Since I last shared about the KBikes I have ordered 10 bikes from Kent. He has been working hard, on his weekends, to get them all made for me, and we are hoping to meet up at the Montana/Canadian border in a few weeks to make the exchange. I'm so excited to be bringing these into the US and sharing them with you all!
Of the 10 coming in I have ONE left to sell... as of 11/6/21. Pretty exciting.
Over these last few months there have been a few design changes made to the KBike. Kent is committed to making the bike better and better. That's one thing I LOVE about him as the designer! Aside from the fact that he is a kind and generous person.
One of the design changes is, he added about an 1 1/2" to the height of the frame. This will help it accommodate even taller ponies! So now we feel pretty good about using this bike on minis and ponies from 28" tall up to 48" tall.
The wheels are still the same. They are very sturdy, nylon wheels with aluminum hubs. They are rated for 800 pounds of pressure per wheel, so can handle the tilt of the bike frame.
The reason for the wheel tilt is to provide stability to the bike over all the various terrain you might want to drive on!
The tires are big fat 3" tall and 3" wide tires. These allow the bike to "float" over the ground. Because the bike doesn't have any suspension, the size of the tires is rather important. The fact that the tires are smooth helps reduce the drag when driving over sand, through dirt and over grass.
Those large nubby tires create quite a lot of drag making it a harder pull for the pony.
Kent has also re-designed how the foot basket attaches to the KBike frame, making it easier for us to assemble, easier to haul and easier to ship! This was accomplished by making a shaft extender that will stay on the foot basket and allows our short shafts to simply slide into the extenders - and walla we have a training vehicle! The video below show exactly how this works:
The KBikes that I am selling from my place here in Montana, will have a blue seat with a white stripe down the middle, as that is the color I was able to purchase:
The KBikes that are coming will be all black powder coated. We will not be offering colors at this time. Maybe in the future... but I've found that color only adds problems. LOL.
I am currently working on coming up with a KBike seat cover that will offer a place to carry your trail essentials, a water bottle and the various tools you may want to have hand while driving. I am also researching offering sheepskin seat covers! Stay tuned for those!
Sadly, we have found out that we can't import any more KBikes into the US after this first (and last) shipment. Importing is very difficult and expensive, making it cost prohibitive. My hubby and I are excited to have the opportunity to learn from Kent about how he makes these and are considering making the bikes here in the US. Hence KBike USA! This is a long process of learning for us so please be patient while we work it all out.
Again, I am so excited to be bringing these 10 bikes into the US and sharing them with you all! I think those that have purchased one will be thrilled to be able to enjoy driving their ponies, with a lightweight option that balances beautifully and effortlessly.