# New KMX Trikes ?



## sheddy (18 Mar 2008)

Has anyone ridden any of the (3 or 5 ?) new adult KMX models http://www.tandems-recumbents.com/kmx.html


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## tdr1nka (18 Mar 2008)

Sadly not.
Wouldn't mind a go tho, do we have to go to Ohio for a test spin?


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## ufkacbln (18 Mar 2008)

I have watched these develop over the years as the company is local.

They are excellent trikes for their price and that is I think the problem.

At just under £1800, the Venom is more expensive than the majority of the Catrike range - with the Pocket, Trail, Road, Speed, and Expedition all coming in at less.

You can also buy a Trice at £1600 which is considerably cheaper.

The lower priced ones have little competition (apart from the Catrike Trail)


This is the niche, reliable, bombproof fun bikes, but........

The KMX lack the refinement, aesthetics and polish of these bikes, and whilst the original sub £1000 price bracket this is accepted, I think it will be a problem when the prices rises above this mark.

There is also the drawback of versatility where there is no rack fitting or luggage carriage possible.

If I sound "snobbish" it is not meant that way, just an honest personal assessment.


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## tdr1nka (18 Mar 2008)

KMX do have their own rack, saving pennies I've cobbled my own out of bits!

I too think that if they're going for higher price, the box section frame starts to look less attractive compared to other trikes on the market.
Nice seats tho.


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## Andy in Sig (19 Mar 2008)

Cunobelin said:


> I have watched these develop over the years as the company is local.
> 
> They are excellent trikes for their price and that is I think the problem.
> 
> ...



I find it quite difficult to get an overview of the trike market. I get the impression that KMX specialise in fun off-roaders. Is that right?

If I were forced, on the basis of my limited knowledge to recommend a tourer it would be the HPV Scorpion. Does anybody believe there are better tourers?

And what would be the recommmendation for a fast, light trike for zipping around at the weekend?


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## tdr1nka (19 Mar 2008)

Andy in Sig said:


> I find it quite difficult to get an overview of the trike market. I get the impression that KMX specialise in fun off-roaders. Is that right?



The KMX started out as an off road 'fun' trike but are obviously out to expand their market.

The KMX-X and XT were reasonably priced and I bought my 'X' second hand for £300 as there was no way I could afford to 'try out' anything more expensive.
(I have a knee injury that was giving me problems on my upright and all suggestions pointed me toward getting a 'bent or 'bent trike.)

The KMX is a lot of fun but it has needed upgrading from the original spec in order for it to be used as a road bike. Gears and tyres being the major changes.
With every respect to KMX, they are a family business with a good product, but now I know that a tadpole trike with underseat steering is the beast for me, I can now start saving for something a little bit more 'up market'.


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## byegad (22 Mar 2008)

They need the R&D of a big bike firm behind them. With a range from £600 to £1000 and a 'sorted' design they would sell them by the thousand if it had a 'name' on the boom. With 21 speed Megarange gears for the cheap one and up to 27 Deore at the top end they would sell to returning riders who found their new cheap MTB/Hybrid too uncomfortable after an hour in the saddle.


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## ufkacbln (22 Mar 2008)

The Trike market is massively varied... The Scorpion by HPVelotechnik is a good machine, but no better / worse than the Trice series, the Greenspeed bikes or the Catrikes.

My personal choice was the Catrike Expedition - but that was after some 14 years on a Trice. I have ridden (with the exception of the Scorpion) all the UK available brands at some point, and it will be a personal choice. The difference between steering attached to the headset (direct) to steering via handlebars attached via rods is subtle but may be enough to influence the choice.

Prices also vary...

As I said this is not "snobbery", simply look at the Catrike Expedition finish, quality and then compare withteh KMX







Now look at the Trice which is some £400 cheaper!






Finally compare a trike at some £700 less!






This is where the problem lies for me...


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## tdr1nka (22 Mar 2008)

Waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!

I wish I had the dosh........


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## byegad (22 Mar 2008)

Cunobelin is right to point out the differences in price and finish available. 

I'm old enough to remember the car market of the 1960s. There were some really bad cars on sale in Britain, I drove and owned some! Some of them were so BAD (as in lethal) that the USA banned their import. A fact that was treated as Secret by the UK goverment. 
Nowadays there are NO cars that bad, yes, some are better than others but none are anywhere near as dangerous as some 60s models. 
As I say, GB motorists were mostly in the dark as to what was good and what was dangerous. So we drove what they could afford. Fortunately all that is in the past for cars.

Back to trikes.
In my opinion we are slowly moving out of the phase of dangerous vehicles in the trike market. Some still on sale are a bit short on safety margins in vital systems, others are better, some are much better. However we are not, in my opinion, YET at the point where there are no bad trikes on the market, BUT we are getting near to it and soon we will be able to say there are no bad trikes out there, only satisfactory and better ones. 
Which trike is best? You pay your money and take your chance. But maybe for not too much longer!


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## ufkacbln (23 Mar 2008)

Do not get me wrong - I have no problem with KMX - they are good strong reliable machines designed for stunt riding and ti be abused... simply the aesthetics and limitations at this price range.


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## tdr1nka (23 Mar 2008)

byegad said:


> In my opinion we are slowly moving out of the phase of dangerous vehicles in the trike market. Some still on sale are a bit short on safety margins in vital systems, others are better, some are much better.





Just to settle my mind byegad, do you view the KMX as a potentially dangerous trike?
I only ask as I have v.limited experience and my secondhand KMX-X was simply the cheapest way to get started. It is robust enough for me to use on London roads, albeit a tad heavy. It has also eased a problem I had with an aggrivated knee injury that made my upright deeply uncomfortable to ride and was why I was recommended I tried a trike.
I already know the limitations and weaknesses of this trike and I'm keen to move up to a 'bigger, better' brand just as soon as funds and Mrs. tdr1nka permit.


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## BentMikey (23 Mar 2008)

I'm not sure why trikes would be considered dangerous!! My boy has a KMX, and it's absolutely brilliant for the money.


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## byegad (23 Mar 2008)

Absolutely not! tdr1nka. The KMX carts seem fine for their design aim of a fun thing, well able to stand up to abuse. They do seem to lack the design finesse of other trikes, but that is very much a subjective assessment! Also I am not sure about any tadpole which has a rear brake designed to be used on the move. I imagine locking the rear wheel, swapping ends and then letting the brake off. You are almost guaranteed to wrench a knee. I avoided the parking brake option of a rear disc on my tadpole precisely to avoid the temptation of a 180! My old knees appreciate me looking after them.

However there are some other trikes which in the recent past have had reported problems on American sites. I guess that given the size of some US riders they are pushing designs beyond the limit. I also know of a couple of now out of production trikes and one still in production which seem to suffer from particular faults. In a public forum it would be unfair of me to pass on heresay about particular models. Suffice to say I own a Trice QNT which is great and will soon take delivery of a Kettwiesel AL.


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## tdr1nka (23 Mar 2008)

Phew! Thanks byegad.

I understand the tadpole rear breaking problems as I did a couple of spectacular 'doughnuts' in the first weeks of owning the KMX.
The best was when I spun out and nearly tore my chainset along the side of an impatiently overtaking car when I had braked hard at temporary lights.

The park brake is useful to stand the trike up, but to be strong enough to stand the trike the brakes then either grab or rub when on the move.

Should I just dispense with a back brake altogether?


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## ufkacbln (23 Mar 2008)

This is my parking brake....







Simply loop round one of the independent front brakes. Quick to apply and release.

Catrikes have two independent front brakes, no rear.

My old Trice had a pair of calipers on the back operated by a Suntour friction gear changer


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## byegad (23 Mar 2008)

A rear brake for use as a drag brake on long downhills has a use. But it must be used with caution, as you found.


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## tdr1nka (23 Mar 2008)

The X has front disc brakes tied to the one lever, they stop on a dime and are easy enough to balance.
Maybe I just need to set the rear brake a bit squishy for drag on the downhills and just avoid using it the rest of the time?


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## byegad (24 Mar 2008)

tdr1nka said:


> The X has front disc brakes tied to the one lever, they stop on a dime and are easy enough to balance.
> Maybe I just need to set the rear brake a bit squishy for drag on the downhills and just avoid using it the rest of the time?



Sounds good to me. You may want to test the difference between a crash stop using the front brakes only and then the rear one and then both. My guess is that you won't find too much advantage in using the back as well as the front as there will be very little weight on it. My SA Drum brakes on the Trice will just lift the rear wheel, at that point the braking effort from a rear brake is approximately zero.


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## Badbackman (24 Mar 2008)

Ive got a kmx X Class and had a lot of fun on it, it was my first recumbent it certainly gives you a workout though, tried a secondhand Trice this Easter weekend and that was a very old model with view to purchasing and was amazed at the difference, there is no comparison the trice was very light way faster and nippier and totally different experience my son is now hammering the KMX (its built for it) while im flying lighter than air. Possibly only really feeling the benefit because of time spent on KMX earlier.


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## Badbackman (24 Mar 2008)

the winzip brakes on the KMX are excellent but if they are binding on movement it sounds like an adjustment problem, on my X class it holds enough to stand the bike up with no "binding or rubbing " problem when on the move


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## tdr1nka (24 Mar 2008)

Badbackman said:


> the winzip brakes on the KMX are excellent but if they are binding on movement it sounds like an adjustment problem, on my X class it holds enough to stand the bike up with no "binding or rubbing " problem when on the move



Cheers BBM! It's good to hear from another KMX rider.
I'll go back to the drawing board with the back brake and set it up from scratch.
If it keeps giving me jip I'll just disconnect it!


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## ufkacbln (24 Mar 2008)

Badbackman said:


> Ive got a kmx X Class and had a lot of fun on it, it was my first recumbent it certainly gives you a workout though, tried a secondhand Trice this Easter weekend and that was a very old model with view to purchasing and was amazed at the difference, there is no comparison the trice was very light way faster and nippier and totally different experience my son is now hammering the KMX (its built for it) while im flying lighter than air. Possibly only really feeling the benefit because of time spent on KMX earlier.



The Trice is a case in point as it evolved from square tubing... when I bought mine in 1994 it had just changed to round. ICE used to have pictures on their site, but they have been removed.


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## Riding in Circles (5 Jun 2008)

We had to raise the price on the Trail as the increased shipping costs due to oil price increases was killing us a bit. However we now have a 9sp model called the Villager with a 12" seat height and 5.5" ground clearance at old price of the Trail. I think it will be a good one to add a Schlumpf drive to for extra gear inches and we will be doing a more off road orientated derivative with a hub gear as well, with that and the touring special edition I am doing I can't keep up, so I'm taking the day off to go for a ride.


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## Night Train (5 Jun 2008)

I liken KMX loosely to Land Rover. Making slightly rough, tough off road vehicles that didn't cost much and could be fixed without concern for aesthetics(sp). Then the Range Rover came along and everything else became more expensive even though it was still rough and tough engineering. Eventually, KMX, like Land Rover, will stop having low cost fun vehicles and some other maker will have to come along to fill the gap.

Anyone want to start a business with me?


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## tdr1nka (5 Jun 2008)

FWIW I've stopped using the back brake when riding the KMX, it's made things a lot easier!


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## spandex (5 Jun 2008)

I dont like them! The KMX was made for off road and when they came up with the road range all they did was change some of the bits? its still the same old box tubing there is batter out there for the money I think. Off road they are Very Very good Ive had one for a year or so and have 11 working (8 not working*) at work. 


* we are very hard on all the uni, bi, tri and quadracycles we have And find most of the faults with in the first 3months.


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