Behold the most hyped keyboard of 2023!

TKD Cycle7

Keyboard kit	TKD Cycle7
Case	Anodized, CNC machined 6063-T6 aluminum (“Fog” blue)
Layout	70% / FRL TKL
Typing angle	7°
Plate	Aluminum + PC
Mounting options	Gasket mount with two different types of gaskets
Lights	–

The aesthetics, the sound, the feel – they compete with boards in the $400 range.
[…] This is the best value board ever made.
— Blacksimon¹

The TKD Cycle7² is an “F-row-less” (FRL), “tenkeyless” (TKL) keyboard kit. It uses a relatively simple, classic box-on-wedge design with a hefty stainless steel weight at the bottom reaching close to 2kg built. A ball-catch mechanism enables quick and easy assembly and disassembly without tools. This feature helps the user experiment with the two mounting styles and decide whether to use the case foam or not. The Cycle7 feels substantial and sounds great³ for a relatively low price starting at $139.

After the rave reviews, I decided to order one. I like the FRL layout. It looks a bit sleeker than a classic TKL and accessing the F keys by pressing the number keys and an additional function key is not much of a hassle if you rarely use the F keys. This is my first board with an actual bottom weight that is meant to improve the sound. I picked the light blue “Fog” color with the sandblasted stainless steel weight.

The Cycle7 was sold in a group buy⁴ between July 21 and August 22 2023 with an ETA of Q4 2023. I ordered the keyboard with wired PCB and the sandblasted weight for 174 Euros plus an additional PC plate for 24 Euros. TKD ran into some issues during the manufacturing leading to a small delay – I received it in February 2024.

GMK MTNU Beige

MTNU is a new-ish⁵⁶ keycap profile designed by matt3o and manufactured by GMK. The keycaps are similar in size to the regular Cherry profile keycaps but the profile is “spherical” – the tops of the keycaps look as if they had been indented with a sphere.

I wanted to try some keycaps with a different profile and liked what I read about MTNU.⁷ They launched the profile with some classic colorways including beige and white-on-black. The launch price was relatively low for GMK with 100 Euro base kits. They⁸ offered some “Typist” child kits, to convert the base kit to some alternative layouts including Dvorak and Colemak. I use Colemak⁹ and jumped at the chance to have keycaps that – for once – match the layout I’m using. The money I “saved” on the base kit, I spent on the child kits: 60 Euros for the Typist kit and 30 Euros for the orange accents.

I pre-ordered the keycaps in June 2023 and received them in November 2023.

HMX Xinhai

Switch type	Linear
Top housing material	PA12
Bottom housing material	Modified Nylon
Stem material	POM
Spring	22mm KOS single stage extended
Operating force	55gf
Bottom-out force	62.5gf
Pre-travel distance	2.0mm
Total travel distance	3.4mm

HMX switches and especially the Xinhais are some of the most hyped switches at the moment. HMX produce switches with minimal wobble and great factory lubrication.

I bought the Xinhais for 45 Euros to see if there’s something to the hype. Turns out there is: they were excellent out of the box; some of the smoothest switches I’ve tried.

The Build

I selected the MTNU Beige keycaps for the Cycle7 as a kind of constraint. Visually, the beige keycaps and orange accents work great on the light blue keyboard. I just needed to find a good build to also get good sound and feel.

I tried various switches with PC and aluminum plates and some different foam configurations. In the end, I picked the aluminum plate with the Xinhais and PCB and case foams.

The case foam may not strictly be necessary. Other Cycle7 customers noticed that their PCB touched the aluminum case with some force applied. This might not be an issue with my relatively stiff configuration using the aluminum plate and the gasket strips. But I played it safe and kept the case foam in.

Knowing that the Xinhais are high-pitched and loud, I used the PCB foam to mellow them out a bit.

I used the C3 Equalz stabilizers that came with the Cycle7.

The Bill

TKD Cycle7 keyboard kit                       200 EUR
GMK MTNU Beige (Base, Accents, Typist)        190 EUR
HMX Xinhai                                     45 EUR
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                                              435 EUR

The Result

Looks, feels, and sounds like a keyboard!

Keyboard Kit	TKD Cycle7
Plate material	Aluminum
Mounting style	Gasket mount with gasket strips
Keycaps	GMK MTNU Beige
Switches	HMX Xinhai 62g
Stabilizers	C3 Equalz
Foam	PCB foam, case foam
Weight	1.95kg

Cycle7 good.
MTNU good.
HMX Xinhai good.

This might technically be my best keyboard. It sounds and feels super solid and doesn’t have any real flaws.

The combination of the light blue case with the beige keycaps and orange accents works. The FRL layout avoids the alternating colors in the F-row that I hate.

The MTNU profile and Xinhais feels good on the board: it feels smooth. The anodized case and the keycaps are smooth to the touch; the switches are about as smooth as they come.

In terms of the sound, the MTNU keycaps and foams tame the high pitch of the Xinhais pretty well. The board is maybe a bit louder than I’d like but it sounds good.

2024-12-26: Changed switches to Vertex V1

While the Xinhais are great, I wanted to try something more subtle with a lower volume and pitch. After an exhaustive test with around ten types of switches, I picked the Vertex V1s. I’ve wanted to put them in a board for some time.

Vertex V1

Switch type	Linear
Top housing material	Nylon PA66
Bottom housing material	Nylon PA66
Stem material	POM
Spring	15mm non-gold plated stainless steel
Operating force	50gf
Bottom-out force	62gf
Pre-travel distance	2.0mm
Total travel distance	4.0mm

The Vertex V1s use a classic design with Nylon housing and POM stem. They produce a deep sound and low to moderate volume. I bought the V1s for 45 Euros in a pack of 110.

The Vertex V1s are not flawless like the Xinhais: they produce some subtle leaf noises. But in my current configuration with the foams and the MTNU switches, they shine.

The Updated Result

Keyboard Kit	TKD Cycle7
Plate material	Aluminum
Mounting style	Gasket mount with gasket strips
Keycaps	GMK MTNU Beige
Switches	Vertex V1
Stabilizers	C3 Equalz
Foam	PCB foam, case foam
Weight	1.95kg

2025-03-02: Changed switches to SW x Haimu MP Tactile

The Cycle7 was good with the V1s – but it still wasn’t among my favorite boards to type on. In addition, I had the MP Tactile switches that I wanted to use somewhere. I figured this might be a good fit.

SW x Haimu MP Tactile

Switch type	Tactile
Top housing material	POM
Bottom housing material	POM with Metal Bottom Hole Housing
Stem material	UPE Stem with Metal Pole Tip
Spring	18mm
Bottom-out force	62gf
Pre-travel distance	2.0mm
Total travel distance	3.6mm

The SW x Haimu MP Tactile¹⁰ switches feature metal inserts at the bottom of the stem. This produces a sharper, higher-pitched sound compared to the impact of plastic on plastic.

The MP Tactiles feel very solid with a clean sound profile and deeper pitch than the metal suggests. I previously used them in the Krush65 and liked them a lot – I only switched them out to find a good home for the Nixies.

The Updated Build

I loved the MP Tactiles on the Krush65 with a top-mounted PP plate. Based on that experience, I built the Cycle7 with the PC plate.

There was one stabilizer on the Cycle7 that never sounded quite right to me. I took the opportunity of the rebuild to switch from the C3 Equalz stabilizers to Cherry C3 ones. I generally seem to do better lubing and tuning Cherry C3 stabilizers than various other models.

The Updated Bill

TKD Cycle7 keyboard kit                       200 EUR
GMK MTNU Beige (Base, Accents, Typist)        190 EUR
SW x Haimu MP Tactile                          11 EUR
Cherry C3 Stabilizer                           10 EUR
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                                              411 EUR

I got the switches as a gift – I only paid for the shipping. This brings the total cost of the build down slightly.

The Updated Result

I’m pleased with how the Cycle7 turned out. It feels great and sounds pretty good. The stabilizers turned out great.

Keyboard Kit	TKD Cycle7
Plate material	PC
Mounting style	Gasket mount with gasket strips
Keycaps	GMK MTNU Beige
Switches	SW x Haimu MP Tactile
Stabilizers	C3 Equalz
Foam	PCB foam, case foam
Weight	1.95kg

Footnotes

1. blacksimon on YouTube You NEED To Try the Cycle7 ↩

2. ClickClack.io on geekhack.org [IC] TKD Cycle7 (70%/FRL-TKL) ↩

3. markerchun Cycle7 ↩

4. ClickClack.io on geekhack.org [GB] Cycle7 by TKD ↩

5. GMK_Andy on reddit.com New GMK Profile ‘MTNU” Launches Today ↩

6. matt3o MTNU out in the world! ↩

7. matt3o MTNU: Pre-release update ↩

8. oblotzky.industries GMK MTNU Beige ↩

9. colemak.com Colemak keyboard layout ↩

10. deltakeyco.com SW x Haimu MP Tactile ↩