Kurt Kinetic, Road Machine or Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro? TURBO

Karl2010

I know theres been loads of this going on and i have been reading!
Was thinking about a Magnetic Turbo but gerneral thoughts are the Fluid type are better.

So which will it be?
Kurt Kinetic, Road Machine or Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro ?

ScottieP

I'd be interested to know if anyone's actually used them both for any length of time... otherwise you're just going to get the owners of one or the other saying the one that they bought is brilliant.

There must be someone out there, who's tried them both?

twotyred

Well I've just bought a Road Machine. They're on offer here http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/products.php?plid=m60b0s36p10831
for £199 so cheaper than the Cyclops. Unfortunately its been in transit for the last five days due to the snow

If it hadn't been on offer I would probably have gone for the Cyclops as its considerably cheaper than the rrp of the KK however if you can get them for around the same money then I think the sealed turbine system in the KK wins because sooner of later the o-ring sealing the shaft where it enters the turbine in the Cyclops will let go. Also some reviewers have mentioned the Cyclops flexes a bit. Also the Road Machine has the option of adding a 12kg flywheel for even more road feel.

Anonymous

My Cycleops doesn't flex :?

I'm trying see if I can borrow a KK to compare the two...

bigpikle

My Road Machine is solid as a rock - its very heavy and solid. Havent used the other but have used a cheap fan one and there's no comparison in feel, noise and stability.

Scrumple

twotyred wrote:

Well I've just bought a Road Machine. I think the sealed turbine system in the KK wins because sooner of later the o-ring sealing the shaft where it enters the turbine in the Cyclops will let go.

Think that is your answer. I have read something about the KK being a seperate sealed unit with nothing going in or out to eventually leak. The oil bath is completely contained, or something.

That said, not sure either will fail in a decent lifetime!

RonB

True. I think the linkage to the fluid unit of the KK is via magnets. There is a vid, which shows the construction on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZkEezODNbo

Oh and FWIW my Cyclops doesn't flex either. When choosing my turbo it came down to which was cheapest at the time. Cycleops won....no regrets to mention.

Karl2010

Well i just ordered the Cycleops. Comes with lifetime g.tee.
Got it off ebay for £230.00, brand new.

Almost ordered the road machine as you mentioned Twotyred, but someone else who has bought one said it was the older model so it put me off.

That said, not sure either will fail in a decent lifetime!

Exactly.

Looking forward to using it.

hoojammyflip

Compare the diameter of the roller which runs against the tyre. This determines the speed the flywheel will rotate and therefore the similarity to road between efforts at the cranks.

Net net net, tacx are better than either in this respect (smaller drum=faster rotation=greater kinetic energy in the fly wheel).

A little flex in a trainer is desirable as it prevents your frame from being tattoed when you get out of the saddle.

Differences between trainers aside, whether you get on it will be what matters.

silverpigeon

I've tried both. A mate has the Cycleops which he lent me for a week a while back but I took a punt and ended up buying a KK Road Machine Pro off CRC when it was on special offer.

To be honest I really can't tell the difference performance wise, both feel realistic and when I'm 5 minutes into a sufferfest DVD it never occurs to me to compare the two.

Both are stiff and solid (I'm 83Kg and 6' tall FWIW), both give a realistic ride and as for leakage it not like the Cycleops unit is made of chocolate. It's a quality piece of kit that has a lifetime warranty. Besides I've even heard of KK units leaking. The Pro flywheel is a useful add on but only if you're prepared to spend a couple of hours on the trainer. Any takers for that? No, thought not

Go for which ever you can get the best deal/bundle on, you'll get fitter whichever one you go for.

ScottieP

Silverpigeon - which was quieter? I've been wondering about this for a while.... Thanks.

silverpigeon

Nothing in it ScottieP. If I had to choose I'd say the KK just shades it, but it was over a month ago that I had use of the Cycleops. Both are what I would call quiet for a trainer though

A lot of the noise is to do with the surface it's used on. Wooden floors probably being the noisiest. I have mine in the garage so noise isn't an issue.

phil s

I've used both - as well as Elites, Tacx and other Cycleops models. The KK has always felt nicest to me. The Cycleops were close, the others I hated.

ScottieP

Thanks Silverpigeon. I've got a Jet Fluid Pro (just replaced under warranty) and a friends just ordered a KK Road Machine - so should be able to do our own side by side test in the next week or two, which I expect will give us the same results as you've found. It's they are close in performance - then it might well be choose whichever you get the best deal on - or which one you like the colour of the best

dgr6966

twotyred wrote:

Well I've just bought a Road Machine. They're on offer here http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/products.php?plid=m60b0s36p10831
for £199 so cheaper than the Cyclops. Unfortunately its been in transit for the last five days due to the snow

I bought a Road Machine from Cyclesense too. I found mine to vibrate more than I expected it to so Dave shipped me another, which I have yet to try. They do appear to be old stock as the serial numbers of the resistance units are way before the number, quoted on the Kurt Kinetic web site, that indicates one of the later models manufactured this year after they discontinued the pro model. I would be interested to hear your impressions of your Road Machine when it arrives and you have had a chance to put it through its paces.