Best portable trainer?

The rock and roll is a giant beast and not portable at all. A buddy of mine has one and I don't like its size or the feel of the swaying motion.

The standard road machine is still big and heavy though not as bad. Saying that it is still easy enough to throw in the trunk or the back seat, its just weighty.

The Kurt trainers aren't the lightest or most portable but they are excellent and very tough like many guys on this board will tell you.

BTW The KK power meter computer is pure garbage. I went through 2 of them last winter. Get a standard bike computer that has a long enough lead so you can run off the back wheel.

Does the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine fold up easily?
Or do you have to unbolt the legs?

Thanks again.

Posted by: Spun

Does the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine fold up easily?
Or do you have to unbolt the legs?

Thanks again.

The legs fold up easily by hand without the need for any wrenches or whatever.

Pro road...best trainer on the market hands down.
Power meter...well it can break down but you should be able to get it replaced for free if it does. It's only $50 more and it is very accurate really...tested against my SRM.

It does fold down and you can also take off the fluid unit pretty quickly.

RG

Posted by: Realgains

Pro road...best trainer on the market hands down.
Power meter...well it can break down but you should be able to get it replaced for free if it does. It's only $50 more and it is very accurate really...tested against my SRM.

It does fold down and you can also take off the fluid unit pretty quickly.

RG

It does weigh a lot making transportion a little of a hassle, I'd suggest buying a good trainer bag to make it easier to move around.

I'd also strongly recommend the Pro Road... very stable and the fluid unit is smooth and really dialed in right (smooth, consistent)... much nicer than its conterpart the Cyclops IMO... portability is always the problem with a solid trainer that you can do all out sprints on... but it folds up decently compact....
and Gas is right about the computer... I'm already through the first one...

Roger that - used both, pro road is the way to go.

Thanks all for the input.
I will get the Pro Road.

I have the Pro Road w/computer and love it. I have a cheap Performance that is lighter. I'd lug it to races if I raced but I don't so I'll probably sell it. I have rollers too.

My comp also died after a few months. I think it's due to sweat getting into the wiring. The functions on the comp also suck a bit....you can't look at your current power and time elapsed at the same time!!! I think the guy who made this was drunk at the time. At the end of the day, the power is simply calculated from speed using a formula...so if you have a rear wheel speedo you can just use that.

Luckily the comp isn't a reflection on the actual trainer. Overall it beats my previous Tacx hands down.
.
BUT....

I find to hold the bike still, I have to tighten the unit SUPER tight. Such that undoing it is a bloody nightmare and normally involves the quick release becoming loose. Over time this tension has resulted in flex of my carbon chain stays. Perhaps that serves me right for using a carbon frame on a turbo trainer, but that wasn't a problem with the Tacx, where I could keep the bike stable without tightening it very much.

So you might want to consider using a steel bike on there that is never taken out on the road.

Something else to think about: the lack of free motion with any turbo trainer. That's a different topic though.