Wondering how much a difference in comfort people have notice with using a rocker plate with their indoor trainer. I subscribed to the Facebook group Zwift rocker plates which has lots of build options. I just set mine up but won’t have a chance to ride until later In the week. Hoping it makes indoor riding slightly more comfortable. Curious about others experiences.
I don’t have a rocker plate but I did swap over to the rock n roll trainer from Kurt kinetic. It made a world of difference for me compared to a static trainer. I’m guessing a rocker plate will have the same effect.
I don’t have a rocker plate but I did swap over to the rock n roll trainer from Kurt kinetic. It made a world of difference for me compared to a static trainer. I’m guessing a rocker plate will have the same effect.
Yep. Same idea. Some of the designs I’ve seen are pretty elaborate
I “built” one.
I “built” one.
Genius! The Facebook group is great as it has a wide range of solutions. Mine is just a pvc pipe down the center of my elite direto and some small inflatable bags under the outer legs. I don’t know that a full on platform would do much better
I built one a couple of weeks ago actually and got in about 5 sessions on it so far. It seems to have a bit more comfort than before on my sit bones but not that world of difference others have reported (i.e. somebody once said they struggles to make an hour ok a trainer and the rocker let them go 3 hours…yeah, that ain’t happening to me so far). 1 hour sessions are easier to get through for me and 90 minutes before I was struggling comfort wise to make the last 30 minutes. Now I still feel it but it isn’t excruciating like before.
I can say the standing efforts feel less harsh on the quads since you aren’t stuck in an awkward position trying to pedal when the trainer is fixed.
Next up is to work on my saddle/position because I know I haven’t found the right combo yet. Current setup is ok but I’ve really got to fiddle with the position and tilt more before trying a different saddle.
Yeah. I’ve never had huge comfort issues on indoor trainer. An hour is usually fine. 2 hours maybe some discomfort. But mostly it’s mental fatigue after 1.5 hours. I’m not interested in 3 hour trainer rides. But if my simple solution can make it a little better I’m happy
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.
Looks nice. I’m pretty sure a little movement won’t hurt for sure
Rideandfish made something cool.
Rideandfish made something cool.
Yup, mines on the Facebook group. Made it on a cnc at work.
I had saddle sore issues going longer than an hour on my Hammer when I first got it. The rocker took care of that problem, and my longest indoor ride was 4 hours. It’s stull not going to feel as natural as rollers however, but the rocker does help a lot.
The problem with every rocker plate design I’ve seen is that the pivot point is below the floor. This in no way simulates what happens on a bike on the road. When you’re riding, if your front tyre moves to the right, you lean to the left, and vice versa. The rear tyre more or less tracks along straight though.
My thought is that what you need is a roll axis that goes through the contact patch of the rear tyre, and up through the handlebars or so at the front.
In practical implementation, you could make the trainer (at the rear) tilt at floor level. But the front needs to move differently. The easiest practical way I can see to achieve this is with a 4-bar linkage supporting the front axle, with the lower pivots slightly wider than the upper pivots.
I’ll draw a picture if this doesn’t make sense.
English please…
English please…
OK, I’ll try, but I am mostly fluent in Engineer.
Imagine something like this thing:
https://tacx.com/product/vr-steering-frame-flow/
But instead of mounting the fork in a rigid frame, replace those two vertical links with bars that have a hinge/pivot/balljoint at each end.
From front on, it would look like this:
The green would be the frame of my contraption, and the blue triangle is the (imaginary) lower portion of the front wheel (that you have removed).
I think that would make for a much more natural feel. If you tilted the linkages forward slightly from vertical it would also provide some simulation of steering effect.
I think I follow you but a caveat is that a potential solution for what you’re describing is likely far more expensive than the current solutions for a simple side to side motion
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That’s a cool idea - thanks
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I think I follow you but a caveat is that a potential solution for what you’re describing is likely far more expensive than the current solutions for a simple side to side motion
And people pay how much for a Kickr Climb? (In fact this could be nicely integrated with one…)
Plus rocker plates are a crude simulation of real motion.
From 1:55:
https://youtu.be/pWLY4zLDPFE?t=116
Option B would be to mount the front wheel on a roller (passive or electrically driven), so you can move it quite freely and completely naturally.
Beautiful work! Just don’t forget when deciding on a finish for the top surface that there is probably going to be a small river of sweat pooling up and drying there. You want to be able to wipe it up or you will have a sticky smelly smear. I have a trainer bolted down to a 1 1/2" thick fiberboard platform and I covered the top surface with inexpensive gray vinyl floor tile. Super easy to keep clean.
Rocket… plane?! COOL! Oh. 
I’m not saying there’s not a market for it. Judging by the rocker plate Facebook group there’s a lot of people who are looking for an inexpensive solution to provide a little bit of movement. Sure I’d love a completely natural feel on a rocker plate but another $500 might be too much. I’ll wait a couple years until more options come out