Magnum Trike Upgrades

To meet the demand by taller riders,  we have made the optional longer crank extension (boom) standard on all the Magnums in this 2012 October shipment to the USA and Australia. This 425 mm crank extension increases the X-seam range from 40" - 50" (was 40 - 48). As a result, riders shorter than 42" will need to cut 2" from the crank extension. And to meet the needs of shorter riders using the trike with the seat in the highest position, the handle bars have been extended by 40 mm.

All the previous trikes were fitted with all right hand threaded rod ends for safety reasons, so that if the lock nuts were ever came loose, the rod ends could not unscrew themselves. However a number of mechanics have complained that it took too long to adjust the track, as it was necessary to remove the rod end from the steering arm to make any adjustment. Now while I never found it an inconvenience, we must keep the mechanics happy ;-) So not only have I specified left and right hand rod ends for this batch, but I have had flats machined on the rods to make them easier to adjust, and had the flats engraved with the thread hand, so people will know which end has the left hand thread.

We had a few complaints about the rear wheel alignment in the July shipment, and while this was a purely cosmetic aspect, with no effect whatsoever on performance, a number of steps were taken with this batch, with new jigs and procedures introduced to take the wheel alignment to a very high standard. Evidence of this will be found on each new Magnum, where each half of the hinge has been numbered to ensure that the two halves of the frame are re-mated with each after painting.

As I have adjusted and removed the Magnum seat from time to time, I found that the seat struts tended to un-screw from the seat frame, so from this batch, I have specified longer screws with lock nuts, to prevent them from un-screwing.  I was also not happy with the fit of the seat cover on the seat frame of the last batch, as it was not slit to clear the cross braces, so I made sure that was done on this batch.

Another thing I was not happy with was the routing of the front derailleur cable, as if it was not zip tied to the crank extension, it could get caught with the cranks. Thus I've had the crank extension drilled so it can be routed through the crank extension to keep it out of the way.

The 2nd batch of Magnums which arrived in July saw the change in the rear cassette from the original 9/32 to an 11/34, due to complaints of poor shifting, supply of replacement cassettes, and gaps in the gearing. While I thought the 9/32 was superior, I never the less changed the cassette. However I  thought top gear was then to low, so when the previous Shimano 50/39/30 crankset was unavailable, I took the opportunity to rise the top gear by fitting a 52/42/30 Drive Line crankset.

While the trikes have always arrived to the USA in good condition, sometimes in their truck trips across the USA in the hands of UPS, they have suffered from mishandling. Thus the packing had been improved on this batch, and a bottle of touch up paint has been included with each trike.

Finally to cover the kingpin bearings, to give the trike a more "finished" look, and to prevent any rust showing, the kingpins have been fitted with caps.

Many thanks to all our customers who have given us feedback.  We have a policy of continuous development, so we  will continue to listen to owners, and make sure that each batch of Magnums is better than the previous batch.

Ian M Sims, CEO, October 2012