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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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I basically copied this video below bc I loved the idea of skateboard trucks as the flex/pivot points. I ordered a pair of longboard trucks for 9.99 on Amazon and bought wood/screws for ~$30, so ~$40 total and my time for my rocker plate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiVp4B5TU9Y




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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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I built one a month or two ago, it is ok. It was certainly not revolutionary. I am prob gonna do a ride or two without it to get a better comparison now that I am used to it. Building it was a fun project and I did not spend a ton of money so I don't have any regrets.

One thing that I do NOT like is the motion while standing. I found it easier to stand before the rocker. Now, when I stand, the bike tilts to the direction of my pedal stroke (i.e. on the down-stroke of my right leg, the bike rocks to the right). This feels like the opposite of what happens outside where you counter lean your bike on the down-stroke while standing. When seated, I have not noticed that effect.

Ultimately, the rocker motion is not the same as outside, but having some movement feels like an improvement over a rigid trainer.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [MattyK] [ In reply to ]
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Nice! ...is that drawn in Working Model?
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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I'm always wondering if movement like that would have negative effect on longevity of Kick or Neo flywheel bearings, as well if it affect accuracy, after all flywheel will move like giant gyro.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [Koz] [ In reply to ]
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Koz wrote:
Nice! ...is that drawn in Working Model?
No idea. Shamelessly stolen from the internet (Wikipedia)

Another option for a high front pivot would be to mount the front forks to a pendulum hanging from a pivot suspended directly above it. (imagine hanging your front wheel from a hook supporting the rim.)
Or maybe pivot at the midpoint of the front axle.
Would have to investigate to see how this feels.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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Rocker plates don't have to be complicated to be valuable. I built something really fancy (I'm an engineer, so I don't do anything unless I have an excuse to overdo it :-)). But before I settled on something fancy, I had a simple platform with supports at the corners. then I put something in the middle so it would rock instead of bounce. It isn't like riding outside, but it is way better than nothing at all.

Good thread over on TrainerRoad, with posts like this one really summarizing: https://forum.trainerroad.com/...or-trainers/1981/103

-Mark Rebuck, http://www.markrebuck.com/
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [velocomp] [ In reply to ]
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Cool, did you cut the plywood yourself or take it to a CNC shop?

velocomp wrote:
I was having some saddle sore issues from zwifting so much. I built a Rockr Plate about 2 weeks ago. And haven't had any problems since.


I ordered the DYI kit from SBR and found the board design on the Rockr Plate Facebook site. Actually created a template of the boards with holes pre-drilled and then transfered the template to the final boards so as not to make a mistake. 3/4 in. birch boards. Will probably coat the top with Truck bed liner paint or just some carpet/rubber matting.

The benefit of the DYI kit was all the HW was included, including the mounts for my Kickr. You could get it yourself and maybe save $50. I spent about $200 all in.

I thought I might lose some power on it, but that hasn't been the case at all. It is a little bit louder than before, but the carpet or coating should solve that part of it.

What's your CdA?
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [sebo2000] [ In reply to ]
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sebo2000 wrote:
I'm always wondering if movement like that would have negative effect on longevity of Kick or Neo flywheel bearings, as well if it affect accuracy, after all flywheel will move like giant gyro.

Neo does not have a flywheel
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [dgutstadt] [ In reply to ]
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dgutstadt wrote:
sebo2000 wrote:
I'm always wondering if movement like that would have negative effect on longevity of Kick or Neo flywheel bearings, as well if it affect accuracy, after all flywheel will move like giant gyro.

Neo does not have a flywheel

I wish more people paid attention to how well made and designed the Neo is compared to its competitors. People only see the couple of hundred dollar price difference to the KICKR and assume they’re essentially the same. They are not. There’s zero maintenance, zero calibration, zero moving parts, zero parts that wear, zero warming up, nothing.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [The GMAN] [ In reply to ]
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lack of need to calibrate is certainly nice but it's not like other trainers (kickr, hammer, elite direto, etc.) are junk.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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Never said they were junk. Other trainers just aren’t as good. The Neo is in a class all by itself.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [The GMAN] [ In reply to ]
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The GMAN wrote:
Never said they were junk. Other trainers just aren’t as good. The Neo is in a class all by itself.

"I wish more people paid attention to how well made and designed the Neo is compared to its competitors."

I'm not following your point then. Why do you think people are NOT paying attention to Neo quality and deciding the cost increase above some other trainers is not worth it?
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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The Neo vs KICKR debate almost always comes down to people saying I’m not paying $200-$300 more for the Neo. The issue, at least with the vast majority of my discussions, is that people don’t really pay attention to why it costs 20% more and what are the long and short term benefits.

Example above. Dude makes reference to Neo’s flywheel having no clue it doesn’t use a flywheel. Tried to convince a friend last week to go with the Neo and to them is was only $1400 vs $1100. I know calibrations, warm ups, spin downs, and future maintenance and belt replacements are going to cause this person more than $300 worth of stress and agita.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [The GMAN] [ In reply to ]
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I can understand the the maintenance as with the kickr there is a belt to replace. I'm not seeing that calibration is a huge deal if it's just something needed on an infrequent basis. I get what your'e saying though if you're talking about the neo vs kickr. but it's more than a couple hundred dollars when you start talking about kickr core, tacx flux s, elite direto/zumo, etc.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [mickison] [ In reply to ]
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mickison wrote:
...... I get what your'e saying though if you're talking about the neo vs kickr. but it's more than a couple hundred dollars when you start talking about kickr core, tacx flux s, elite direto/zumo, etc.
I assume GMAN is refering to those comparing the Neo to the Cyclops Hammer and Wahoo Kickr and Elite Drivo which would be considered more equivalent, despite perhaps NOT being quite equivalent per GMANs argument.
In Europe the price difference between the above 4 trainers is very small. I think the Neo is typically about €1250 and the other 3 are typically about €200 cheaper. If you shop around you can often find the Neo cheaper than the the Kickr for example. I would only consider the Neo at the moment if I was thinking of spending in the region of €1k.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [The GMAN] [ In reply to ]
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The GMAN wrote:
The Neo vs KICKR debate almost always comes down to people saying I’m not paying $200-$300 more for the Neo. The issue, at least with the vast majority of my discussions, is that people don’t really pay attention to why it costs 20% more and what are the long and short term benefits.

Example above. Dude makes reference to Neo’s flywheel having no clue it doesn’t use a flywheel. Tried to convince a friend last week to go with the Neo and to them is was only $1400 vs $1100. I know calibrations, warm ups, spin downs, and future maintenance and belt replacements are going to cause this person more than $300 worth of stress and agita.

GMANT I had 2 kickrs (bought firs years back when NEO didn't even existed) and few months ago bought NEO (I love Made in Netherlands sticker and I like precision of it)

Do you have one? Because you sound like the one without clue about NEO ( Zero moving parts?) Are you sure there are no moving parts in NEO? What is that big heavy metal round plate with magnets on the inside, I call it flywheel, it is installed on some kind of bearing, that bearing depending on type, might or might not like wobble of the rocker.

The only part I do not like about NEO is that little $hitty fan installed for no reason inside, my will get clogged with dust for sure, having said that NEO is way above Kickr.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [trailerhouse] [ In reply to ]
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trailerhouse wrote:
Cool, did you cut the plywood yourself or take it to a CNC shop?

velocomp wrote:
I was having some saddle sore issues from zwifting so much. I built a Rockr Plate about 2 weeks ago. And haven't had any problems since.


I ordered the DYI kit from SBR and found the board design on the Rockr Plate Facebook site. Actually created a template of the boards with holes pre-drilled and then transfered the template to the final boards so as not to make a mistake. 3/4 in. birch boards. Will probably coat the top with Truck bed liner paint or just some carpet/rubber matting.

The benefit of the DYI kit was all the HW was included, including the mounts for my Kickr. You could get it yourself and maybe save $50. I spent about $200 all in.

I thought I might lose some power on it, but that hasn't been the case at all. It is a little bit louder than before, but the carpet or coating should solve that part of it.

I also want to know this. I'm thinking of getting the DIY kit, but I don't have the tools to do the boards.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [dgutstadt] [ In reply to ]
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dgutstadt wrote:
sebo2000 wrote:
I'm always wondering if movement like that would have negative effect on longevity of Kick or Neo flywheel bearings, as well if it affect accuracy, after all flywheel will move like giant gyro.


Neo does not have a flywheel


It does have heavy round metal plate with magnets attached to it I call it flywheel. Once you start rocking that plate left and right it might or it might not affect the bearing. I guess u r not an engineer....
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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TulkasTri wrote:
trailerhouse wrote:
Cool, did you cut the plywood yourself or take it to a CNC shop?

velocomp wrote:
I was having some saddle sore issues from zwifting so much. I built a Rockr Plate about 2 weeks ago. And haven't had any problems since.


I ordered the DYI kit from SBR and found the board design on the Rockr Plate Facebook site. Actually created a template of the boards with holes pre-drilled and then transfered the template to the final boards so as not to make a mistake. 3/4 in. birch boards. Will probably coat the top with Truck bed liner paint or just some carpet/rubber matting.

The benefit of the DYI kit was all the HW was included, including the mounts for my Kickr. You could get it yourself and maybe save $50. I spent about $200 all in.

I thought I might lose some power on it, but that hasn't been the case at all. It is a little bit louder than before, but the carpet or coating should solve that part of it.


I also want to know this. I'm thinking of getting the DIY kit, but I don't have the tools to do the boards.

You can probably rent the needed tools for $30-40 from someplace like Home Depot. You should be able to get by with a drill and a circular saw.

I spent less than $100 building mine.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [sebo2000] [ In reply to ]
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The no moving parts wasn’t to be taken 100% literal. Yes, it has a an electronic brake/motor that spins around with your pedal stroke. My point was that it has no physical transmission mechanism (like a belt or chain) to drive the trainer. So no hard or fast moving part to make it all work.

Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [The GMAN] [ In reply to ]
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RE: Neo / Neo2


The GMAN wrote:
There’s zero maintenance, zero calibration, zero moving parts, zero parts that wear, zero warming up, nothing.

There is maintenance, parts that move, and long term wear on the Neo trainer. It's a hell of a lot longer between servicing than other trainers due to design, but it's not a solid state device. It also technically has a flywheel.... The disc/plate used with the magnets glued on the inside has some solid weight to it.

Neo Maintenance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjSenyBHPa0
A Neo that's done 53,000km: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OkjvguSvlE

Shane Miller - GPLama
YouTube | Web | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Strava
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [TulkasTri] [ In reply to ]
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TulkasTri wrote:
trailerhouse wrote:
Cool, did you cut the plywood yourself or take it to a CNC shop?

velocomp wrote:
I was having some saddle sore issues from zwifting so much. I built a Rockr Plate about 2 weeks ago. And haven't had any problems since.


I ordered the DYI kit from SBR and found the board design on the Rockr Plate Facebook site. Actually created a template of the boards with holes pre-drilled and then transfered the template to the final boards so as not to make a mistake. 3/4 in. birch boards. Will probably coat the top with Truck bed liner paint or just some carpet/rubber matting.

The benefit of the DYI kit was all the HW was included, including the mounts for my Kickr. You could get it yourself and maybe save $50. I spent about $200 all in.

I thought I might lose some power on it, but that hasn't been the case at all. It is a little bit louder than before, but the carpet or coating should solve that part of it.


I also want to know this. I'm thinking of getting the DIY kit, but I don't have the tools to do the boards.

I cut the wood myself. Created a template of thin wood first, Drilled all holes and assembled to confirm everything was right. Then used the template on top of final wood to draw the shape. Then used jigsaw to cut. Sanded the edges and then put the thing together.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [velocomp] [ In reply to ]
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Same for me.. 2 pieces of 2x x 4’ birch from Lowes... drew a template around the kickr and used a jigsaw to cut it out. Routered the edges (not necessary) and sanded it. Ordered the pillow block bearings and shaft from Zoro.com. Got a couple of small yoga balls from amazon. Maybe cost $100.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [MattyK] [ In reply to ]
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MattyK wrote:
Koz wrote:
Nice! ...is that drawn in Working Model?
No idea. Shamelessly stolen from the internet (Wikipedia)

Another option for a high front pivot would be to mount the front forks to a pendulum hanging from a pivot suspended directly above it. (imagine hanging your front wheel from a hook supporting the rim.)
Or maybe pivot at the midpoint of the front axle.
Would have to investigate to see how this feels.

I came to see if anyone had previously described my rocker plate mods, and when reading the thread wondered if what was desired was an overhead swing system where the plate the bike / trainer sits on is suspended off the floor.

Anyway, re moving the front wheel independent of the back, my idea is to use the bearing system of a lazy susan, so on standing efforts I can work on keeping the front wheel straight vs my trainers' block firmly holding it in one orientation. I've got the device but confess I haven't tried it yet

To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.
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Re: Anybody here built a rocker plate for their trainer? [Tsunami] [ In reply to ]
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Tsunami wrote:
I came to see if anyone had previously described my rocker plate mods, and when reading the thread wondered if what was desired was an overhead swing system where the plate the bike / trainer sits on is suspended off the floor.

Imagine mounting your trainer on this:

It shouldn't fall over because the pivot is above the centre of gravity, but I'm not sure it wouldn't feel really weird.

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Anyway, re moving the front wheel independent of the back, my idea is to use the bearing system of a lazy susan, so on standing efforts I can work on keeping the front wheel straight vs my trainers' block firmly holding it in one orientation. I've got the device but confess I haven't tried it yet

That might do something (interested to hear your results), but I'm not sure what that something would be, unless there is a feedback system between the steering angle and the leaning process.

I've come to the current conclusion that the most realistic thing to do (I mentioned on page 1) would be to support the front wheel on a motorised roller. And the back end (trainer) on a single balljoint at about ground level. That way leaning and steering should be reasonably natural. With careful setup it may be possible to make it reasonably stable/self-centering/less likely to fall off than a set of rollers). But I'm working in theory only. Getting me on a trainer is hard enough as it is...
Last edited by: MattyK: Jan 28, 19 16:52
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