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Been after a kurt kinetic road machine for a while now as I'd read good write ups on it but no luck finding one. What other turbos have people used which have been good to use and ride? Particularly interested if anyone has used a Computrainer or one of the VR Tacx trainers.
Cheers
I've just had a Tacx Flow trainer die on me after less than five months of being used two to three times a week. Middle of a session this morning and the control screen on mounted on the bike's bars just went blank - game over.
Fortunately, the retailer has said they'll replace the whole thing. Bonus is I get an upgrade as the store no longer stocks the Flow.
However, before it died it was proving easy to use and the training programs on the Tacx site are really useful.
Tacx fortius I magic thing, infact have one at home doing nowt if your interested.
With a steering rack
LeMond direct drive - bloody loud but bloody good!
I had a Taxc & binned it, very very bad wheel slip no matter what tyre I used..
I had one for a few years, was good but didnt use it much. Would rather grate my nads with a cheese grater. Mine was a Cyclops Fluid one. Pretty good as the harder you pedal it automatically increases resistance. Can see the fun in one of the Tacx connect to your pc jobbies though.
I used to have an Elite RealAxiom and now use a RealPower; better than the Tacx ones for training
I've got a Kurt Kinetic road machine and it is awesome, solid and reliable.
I got mine from Planet X a good few years back and it was a silly price, maybe £125?
While I couldn't afford one at current list prices I can see why they cost what they do and expect it will last for years.
mudshark - what are the elite trainers like?
What specifically do you want to know? There's a lot to them.
I've got one of the Tacx Imagics with various terrains (including the MTB one) and VR routes. I've found it pretty good - certainly better than using a basic Turbo which is what I had before.
Interested in in the tracx I magic. Any options tips ? Got basic turbo now which I use regularly
Pawsy just buy mine. I have the steering rack, several DVD things. My tip would be to get a turbo specific tyre as it reduces any slippage especially when doing the big climbs in france
I also like the Kurt (not much help).
Previously used i magic which was poor in comparison.
I also have a kurt, and while its a well made quality piece of kit, there is nothing special about it. Its using my garmin sensors and linking to trainerroad.com with the sufferfest videos that makes for great turbo training sessions.
Road Machine user here also. Before buying it I was also considering a Cyclops Jet Fluid Pro which would be a good alternative. I'd always go for a fluid model, closest thing to a real road feel and no phaffing with settings- if you want to suffer more then just change up a gear.
Like MSP says to get the most out of them you need at least a speedo on the back wheel. Garmin speed and cadence sensor with an Edge 500 or 800 is ideal.
cheers everyone - I have a powertap power meter and was intending to use it with trainer road and sufferfest so would be interested to hear more about your usage MSP
Right, if you are already aware of sufferfest, they already add an extra dimension to turbo sessions.
Trainer road adds steroids to the sufferfest.
With the garmin speed and cadence sensor hooked up to the ant+ receiver it puts estimated power, target power, speed, cadence etc up on screen with the video, which I output through hdmi onto my big screen.
It's like having an evil sadistic mistress constantly taunting you to go harder and faster, more power you need more power you worthless little girl!!!....ahem 😳
I guess an actual power meter would just add extra accuracy to your sadism.