Kurt Kinetic Trainer

Price Paid:  $339.00 at REI

Favorite Ride:
Centennnial Trail

Bike Setup:
Orbea Orca

Summary:
Better resistance that closely matches a road workout. Centering of tire is possible and easy setup. No direct physical connection to the fluid chamber which resolves the issues of leaks like what plagues other fluid trainers.

Strengths:
Better built than my CyleOps, easy setup and centering, lifetime warranty, no notorious "O" ring that plagues other fluid trainers, neon green color a perfect match to my Orbea Orca and minus 20 percent coupon from REI :-)

Weaknesses:
A bit noisy compared to Cycleops Fluid2

Similar Products Used:
CycleOps Fluid2, Performance Ascent and Minoura Magnetic Turbor Trainer

Price Paid:  $320.00 at Bucks County Bicycle

Bike Setup:
Recumbent

Summary:
Dead on Arrival - The drive-side impeller is rubbing on something making the unit very noisy. Have contacted Kurt for a replacement.

Strengths:
Well Built, I think

Weaknesses:
Chinese hardware is second rate the bolt threads are rough and the Acorn nuts required a socket to even get it started on the bolts!

Price Paid:  $255.00 at E-Bay

Favorite Ride:
outdoors!

Bike Setup:
Felt B2 for me. An old Grandis road bike for my daughter.

Summary:
Nice unit, very solid and stable. Bikes are easy to switch but you have to have the right kind of skewer to fit in the slot. Shimano doesn't seem to work. I bought an old steel one for $10.00 and now don't worry about scratching, etc.
It's fairly quiet and I think the loudest noise is the noise the bicycle gearing and wheel/spokes make. No problem listening to TV or videos. Need to turn them up a bit but not obnoxioulsy.
The resistance seems very near normal riding. I seem to ride the same gears as normal. It has a good flywheel and the even coasts pretty well. Easy to sustain momentum.
I like it and recommend it, my daughter does too.

Strengths:
Nice stable, solid unit that is reasonably quiet with realistic resistance

Weaknesses:
More expensive than some but worth it in the long haul I think

Similar Products Used:
An old Racermate. No similar trainers just Tenturi, Lamond and Lifestyle stationary bikes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
anywhere there are no cars

Bike Setup:
Argon 18 Helium. Dura Ace front and back. Dura Ace shifters, Truvativ carbon cranks, Cane Creek Volos.

Summary:
This trainer is great for those long Colorado winters and easily fit my mountain bike. It is relatively quiet for a trainer. The resistance feels true. It is pretty stable, attesting to its heavy duty construction. It does not wobble at all. It was going so well until my wife and I got back into road biking. My wife tried her bike first. She found out that the trainer does not fit the skewer on her Specialized but she didn't realize it until she nearly went through the TV. Praise be to God, the TV is doing just fine. The Specialized's skewer is pretty scratched up, though. Now I am hesitant to put my road bike on it. I don't want to scratch the skewer so I think I will go back to putting a slick on my mountain bike and training on that in the winter.

Aside from the skewer thing, it is a pain to set your bike up for the first time. It made me feel like I need another hand.

Strengths:
Solidly built and produces road like resistance. Not too loud.

Weaknesses:
Either my wife needs different skewers on her new bike or I need to get a new trainer. Can be a pain to set up the first time. Kids like to play with it.

Similar Products Used:
none.

Price Paid:  $400.00 at D'Ornellas (Toronto)

Summary:
8000 km on it, over 2 winters. Overall, this is a great trainer. The ride feels very realistic. It's noisy and heavy, true, but those are minor as far as I'm concerned, compared to the great ride.

There have been a few problems. After about a year, the resistance unit developed a leak (despite this being a near impossibility), then the tightening knob on the resistance unit broke, and then the quick release started popping loose on hard efforts. Each time the LBS replaced or fixed the problem, no questions asked. In fact, after the quick release problem, they replaced the whole trainer, figuring maybe I got a lemon. (Huge kudos for D'Ornellas, here. If you're in Toronto, they're the place to go).

Except for these problems, it's been incredibly sturdy, even when hammering out of the saddle -- no vibration, no movement.

Strengths:
Sturdy.
Very realistic road feel.

Weaknesses:
Very noisy. I have to have the TV on full volume to hear.
Heavy.