Tuesday, January 8, 2008

PRODUCT REVIEW: Kurt Kinetic Trainer

Snow, rain and cold have you riding indoors? Check out my review of the great Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll Pro RU Trainer, that I wrote for roadbikerider.


A better way to ride indoors

2 comments:

Ron George said...

The pro version with the massive flywheel must be really good.

This link is not working, I dont know about Premium websites. Nice advertising though :)

Jim Langley said...

Sorry, I forgot that roadbikerider.com would move that review to their premium site (fee site) once a new review went live on their public site. I should have mentioned that. What I wrote about the trainer was that it was great: reliable, leak-proof, cool (doesn't get hot), quiet, gave the same workout as riding outdoors, extremely stable, well made, super easy to mount your bike on, and the 2 flywheels (built-in 6-pound/additional 12-pound) let you choose the perfect feel for whatever ride you're doing (spinning, intervals, long distance). I also pointed out that it sits low and on a pile rug the rear tire can rub if you don't put something under the feet (I use paperback books). The trainer is designed so it sits low like this for better balance and I think they think you'll usually ride on a gym floor or cement like in your garage. But I ride in the living room to watch movies so I had to add some height with the books. This trainers also has their Rock & Roll feature, which means your bike will rock sideways if you stand up to sprint or lean enough when you're sitting. This is good if you're a wobbly rider and need to work on keeping your upper body stable while pedaling. It's not something a smooth rider will notice very much or need to pay extra for. The trainer I tested is their most expensive model at about $670, but you can get most of the same features and the awesome performance for about half that (without the Rock & Roll setup). Bottom line: this Kurt Kinetic trainers is the nicest I've ever ridden and I recommend it highly. http://www.kurtkinetic.com/
Jim Langley jim@jimlangley.net