I think this is one of the worst products that I have ever bought. I just cannot believe that they're selling this.

There you have your answer. Because people buy this crap.

 

It doesn't swivel and move around if you are holding onto your bars.

 

Think about this, when does your front wheel turn? It only turns when you're going super slow speed.

Not quite right. The front wheel of many riders also turns in relation to the frame during an all-out sprint and during climbing at maximum effort with lower cadences. It happens either because of bike lean wheel flop (see photo below) or because a rider exerts an uneven pull on the handlebar as a counterforce to the pedal stroke (left pedal stroke-left side of bar, and vice-versa). If you look at sprints and climbing carefully, you'll see this as a wavering line.

Whether or not the turntable function of the riser is worth anything is another matter. You can simulate real road riding only up to a certain point. This may be a case of trying too hard to get a perfect simulation of an all-out sprint or hard climb.

 

This.
I have the turntable riser ring. I like the idea that I have some ability to turn the handlebars. My complaint is that the little rubber feet on the bottom keep falling off.

 

It occurred to me that the word "turntable" may be responsible for some misunderstandings. It has nothing to do with turning, as in going through a corner or a curve on a bicycle.

And as a footnote: the front wheel of bicycle turns in relation to the frame at all times regardless of speed or line. It may be very little, but it has to turn to keep the rider upright. Lock down the headset and try to ride a bike—you'll get immediate verification of this.

 

I'm glad I posted this post as I didn't know that front wheel turned at all when you go certain speed even on hard climbs or sprints. I guess my problem with the turntable is that it turns excessively if you pull on your handlebar where it makes it unnatural and to me, it's more natural with fixed riser. Even in all out sprint, your front wheel only turns slightly, right? If it only turns slightly, you can get that feel by just having a fixed riser as it will move slightly if you're pulling.
I'll give the turntable another shot tonight.
Now, on to my next issue with Rock n' Roll leaning to one side. It's only slightly, but it gets annoying that I sometime have to lean right to left to get the bike to center again.
I have Kinetic's standard Road Machine trainer as well, and I might use that couple times a week on hard steady effort as it's easier to do on that when i don't have to worry about straightening the bike. Only reason that I got the Rock n' Roll is that I get pain on my IT band when I ride exclusively on a stationary bike, but it doesn't bother me at all when i'm riding outdoors or on Rock n' Roll.

 

The rock and roll rocks to prevent breaking carbon frames (in addition to providing a more real road feel). Maybe the turntable helps prevent broken forks. When you crank on the bars during a sprint, the wheel can move. With a riser, it's held pretty rigid. Twisting isn't something carbon likes.

 

"When you're riding with any speed, the front wheel goes with the entire bike thus you lean in the turn. You don't just turn your front wheel."

Try locking your headset to test that theory.

I think the turntable thing is great. I would definitely be putting undue stress on the fork when trying to simulate sprints and climbing (basically anything out of the saddle) on the r & r trainer.

 

I suppose I was lucky that the riser ring was included with my R&R trainer. I got it on eBay for $315 new in box. The riser ring is somewhat useful but mostly for keeping your balance.

 

Turntable riser ring helping with keeping your balance is what I read in lots of reviews so I decided to get it, but it just feels so unnatural with the front wheel moving around a lot. I don't think my balance is terrible as I ride on rollers a lot and can go no hands on it as well as doing many crit races in a tight pack. Not saying my balance is perfect, but it's not terrible. I'm just trying to figure what I'm missing as all reviews say that it's great for keeping balance and I just think it's awkward.

 

I just picked up one of these risers last week. Before having it, I had a standard CycleOps fixed base mated to my Kurt R&R trainer. I decided to try it out today and decided that I quite like it. It's not like I sit there crank the wheel left and right but it does make everything feel more "loose" and thus requiring my body strength to keep things straight. It makes switching hands between the handlebar positions and drinking while riding more difficult as well...quite like being on the road. If you have bad form and take one hand off of the bars...they wobble...like in real life.

It's not perfect but I consider it to be a good mate to a R&R trainer. Also...It's pretty cheap.

 

Dude, suck it up. Real riders do manuals the whole time on the trainer. No need for silly riser thingy dohickies.

You think Peter Sagan got good at manuals across the finish line from CX or BMX? Nope, hrs doing manuals on the trainer.

 

If you are using a stationary ring, the tendency in hard efforts would be to tug on
the bars to augment your leg force, something you would not be able to do on the
road. I like that the riser forces me to "unweight" my arms and balance my upper
body independent of my legs. This also shows I have a tendency to pull to one side,
which enables me to consciously work to reduce or eliminate this tendency.

 

If you are using a stationary ring, the tendency in hard efforts would be to tug on
the bars to augment your leg force, something you would not be able to do on the
road.

Why is it again that I cannot do this on the road? In fact, in a hard sprint, just about everybody does just that.