Tom,

If one purchases the trainer, how much extra is the computer that goes with it and supposedly measures wattage? Is it very accurate, and if so, is it worth the extra bucks?

brother bonk

Wow, I didn't know those came with a "crash replaccement policy for a life time of use". I guess you never know and can't be too safe. I think what you're doing is awsome tom, and more shops (shops around me) should be as generous. I'm not in the market for one, just wanted to give you some props. -andrew

Man, I'll be honest- I don't know. I'll check it out.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

I'm surprised there hasn't been as much interest in this as there has been on the Cycle-Ops.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Tomas...

Speaking for myself, I have friends who own and speak highly of the Cycle-Ops but I don't know anyone who has and can recommend the Kurt. Perhaps there would be more interest if you could say in a few sentences why the Kurt is worth the extra money. I am very interested in getting a trainer for the winter but I need to justify spending the extra $$$ on a similar item that, as far as I know (which I freely admit I don't) is basically the same thing.

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Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone

I'd guess everyone with a spare $200 has already jumped on them at this point.

yeah, pretty much my case.

if both offers had come out at the same time i'd'a had to do some thinkin'

My 2 cents...

I did a little research... KK has a bit more consistency with resistance, whereas Cycleops tends to inc. in resistance at higher speeds. KK also has a $49 computer add-on which (somehow) measures wattage. Likely not nearly as well as SRM, Ergomo, PowerTap, maybe similar to the Polar unit? For somebody like me who may never have the discretionary cash for a four-figure watt measuring device, the KK unit that Tom is offering has me pondering deeply...

brother bonk

I have no affiliation with Tom, and stand to gain nothing from the sale of 1 or 1000 units - but here is my experience with the KK.

I love it. It's a rock-solid trainer with more resistance than anyone normal knows what to do with, but the resistance is very similar to what you'd find on the road. Can't push a 56x12 on the road? You can't on this baby either - but you can spin your 53x12 if you're in shape and you work hard enough. (I can't... at least not for very long)

The big flywheel gives a more road-like feel than most trainers, and the KK has a unique design in that it can't leak. Most (fluid) trainers rely on rubber seals to keep the fluid on the inside, but the KK is different. The fluid is sealed in the drum, and then the paddlewheel is turned by a big-ass magnet on the outside of the sealed drum - unless you toss if off your balcony, it really can't leak. (And even then I doubt it would)

Kurt also has awesome customer service. I bent my frame in a non-critical area, and they shipped me a new one - sight unseen, and without even asking for the old one back as "proof". The old one is now a bike stand. :)

KK has an excellent product, and they stand behind it. I can't imagine anyone buying one and being unhappy with it.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

I'm still in a holding pattern... you learned anything about the Kurt Kinetic watt computers? The real deal, or illusion/smoke and mirrors?

brother bonk
(mike)

Thanks Khai, it never hurts to be an informed consumer

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Michael in Fresno
"Do you spend time with your family? Good. Because a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man" V. Corleone

Shoot! I just bought a Kurt a few weeks ago! Oh well....

For everyone else's sake, I really like it so far. Very solid, not very noisy. Haven't heard or seen many complaints about it.

Khai,

Do you have the wattage computer that does with the KK unit? Is it the real deal?

brother bonk

Still have any left can we do $224.99 with in-store pickup???

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

Absolutely.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

check your pm's.

FWIW, I started a pretty big thread about this about a year ago. A LOT of people recommended the Kurt and the 1up USA, followed by the Cycleops I'd say. Apparently the Cycleops used to have some leakage issues which they have apparently since resolved.

as for the $50 power unit, a guy who works/worked for Kurt (iirc), jumped onto the board and claimed it was calibrated against a Powertap. In other words, the speed of which the flywheel turns matches the powertap reading, for what that's worth (personally, that would be enough for me).

Hope this helps,

Josef

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Josef
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blog

I have researched it quite a bit as I'm interested in the KK. I wouldn't put money in the computer unless you've got $50 you don't really need to have around. They calibrate it based solely upon wheel speed from an automated pedaling system and a powertap on the rear hub. Everything else is held constant, so rider mass, etc., are not taken into consideration. If you go to Kurt's website, you can see the figure of how they calibrated their wattage computer. It's basically on a 1:1 ratio with speed. So if you maintain a constant speed, you maintain a constant wattage. It just doesn't seem that useful to me other than seeing an immediate output of power. Maybe I'm missing something, but it just doesn't. You can go to Kurt's website, and if you avg. 22 mph, you can look and see your average wattage. Anyone else have more info on this?

I bought one because I was curious about it, but never tested it against an SRM/PowerTap. Apparently it was calibrated using a PowerTap, but I never dug deep into the physics of the unit.

My main problem with the computer *AND THEY MAY HAVE FIXED THIS* is that it is designed with a "joiner" piece in the middle, which attaches with two plastic electrical clips. There is no attempt made to weatherproof these clips, so it's just begging for a short if you ask me. I wrapped the shit out of mine with electrical tape and had no problems, but things like this worry me. I wrote to Kurt and the guy told me that a few people raised that concern during the design stage, but they "lost the vote" to people who wanted to have the option of running longer wires for a recumbent, etc. Strange priorities if you ask me...

At any rate, it seemed to work but I'm paranoid about unsealed electrical stuff (I live in Vancouver, after all). It wouldn't be much of an issue if you only used it while on the trainer, but the design lends more to a permanent bike mount than just as a trainer piece.

My take on it: If you want to play with power and don't want to spend "real money" for an SRM or a PowerTap, it's probably worth the $50. If you absolutely must have accurate power data, keep saving your pennies.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

Khai,
I thought the power output was only good when on the trainer?

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Just Triing
Triathlete since 9:56:39 AM EST Aug 20, 2006.
Be kind English is my 2nd language. My primary language is Dave it's a unique evolution of English.

It is, but the unit works as a regular bike computer when not on the trainer. The mount does not lend itself nicely to "quick on and off" for trainer sessions however, so one must mount it "semi-permanently" - as one would with a regular computer. Hence my concern about the water...

For $50 I don't necessarily think it's a bad deal - but it all dpends on what you want to get out of it.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

We ran out of Kurts Kinetic Road Machines at this price, but we got them back. A new pallet lands Tuesday and we are selling from that shipment at this price $224.99 +shipping.

We did some shopping around and that is a pretty darn good price.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Do you take paypal?

Yeah, they take paypal. I called the store today and talked with Mike. Give them a call @ (313)278-1350 and they can tell you where to send the $.

Mike

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It's ALL about the bike!

We just unloaded a Consoldidated Freight truck filled with Kurt Kinetics Road Mchine Trainers, just now.

All you want for ST'ers: 2006 Kurt Kinetics Road Machine Fluid Trainers $224.99 + $15 freight via USPS to the lower 48.

Call (313) 278-1350.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com