The Kurt Kinetic Road Machine: one of the best fluid bike trainers money can buy

We know that winter weather can suck big-time for those of us who love to be in the saddle. While waiting for the weather to improve, in fact as soon as the weather turns nasty during the late fall, I like to start working on my legs and get some saddle time in using an indoor trainer. My favorite over the last couple of winters has been my Kurt Kinetic Road Machine, which I originally purchased with some trepidation (mainly due to its fairly high price tag) but have been so thankful for every time I pull it out of storage.

In my opinion, a stationary bike stand is way better than using one of those stationary gym bikes or taking a spin class at the gym because they allow you to pedal some miles using the actual bike or bikes you will be using on the road. They also can be set up and used practically anywhere, including in front of your television in your living room (my preferred training spot!). And my Road Machine is undoubtedly one of the best out there on the market for training in front of the TV!

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What wowed us about the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine?

Due to the relatively high cost, the Road Machine, and other top-end fluid trainers (such as the CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer) are the indoor bike stands of choice for serious cyclists. But many of the bottom end fluid trainers suffer from the same problem: over time, they eventually develop leaks, at which point they can’t be repaired and have to be replaced.

One of the big factors many are won over by the Road Machine is its patent sealed chamber filled with thermodynamically stable silicone fluid and a roller that is “virtually” connected to the impeller via a magnetic coupler. That means that unlike other types of indoor trainers, the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine has no shaft to penetrate the chamber where the fluid is contained.

In other words, no leaks … ever! That’s a big plus, especially if you give your indoor trainer workout the way I do during my indoor spring training.

Don’t miss our guide to inserting the Kurt Kinetic rear skewer into your rear wheel.

Other Road Machine benefits 

Another cool thing I love about this indoor bike stand is that because the silicone resistance fluid in the chamber is thermodynamically neutral, the resistance doesn’t taper off as you spend more time on the indoor trainer and its temperature rises. The Road Machine also has 80 cooling fins to help dissipate that heat.

Plus, it has a 2-1/8 inch roller – the largest in the industry – which provides a wider surface area for your bike’s back tire. This allows the indoor trainer to accommodate nearly every type of bike — from racing models to mountain bikes – without worrying about tire wear.

Bear in mind that regular, knobbly mountain bike tires make quite a bit of noise. You’ll want to change that tire for a slick training tire for maximum noise reduction – and to keep your loved ones and neighbors from throwing hard objects at you!

I also liked the multi-position legs, which allows the trainer to get closer to the floor. It eliminated the need for front riser blocks and made it seem like I wasn’t riding downhill every time I trained on it.

Finally, another big factor for me was its noise levels. It doesn’t generate a lot of noise like Mag indoor trainers and wind trainers. That’s a big plus because it means I don’t have to wear my headphones in order to hear the TV when I’m doing my training in the morning.

One of the most realistic rides

Another thing I should mention is how realistic a ride the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine provides. The 6.25 pound flywheel that comes with it has a coast downtime from 20 mph of only 15 seconds. Most of the time, if you want to get this type of realistic training experience from an indoor trainer, you have to shell out a few thousand dollars for something like the Tracx Fortius or a virtual reality trainer.

But with the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine, you can get the same type of realistic ride for much less (I paid about $350 for mine new on Amazon, but you may be able to find it for less either new or used).

In addition to realism, you also get reliability. Now, as anybody who has read a few of my reviews and articles, I train a LOT. My motto has always been, “Ride them hard and put them away wet.” So I’ve blown through several lower-quality indoor bike stands over the years. But I can honestly say that I didn’t experience any problems whatsoever with the Road Machine. It put up with all the abuse I could give it and it is still working to this day just as effectively as it did the day I took it out of the box.

Something to consider…

There’s not really a lot I can sat to dissuade you, as this is a GREAT trainer. BUT, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the color: it’s an awful shade of lime green! What possessed the designers to choose this particular shade of green is beyond me.

But, seriously, if they only bad thing you can say about an indoor trainer is that it’s an ugly color, that’s pretty darned good. I mean, who’s going to see the thing besides you, anyway? (And half the time, I use my indoor trainer in the wee hours of the morning when nobody else is around anyway. So, come on!)

So, is the Road Machine worth the money?

If you are like me and are a semi-serious cyclist who wants to spend some quality time in the saddle throughout the winter months in order to be ready for road racing season, then the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine is a superb option for you. It offers a unique, durable design (OK, a funky green design…) that solves the biggest problem with most other fluid trainers (the leakage), and can stand up to a lot of use. Plus, the price is relatively affordable as it’s still not out there in the league of virtual trainers, or even its more pricier sibling, the Rock ‘n Roll Trainer.

So, yes, the bottom line is that we love this trainer and can highly recommend it (it also makes out Top 5 list of bike trainer stands we recommend in 2022).

One thing we should point out – Kurt Kinetic updated this model with a 2.0 version. It costs a few $$ more, weighs slightly less, and has been realigned to ensure it fits up to 29 x 2.4″ tire sizes. Worth considering.