Kurt Kinetic worth it?

ecandl said:

I've had a performance fluid trainer for 4 years now. The trainer has worked well but seems to be wearing out - funny noise. Also, resistance seems to decrease as the fluid warms up. I have been using HR to gauge intensity but would prefer something more accurate and easier to record such as power. I would also like to be able to more accurately test progress. I have been looking at the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine with computer. How good are these really and is it worth the money? I really don't want to spend $1000 or more for a powermeter. Actually, I just can't/won't at this point. I appreciate any feedback.

Yes, it's worth it. I fell in love with training indoors because of it (Road Machine + power calculator). A word of warning: It will get you hooked on training with power, you'll want to know exactly how well you do outside, and sooner or later you'll end up shopping for a real power meter. My Powertap SL/Zipp 404 is in the mail 😄.

I like my new KK road machine, but I am not sure about the computer.
I've been having problems with mine and two people from my spin class have sent theirs back to the seller for their money back.

I hope to get the PT later this summer and use it on the trainer next winter.

I have the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and it's great the computer was defective so I got it replaced the service from www.1upusa.com has been great. It's good to have a rear mounted computer as a back up using the formula to calculate power from speed. kurtkinetic.comcalibration chart.phpOpen ↗ I've heard alot of good things about the heavier flywheel KK Pro so you might want to consider that for $100 dollars more.

wiredued said:

I have the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and it's great the computer was defective so I got it replaced the service from www.1upusa.com has been great. It's good to have a rear mounted computer as a back up using the formula to calculate power from speed. kurtkinetic.comcalibration chart.phpOpen ↗ I've heard alot of good things about the heavier flywheel KK Pro so you might want to consider that for $100 dollars more.

Perhaps I should've mentioned that I also had problems with the computer. It seems to work well when the unit is just pushed against the connecting pins on the mount, but once you snap it into place it resets all the data. I didn't send it back because it only cost me $12 (long story about cash back rewards on credit cards, etc.).

I also failed to mention that I have the Polar power meter as well, but since it won't easily go onto the curved chainstay of my Roubaix Pro, it stays on my old indoor bike.

The KK Road Machine is a great trainer and worth every penny. I wasted a couple years with a cheaper trainer and now kick myself for not getting the "best" right away.

I wouldn't spend much money on the KK power computer though. I mounted by Cateye cylocomputer on my rear wheel and I just use the speed to tell me my power. The KK power meter doesn't measure power directly but just estimates it based on your speed (probably quite accurately). Here is the speed - power conversion table from KK.

kurtkinetic.comPower Curves419.pdfOpen ↗

I ordered my trainer from www.1upusa.com and would definitely buy from them again. They threw in a Spinervals DVD and now I am hooked on Spinervals.

I replaced my Performance fluid trainer with the Kurt Kinetic Road machine in November. The Kurt Kinetic is much better - quieter, stronger, and smoother to pedal because of the fly-wheel. I have been using it with my normal computer and the power formula to track my power.

I'm very happy with my Kurt Kinetic. I have their computer, too, and the other poster is right, I'm more aware of power. I does want to make me get a power tap. I also did have one incident with the computer, I think I moved it on the contacts, or something, and it kept resetting every time I hit any button. After that one time, it's been great. For a few years I've been using the Performance Millenium fluid/mag combo trainer. It was good, you could dial in a ton of resistance, but last month, during a Spinervals workout, the resistance unit just broke, or something. I didn't try to take it apart, or anything. Called up performance & told them about it, looking for a resistance unit. The guy said he'd look, and call me back the next day. Never heard from them. Go with Kurt.

My computer seems to operate okay while spinning, but as soon as I stop everthing seems to reset to zero. So I am able to go to a certain number and try to hold that number, but once I am done I do not have the data to record my average watts.

I am considering using my Garmin 305 and get the cadence sensor which also reads speed from the rear wheel. I believe it will be more accurate for speed and then do the math after training.

Or will that be a bad method?

Well, well, well. Lots of problems with the KK computer I see.

I also had problems with it - it worked for awhile, and then went crazy. My average power was over 500 watts during my Level 4 intervals - if only that was true. I eventually got a new computer.

The trainer is great, and so is the computer when it works. I like being able to see power without having to do a conversion from speed.

I too had trouble with the Kinetic power computer - randomly reset itself frequently. KK suggested replacing the battery. I replaced it and haven't had problems since. (Very odd since it was still relatively new. What are they doing, installing *used* batteries??) It is clearly a cheap computer though, and not very user-friendly or intuitive. However, being one who doesn't yet have a *real* power meter, it does what I need it to do (current, avg, & max watt readings), and since the battery swap, does it reliably.

blaronn said:

I too had trouble with the Kinetic power computer - randomly reset itself frequently. KK suggested replacing the battery. I replaced it and haven't had problems since. (Very odd since it was still relatively new. What are they doing, installing *used* batteries??) It is clearly a cheap computer though, and not very user-friendly or intuitive. However, being one who doesn't yet have a *real* power meter, it does what I need it to do (current, avg, & max watt readings), and since the battery swap, does it reliably.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I may give that a try rather than give up on the computer.
(although mine came packaged with the battery in a seperate package - as if new)