Kurt Kinetic Road Machine

Price Paid:  $270.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
downhill

Summary:
I bought the Kinetic because I was disappointed with the power curve of my magneto trainer. I liked the simple operation of the Kurt and the warranty. The Kurt is definitely an improvement in the power curve department. The curve is progressive and feels realistic. Resistance is more than adequate to provide high-power interval training. The heavy flywheel also helps with a good road feel. The wide stance of the Kurt frame takes up more space but makes it very sturdy and prevents rocking. The attachment mechanism is simple and works well. I was able to get a secure attachment without much fiddling. Overall the unit is fairly quiet

The not so good. The mitering and welds where the bike attachment assembly attaches to the main frame is quite sloppy and cheap-looking. There are visible gaps, rough metal and poor-looking welds. I doubt this impacts the performance of the unit in any way but it does look cheap. The plastic swingarm that holds the roller against the tire seems out of place. I would have preferred to see a metal part here. If there is going to be a durability issue with the Kurt, my guess is this is the area that could have problems. The resistance unit itself seems quite beefy and well-made.

Strengths:
progressive power curve
quiet
wide stance prevents rocking
heavy flywheel creates good road feel

Weaknesses:
sloppy welds

Similar Products Used:
Nashbar magneto

Price Paid:  $270.00 at Cycle Concepts Glast

Favorite Ride:
road

Bike Setup:
simple n easy

Summary:
!st ride, 60 minutes, strong workout, high energy, comfort of my own bike

Strengths:
easy to set up, easy to use, training with comfort

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
tried a spinner, prefer training on a real bike

Price Paid:  $314.00 at www.rei.com

Favorite Ride:
riding by the beach.

Bike Setup:
i have 2 kestral bikes

Summary:
i am new on the trainer.but it feel good.
the first 20 minutes i felt a good work out.i am going to enjoy it in the winter months.

Strengths:
i notice the faster i go the resistance
increase.i like that.

Weaknesses:
none

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $350.00 at Kurt Kinetic Website

Favorite Ride:
Outdoors on the road

Bike Setup:
Road Bike

Summary:
I have used the trainer for almost four years. The tension bolt eventually stripped but the company sent me a new one without any questions. Lifetime warranty, no questions asked. I would recommend this trainer to anyone who uses one more than twice a week.

Strengths:
The trainer is solid and the resistance unit feels more like a road than stantionary bikes at the gym.

Weaknesses:
Significantly more expensive than other trainers. The tension application screw and handle seem to need revising due to long term wear issues.

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $220.00 at ebay

Favorite Ride:
any

Summary:
Oustanding trainer. I tried quite a few different models and read numerious reviews before finally settling on the kurt kinetic.

Riding a trainer is not necessarily fun per se but a necessary evil where I live if I want to maintain my fitness year round. The kurt kinetic has an outstanding warranty and is a smooth quite trainer that has the closest experience I have found to riding on the road.

Strengths:
Smooth, quite, closest I have found to 'road' feel, progressive resistence.

Weaknesses:
$$

Similar Products Used:
most major fluid trainers