Kinetic Rock and Roll

gcwebbyuk

Is anyone using a Kinetic Rock and Roll who has used a standard turbo trainer before?

I currently use a Tacx Booster about 3/4 times per week over the autumn/winter with TrainerRoad. I have been tempted by the R&R but its a big chunk of change to spend if the benefits are only marginal.

Also, as the Tacx is magnetic and the R&R is fluid, will there be much of a feel difference there too?

markhewitt1978

There's a few different types so have to make sure we're talking about the right one because Kinetic has just announced a new version of the Rock and Roll here: https://kurtkinetic.com/products/rock-a ... t-control/ which is smart controlled, not fluid like the old one.

I've never used one myself I would be surprised if the benefits of moving around are substantial - but perhaps could actually be good for someone like myself with back / core issues.

gcwebbyuk

The core/spine potential benefits are what I was aiming at. Pilates has helped a great deal but I still have a weekish core from a spine injury.

I would be going for the dumb trainer as it will be used in a garage with no power.

fat daddy

I tried one in Cycle surgery when looking for a unit to play zwift with ..... I shortly discovered that it wasn't a smart trainer so went no further, which was a shame I thought it felt awesome.

Anything tha makes a turbo feel more real is worth it in my books and when you sprint on it, it felt good waggling back and forth. Downsides though, its massive, takes up a lot of room and puts your bike way to high in the air it feels odd ..... turn the handle bars though and the bike leans :cool: .... Liked the fluid feel over a straight magnetic resistance for pedalling realism, but as far as feel goes, I could beat the big fly wheel and belt of the Kickrs

That said with the neo now out and having "road" feel that might feel a lot better still

sungod

not tried the rock and roll version, but the basic kurt road machine has the same resistant unit and it's far better than magnetic resistance units or most other fluids, mainly due to the large flywheel, it also has a wide range, specs say it tops out over 3 kilowatts

the kurt feels closest to cycling on the road of any trainer i've used, the flywheel adds inertia to the simulation, accelerations feel like accelerating, you can coast and you'll gradually slow down, whereas most turbos just feel draggy and 'stop' very fast

there's an add-on flywheel you can install to improve feel further, and as above the new versions have 'smart control' (you can retrofit to existing ones)

unless you spend a lot of time on a turbo i wouldn't bother changing, either way a turbo is miserable, the kurt is simply more realistic misery

gcwebbyuk

I had a brief go on the road machine during a bike fit, and it did feel much smoother than my Tacx.

The Tacx doesn't feel rough it just doesn't feel quite as smooth as I remember the Road Machine feeling.

I spend/will be spending around 3.5-4 hours per week on the trainer as from next month.

gcwebbyuk

I went for the R&R2 (T-2300) and had my first ride on it yesterday.

It's much smoother than the Tacx and the rock and roll movement is a little bit weird to start with but soon found it really good.

One thing I did find a negative compared to the Tacx is that it takes a bit more effort to fit the bike to the trainer. On the Tacx there were just two quick levers to use - one to lock the bike in and one to position the roller - nothing major but a bit of a pain.

Sungod - does your road machine sound like water moving around when you first start? I appreciate it is fluid in there, but it sounded a bit odd when I first started pedalling. Once up to speed the noise had gone.

I also went for the turntable riser to give myself more of a core workout. So far so good and not bad for the £250 I paid from Winstanleys (plus the £40 for the riser).

buckmulligan

Blimey £250 is a pretty good price, I almost paid that for a Road Machine last winter.

The bubbling fluid sound is normal for the Kinetic resistance units, it worried me at first too:

https://support.kurtkinetic.com/hc/en-u ... ow-speeds-

gcwebbyuk

I thought it was a price too good to be true, so went for it!

grahamcp

gcwebbyuk wrote:

not bad for the £250 I paid from Winstanleys (plus the £40 for the riser).

I've been thinking about getting a R&R for ages...

How did you get that price? Only one I can see on there is £369.

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/produ ... bo_Trainer

gcwebbyuk

Wow, they have put the price up - I must have been lucky to get it when I did! I ordered it on the 29th.