written by Clifford Lee
Kurt Kinetic is a brand well-known for its fluid trainers such as the Road Machine and Rock-n-Roll. © Cliff Lee
Kinetic, formerly Kurt Kinetic named after its founder Kurt Kuban, and father of the present owner Bill Kuban, came out with its iconic fluid trainer in the late 1990’s after manufacturing for a company that went out of business. Using the manufacturing knowledge, Kenetic set out to build a better mousetrap and address the problem of leaking fluid resistance units, while making the fluid resistance curve as consistent as possible. Over the years, Kenetic has set the standard in the resistance bike trainer industry in the U.S.
The Kurt Kinetic Inride computer reports wattage and virtual cadence from the trainer using the consistent resistance and pulsations. © Cliff Lee
New for 2015 is the Kinetic Inride computer system that measure wattage and virtual cadence from the trainer without any attachments on your bike. It uses the documented resistance curve of the Kinetic fluid unit and the pulsations of the power applied to offer the power and cadence information respectively. The Inride unit is a small box that sticks to the back of the Kinetic fluid resistance unit. It only works with Kinetic fluid resistance units since the data is calibrated for the precise resistance curve of the fluid units. (The Kinetic magnetic resistance unit on their economy trainer has a linear curve.) The data is transferred to a free app for iOS7 so you can see, store and analyze the data. A heart rate strap is available to add that to the data of the Inride unit uploaded to your phone.
Kurt Kinetic is preparing to release their portable rollers, which is becoming increasingly popular as a warm up tool. © Cliff Lee
Also new for 2015 is a new portable fold-able roller with 3.5” drums. Weighing only 22 lbs, this is a good option for those who like to use rollers to warm up instead of a resistance trainer. The resistance is provided by the 3.5” drums with no additional resistance unit available to add on at this time. At least one of the pit crew of Cyclocross Magazine sometimes uses rollers to warm up and stay warm before races because he likes the moderate resistance spinning and the sharpness of focus it provides given the need to stay afloat with knobbies at low pressure on the spinning drums.
Kurt Kinetic’s newest water bottle cages can be mounted three different ways, which could be useful for hot days of shouldering practice. © Cliff Lee
Finally, for the hot dusty early season races where you may like a drink during the race without breaking the no-feed rule, Kinetic has a composite bottle cage that has provisions for offset mounting. So if you have a seat tube bottle mount on your frame and shoulder the bike with your right shoulder, you can mount the cage off center to the right so the cage and bottle doesn’t jab you in the back while running with the bike.
Kurt Kinetic’s newest water bottle cages can be mounted three different ways, which could be useful for hot days of shouldering practice. © Cliff Lee
For more information: kurtkinetic.com
