Kurt Kinetic Road Machine (fluid trainer)

[twizzle]

Name of product
Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

Where bought and price
$699 RRP, but can be bought cheaper from http://www.cycling-inform.com

How it is used
According to the web stuff I've read, two one-hour sessions a week doing 2x20 min intervals at 85% of FTP gives an optimal increase in cardio, pushing your lactic threshold closer to your VO2Max. Which is good, because as with all trainers it's boring as all hell.

Description
A high-quality calibrated fluid trainer, with a sealed magnetic drive to ensure there are no seals to leak fluid from.

Positives
Calibrated resistance unit, which means you can calculate watts from the speed you can achieve on the rollers. The heavy flywheel makes for a smooth experience and allows almost perfect gear changes just by backing off on the power for an instant - just like on the road.

Negatives
If you are making over about 280W in your sessions, it becomes difficult to hold a consistent power output as small changes in speed can cause large changes in power output (the power absorbed increases as a cubed function of speed). The heavy flywheel means that fast accelerations at high power outputs can cause tyre slip, which makes it difficult to be sure that you actually reached the max speed indicated on a bike computer. The unit as delivered doesn't have any grease on either the main screw threads or the interface between the skewer cups and the threaded rods, which feel rough in operation until they are greased.

Additional notes
N/A.

Reccomendation
A big thumbs up!


OVERALL SCORES

Quality
Well made & solid.

Performance
Very consistent resistance, and does the job.

Value for money
That's entirely up to the purchaser - if you are after a trainer that lets you test you power output and perform targeted training.... I think this is probably the cheapest method. But if you are just after a trainer to keep the legs turning on rainy days, consider the Elite Chrono Fluid Elastogel or Jet Black fluid as cheaper alternatives.

[twizzle]

Update : How real is real?

All trainer brands crap on about how 'their brand gives a xx% more realistic ride than competing brands'. When you look at the size of the flywheel on the Road machine vs. the pitiful/non-existent flywheels on other models you would think it's pretty damned good at simulating 'road feel'. And that's certainly how it felt - pretty damned close to the road.

But when logging a trainer session using the Garmin Edge, you can see how the speed is all over the place, becoming more noticeable at low cadence where the dead spots in the pedal cycle are longer. And on long sessions you can really feel it in the knees, because you start pushing earlier in the cycle because the flywheel isn't carrying you over the dead spot.

So - if the 'reality' of the trainer is a key requirement, buy the the Kurt Kinetic Pro Trainer instead of the Road Machine.