill without my knees exploding, barely, but I really miss the high gears on the flat and downhills. I tried a 53/39 on the front, which helped, but there's no pillar for mounting a front mech to, so manual changing was a bit hair shirt... also it kept throwing the chain off going over bumps.
16" tyres! 306 size! What a pain. The only even semi-decent ones I could find were Schwalbe Road Cruisers, which are... not great. At least the 20" rear takes a Kojak.
Speed! These things aren't for collecting KOMs, are they? Should have saved up for a Windcheetah. But this is all that there was for sale in Northern Ireland!
So, my plans are:
- 56T chainset ordered from China for about £30.
- 11-40t 9 speed cassette ordered from China, for about £13.
- SunTour barend shifter run on friction setting, so I don't have to worry about compatibility, £10.
This should give loads of high gears, and lose a little off the low end (26"-95")
And at a later date....
- either rebuild front wheels onto 20" rims, or else buy wheels from KMX (£75 each, but they use proprietary hubs, it seems)
- some alternative arrangement for the front shifting - has anyone seen a FSA Metropolis Patterson chainset? 2 speed 28t/45t chainset, about £200.... hmm, the possibilities...
I will be asking questions about this setup soon!
Andrew
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to the forum.