Kurt Kinetic Road Machine - questions

hmm that's weird...i have never owned another trainer before and just got the road machine for xmas. my problem was getting my bike on the trainer (but i was just stupid about it), but the L bolt problem just didn't happen, mine lined up fine...i have 700 wheels on my bike though, so maybe the 2nd hole is making a difference..but it shouldn't..

did the trainer have tire marks on the flywheel when you got it? they're supposed to test every single trainer. if not, i really would just keep bugging them and return it. i am in love with my trainer, and i swear it really is amazing once it starts working!! maybe you could dismantle it all and start over again?

I remember reading that they test every trainer, but I couldn't see any tire marks on the flywheel.  None.

I don't think it's the second hole thing.  It's the welded piece where the short side of the L bolt goes is crooked, so it doesn't line up well with the hole in the resistance unit part.  We bent it, so it's on, but for paying $300 for a trainer, you'd think we wouldn't have to do that.

Did your flywheel have any shimmy to it or anything?  Maybe I put the bike on wrong, but at the same time, it can't really be that though either.  I'm almost confident that I put it on correctly. 

I'm really tempted to call them back about it and see about getting a new one.  This is almost ridiculous.  I've followed the directions (and video) to the T.  It's just a messed up one, I guess.

I got a new Kurt Kinetic Pro this year also.  It is my first trainer so my info doesn't come with much experience.  I found the tension bolt was difficult to insert into the bracket hole but I eventually found an angle that worked without bending the bolt.   I had to experiment with positions to find the magic point where the bolt and hole matched up. 

 I noticed the uneven resistance too.  It has gotten considerably better in just a couple of short rides.   I have a theory that the unevenness is actually the magnetic coupling slipping a pole.  The way this particular resistance unit works is that the drive wheel is coupled to the resistance turbine by magnets.  The field just acts through the wall of the resistance unit.  When the resistance unit is right out of the box and hasn't been ridden, the fluid is cold and the turbine has higher than normal resistance.  The magnets are not quite strong enough to hold the same relative position between drive wheel and turbine.  When that happens, the turbine slips to the next position where the magnets line up.  Apparently a small amount of riding gets the fluid warm, the resistance drops, and everything smoothes out.  This took less than 5 minutes

Be sure to check the trueness of your wheel.   At first, I thought this might be my problem.  It turns out my wheel is pretty true.  And check your brake calipers.  After putting in the skewer that came with the trainer, I had my wheel out of alignment and dragging on one side.  This really makes the resistance higher.

Someone else with more experience with these trainers may be able to confirm my theory or blast it to smithereens. 

For anybody else considering the Kurt Kinetic models, I advise against the Pro model.  This is the one with additional flywheel weight.  It costs $75 more than the standard Road Machine.  The extra weight really causes the tire to slip when I accelerate.  I think this is going to increase tire wear a lot.  The ride with the extra weight is not much different than without the weight so I have been riding without the extra weight.  So now I have a 12 lb $75 paper weight.

TW