Reviewed by Adulttricyclereview.com
Greenspeed Magnum GT20 RS Review on May 16, 2022
Greenspeeds
founder, Ian Sims, started building recumbent trikes in Australia back
in 1990. I knew Ian personally, and he was a quite innovative person.
Ian was the kind of person that if someone presented him an engineering
challenge he would say “I can do that and I think I can do it better”.
If there was an engineering problem, he was driven to find the best
solution for it. Ian was never about trying to grow Greenspeed into a
hundred-million dollar company. He was to busy having fun tinkering in
his work shop in Australia. GT 20 RS.
Ian
came from a racing background. He was heavily involved in side-car
motorcycle racing, designing, and building. His designs were some of the
faster motorcycles on the track. Ian first became involved in
human-powered bicycle racing when a local college asked him for help
with some trike designs for a competition. By helping the local college
kids make two radically different trike designs, the college team was
awarded 1st and 2nd place on their 1st
try. Ian then started getting a reputation with building trikes. He was
later approached by two people who wanted to do a perimeter tour around
Australia. Ian built them two trikes and they worked flawlessly for
the entire journey. His trike-building career continued after visiting
the United States in 2010. From this trip, Ian had a better idea of what
people wanted and needed in the US. Ian then spent the next two years
developing the Magnum series of trikes.
Frame:
The frame on the Greenspeed Magnum GT 20 RS is made of aluminum that is
TIG welded together in Tiachung Taiwan. I believe the welds are
beautiful and of the highest quality in the industry. Ian chose a
premium rear shock from Rock Shox which is air adjustable rather than a
simple coil spring like other manufactures use. The Magnum GT 20 RS has a
light frame with a maximum rider weight capacity of 300 Lbs. The
Magnum series of trikes frames all fold for easy transportation and
storage. The folding is performed by removing the two seat pins on the
back of the seat and undoing the seat quick release on the bottom of the
seat. The seat can be removed in about ten seconds without using any
tools. The frame has a quick release in the center of the trike and the
rear wheel folds up and over the main section of the frame. The rear
wheel will come to rest between the left front wheel and the boom. This
folding method is much easier compared to other brands that have chosen
to fold the rear wheel under the main frame rather than over the main
frame.
Paint: The Greenspeed paint jobs are very
nice. The paint is sprayed on evenly and consistently. It is more
difficult to get paint to stick to aluminum, but Greenspeed frame
manufacture has got the process down and the paint jobs will last for a
long time.
Drive Train: The shifting is superb
on the Magnum GT 20 RS. Greenspeed chose a premium Shimano drivetrain
with nine gears to choose from in the rear and three chain rings in the
front for a total of 27 speeds. The Shimano front and rear derailleur
perform flawlessly mated to the Shimano Dur-Ace Bar End Shifters.
Greenspeed prefers Bar End Shifters and you will see them on all the
their trikes. Bar end shifters are my shifter of choice as well.
Greenspeed does not currently offer an electric version but I was
talking to the their sales representative and it was on his want list
for Greenspeed. However, Electric Bike Outfitter offers a nice reliable
350 watt motor kit which can be retrofitted onto any of the Magnum
series of trikes.
Brakes: Greenspeed chose the
Sturmey Archer Drum brakes and Tektro brand brake levers for the Magnum
GT 20 RS. Sturmey Archer makes a special light-weight version to help
reduce weight, the drum brakes look very nice and are the right choice
for this trike. Ian likes the drum brakes and you will see them used on
most Greenspeed trike models. The Drum Brakes offer more consistent
stopping power than disc brakes because the brake surface and brake pads
never get wet. I have no issue with the Sturmey Archer drum brakes.
They are simple, reliable, easily adjustable, and stop well. Greenspeed
has quick-release axles which make removing the wheels a snap. The brake
levers have a little button you can press which will lock the two front
brakes to help with getting in and out of the trike. The Sturmey
Archer brakes have about four times as much brake pad material as a disc
brake and will last far longer than the pads on disc brakes.
Seat:
Ian told me that he had a chiropractor friend that helped him with the
development of the seat shape. The seat frame is made of aluminum and
the seat fabric is a simple mesh. With all the padded seat fabrics on
the market, you would think the Greenspeed has been left behind, but
that is not the case. If you look at all the positives, it is truly a
wonderful seat. The Magnum seat is much more breathable than some
padded seats, which can hold in heat and become less comfortable. The
seat fabric is held to the seat frame with a shock cord. The seat
fabric wraps around the sides of the seat frame and actually provides a
small bit of suspension. You would not think this is going to make a
noticeable difference in comfortability, but it actually does.
While
riding the trike and putting your hand on the side of the seat frame
you can actually feel the movement of the seat fabric around the seat
frame when you hit a bump. I have seen trikes that have lot of miles on
them where the anodization is almost worn off the seat frame from the
movement of the seat fabric around the seat frame. Ian also made the
seat height adjustable, if case you have difficulty getting in and out
of a trike, the Magnum GT 20 seat height can be adjusted from 12 inches
to 17 inches off the ground. The seat angle can also be adjusted from
30 degrees to 48 degrees so almost anyone can find that perfect comfort
position.
Handling: Many recumbent trikes have
“direct” (tiller type) steering, where, for cheapness, the handle bars
are clamped directly onto the kingpins without any intermediate linkage,
and bars have to be moved in the opposite direction to which you are
going, with the weaker muscles of your arms. Whereas the GreenSpeed
“Crossover” steering was invented by GreenSpeed to provide control with
your bicep muscles, thus the steering is much easier and more intuitive
to use. Furthermore, unlike other types of “indirect” trike steering,
the GS Crossover steering provides superior Ackermann compensation, and a
smaller turning circle, due to the fact that the steering rods cross
over from one side to the other.
GreenSpeed as well as other
forward thinking human-powered vehicle companies have discovered that
the rolling resistance of bicycle tires does not increase until a camber
angle of 10 degrees is reached. To improve stability without making
the trike wider, to counteract tire distortion while cornering, and to
reduce rolling resistance in the turns, the Magnum front wheels have 5
degrees of negative camber. Plus on tight turns, the steering geometry
changes the camber of the inside wheel from negative to positive, to
reduce rolling resistance and tire scrub in the turns. By swapping the
tires from side to side ½ way through their life, more life can be
obtained than if they were ran vertically.
Unlike a bike, the
front wheels of a trike are offset some distance from the center line of
the machine. Thus, applying one front wheel brake, as when hand
signaling for a turn while braking, will tend to steer the trike in that
direction. So, to compensate for this, the Magnum has Negative Scrub
Radius steering geometry, whereby the brake reaction steers the trike in
the opposite direction to which the braked wheel is pulling it. This
happens so subtly that all the rider notices is that the trike continues
in a straight line, when only one front brake is used. However, for
emergency breaking both brakes should be used, as this will double the
braking power.
Ride: I think the ride is
incredible for me, that does not mean it is incredible for you. I like
fast and light and the Magnum GT 20 RS is all that. Plus with the added
rear suspension, you end up with fast, light, and extra comfortable. I
think Ian designed this incredible trike for someone just like me. I am a
big fan of the Scorcher tire that Greenspeed uses on this trike. The
Scorcher tires do not have any puncture resistant material in the bottom
of the tire like the Schwalbe Marathon Plus which means the tire is
much more compliant but more apt to getting a puncture. The Scorcher
tires have a nice soft side wall which contributes to improved
flexibility improving ride quality and rolling ability.
In conclusion: I would not call this a race trike but a high performance trike that has exceptional handling and a very comfortable ride.
Pros: Light, fast, exceptional handling, plus a rear suspension makes this trike a real winner, only 39 Lbs
Cons:
Special cassette from Shimano that your local bike shop will not have
in stock. I would have liked to see Greenspeed use a traditional size
cassette then increase the front chain ring size up to a 53 tooth,