Kurt Kinetic Trainer

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.

Price Paid:  $280.00 at Bike Tires Direct

Favorite Ride:
Kinetic Road Machine Trainer

Summary:
Purchased the product in November 06 and have logged over 500 miles. Prior purchasing the unit I reviewed several trainers to decide on the Kurt Kinetic Trainer. What I liked about the product was the sealed leak proof fluid chamber with magnetically coupled drive shaft. All other trainers had fluid leak problems after consistent use where the seal overheated causing the seal to wear out. I was also impressed with the structural construction of the unit and how sturdy it was when riding the bike up right. The product runs smooth and to road like conditions.

Provides a very good work out for the winter months.

Strengths:
Heavy construction and sturdy.

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $279.00 at westernbikeworks

Favorite Ride:
To the end of the pavement up wolverine canyon

Bike Setup:
windsor falkirk with ultegra I did upgrade wheels to mavic ksysrium SL3 with michelin pro 2 race

Summary:
The kinetic trainer is quiet enough that you don,t have to turn up the tv much. I did not experience any vibrations. The resistance feel is realistic. 1 hour on the trainer seems harder than riding outside, probably because it is steady, no wind, hills, or traffic.

Strengths:
It feels solid when I'm on my bike in the trainer, and I weigh about 225, and the bike is easy to put in and out of the trainer, just takes a few seconds

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
Just some cheap ones I tried out at the lbs