Kinetic Rock and Roll Control Trainer

So I've got about 10hrs on this thing now...My setup is a HT29'r running a 700x32 training tire, and I use the turntable in front (awesome).Connectivity: A lot of people complain about this but I didn't have tooooo much trouble. I had to reset my bluetooth on my phone after plugging the control unit in. That solved the problem. After that I updated the firmware and so far everything works perfectly. I haven't had any dropped connections. Every time I plug in the trainer & then open the app, the trainer is connected.The Rock & Roll aspect of this thing is...tricky. If you weight 150, it's probably great out of the gate. It has 4 rubber bushing in 2 vertical stacks that allow it to move. On my first ride, there was so much movement I could hardly ride it. My front wheel had to be turned 45 degrees right and my butt shifted a little off to the right to keep me from swaying waaaaay left. I even threw my foot down once to keep from crashing! I was thinking this was going to be a return but I'd read about a trick another big guy (215) tried. I replaced the front upper rubber bushing with a stack of steel washers that happened to exactly match the dimensions of the bushing. Voila! Now the movement was perfect--very realistic, and also very rideable. However, the bike seemed to be leaning pretty far to the left, as I was looking down at the right side of my front rim. A little bit of this is normal, but I'm talking a pretty extreme lean. So out came the level...my seat was really the only place on the bike I could get a good measure. And it was WAY off. No wonder I felt like I was leaning! So I compared it to the floor. The floor was slightly off, as in not perfect but fully within bubble. The level bubble on the bike seat was 50% outside the lines, so the leveling issue IS with the trainer. Glad I'm a handy guy. I pulled out some leftover shims from installing new doors and used those to lift the left side of the trainer. I got the level bubble just barely within the level lines, so it's not perfect but close enough. I got on for a test and low & behold it was as close to riding outdoors as possible. The bike was as level as any street or trail would allow, and I was able to ride with a realistic amount of movement with my handlebar straight and my rear end in the correct position on the saddle.So if you're willing to work at it, customize this thing to your weight, and work out any level issues, it really is awesome.Now I can't speak to the resistance aspects of the control unit. I probably bought way more trainer than I needed. I haven't tried any resistance programs yet as I'm just trying to put on some enduro miles while beating the desert heat this summer. What I can say is that the power readings are all over the place. They seem consistent during each ride, but not between rides. One ride I'll have (literally) 39w average. The next, at the same effort, 60 some watts. From my perceived effort, I'd say my quark on my road bike would say I was riding about 120w. Glad I don't really care about those numbers on this trainer.I think this trainer hits a very strange middle ground. If you're really concerned about numbers, you need a much better trainer. If you're like me and just want to escape the heat or cold while getting in some hours, it's probably more trainer than we need (and more trouble). I went with this one because I thought Zwift would be cool. It's not. I ride with Hulu or Netflix!!! I'm on the fence. I can't really recommend this trainer, but I can't say it's bad, either. Just takes some work. I will say that now that it's set up properly, the ride feel is awesome. It is very realistic to riding outdoors.

This trainer has some issues that are way out of line with it's price. The App that you need to update and adjust the trainer has been pulled from the app stores. You will have to get an old copy, side load it and adjust the trainer in airplane mode... How's that for a $700 trainer from a 30yr old company? Right its BS. The trainer works like a dream once you get it updated and dialed in. I am 185lbs and it moves when I want it to out of the saddle at 400+ watts. I love the way it moves and the stress it takes off my carbon bike gives me some mental peace as well. I have had it drop blue tooth connection a few times. The app has to be shut down or it will fight with the trainer for connection. The 10% slope is crushing for me and absolutely more than I would ever want for long durations. The only serious issue with wheel on trainers is that the torque you can create in low gears on a steep slope will very often give you wheel slip. My power cable stopped working and I can tell you the tech support here is a joke.. email only... and they dont respond. Amazon is assisting with a unit swap thank god. I honestly can not recommend that anyone gamble with this company in thier current state. If the app worked and they paid for phone support then yes its a solid machine and a lot of fun.

I guess I have been one of the lucky ones. Right out of the box, the firmware updated without issue. Also, connectivity has not been an issue for me. I have used the trainer with Zwift, The Sufferfest, & Rouvy; one problem I had was with the Rouvy program though. When setting it up in the Rouvy menu, the program would not register speed or power when I selected the Control model from the Rouvy menu. I tried the Smart Control selection from the menu & have had no issues since then.Previous to this purchase, I had used the Road Machine with the standard magnetic flywheel system with the optional, heavier flywheel add-on for many years now and have loved it! This model has maintained that great 'road' feel. One initial drawback to this Rock & Roll was in setting the bike up on the trainer. It took a lot of trial & error to get the bike perfectly (nearly) balanced/centered on the roller to keep myself from leaning too far to one side. I still have to rotate the handlebars slightly to one side, but that is now just a slight annoyance.Bang for the buck, this is one of the most affordable ways to join the smart trainer world. The variable resistence from the roller, with certain programs (Zwift, Rouvy, etc.) has made my indoor workouts more fun & have helped to keep me honest by keeping me more engaged instead of just spinning along aimlessly whilst watching TV.[edit 08-16-2021]:One of the four washers broke this past spring, so I looked for the replacements at the KK website. $5.00 for each washer seemed like a decent deal, so I placed four in cart since I thought it would be best just to swap them all out at once. Got to checkout only to see that the cheapest shipping option was $15.50!!! KK told me they "can refund the shipping charges down to the actual cost via USPS Priority. Usually $7-8 for a package of that size." I've had large, heavy car parts shipped to me for less! Time to look for a new trainer company to throw my money at I guess...

Everything its ok