Practice makes perfect and if you want to improve performance, there is none left to do except training harder. For those who are planning to face a competition or just want to ride more effectively, Cycleops Fluid 2 Vs Kinetic Road Machine are two nice kinetic machines that we can utilize at home so then we can be better prepared for the actual game. If you are also eyeing these machines, see what we can expect from them below before shopping.
In this article, we are going to give you information about:
– What are the Benefit of using Indoor Trainer
– What are Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine
– What Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Look like
– How are the Resistance of Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine
– How are the Noise Level of Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine
– Are Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Easy to Setup
– Cycleops Fluid 2 Vs Kinetic Road Machine
Bicycle Indoor Trainer
As more people are getting concerned about their body fitness, many of us are starting to move to a healthier lifestyle and remove those excess sugar, processed foods from the diet as well as exercise more. The threat of obesity and several other related diseases that often attack our body are not to be taken lightly and for those who are not enjoying common cardio exercise or weight training, bicycling can be a wonderful alternative for staying fit because they also offer the chance of adventure.
It is the true case for people who are commuting with their bike or road and mountain riders who often go outside and enjoy their surroundings as well as doing a short fulfilling journey but, the fact is not all of us do have time to do so for it can be time consuming. The question emerges is then how we can train bicycling without stepping out from our home. The answer can be recumbent bike or indoor cycling machine. Read also: Giro Hex Vs Xar here.
However, they are made for regular people who are training cardio and not for people who plan to eventually hit the road because if it is your case as well then we should use an equipment called indoor bike trainer.
The debate about whether it is effective or not training with this equipment is still happening today but, let’s see the bright side of indoor training.
1. It can be a very effective interval training because we can adjust them for there is no natural variability that we often see in nature and we can be as specific as we want without any coasting effect for example we won’t run out of hill in a trainer since they are fixed.
2. The second is that we can specify the intervals because commonly riders will decide training as combination of power, RPE, or heart rate with a wide range of RPM play and in nature, this can be a challenge to ride in suitable terrain yet trainers offers immediate and controllable intervals that we can adjust accordingly.
3. Another benefit we can get when using bike trainer is pedal stroke and posture because with controllable environment, we can work better in managing pedal stroke and retaining proper posture such as with the help of mirror in front of your setup so then we can retain form even under fatigue in the real game.
4. Additionally, it provides much convenience for we can’t train outside just anytime and having a trainer at home allow us to access the exercise at any given moments even when it is raining cats and dogs outside.
About Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine
For those who want to own the versatility of an indoor trainers, getting one will be very beneficial to your overall performance, especially those who are living in an urban area and have not enough time to always go out and do the intervals in nearby terrains. Similar to many fitness equipment, there are so many good trainers out there made by different companies and one brand usually have more than a pair to offer as well so it may take some more time to choose.
However, if you want a quick shop, we can look at those used by other similar enthusiast because the one adored by many will have a higher chance of offering what we want as well. But, when it comes to trainers, you have to choose between magnetic or fluid first because we have both available and if you are here, chances the latter is a more interesting choice. Among those many companies offering indoor trainers, Cycleops and Kurt are two of the most popular nowadays.
They are reliable due to high quality products and many options yet, the Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine will be the most desired since both offer powerful training right in your home. Compared to magnetic, fluid by design will be more expensive but it is not substantial and between these two, we have to admit that Cycleops is the friendlier choice for budget concern out there. For those who are not familiar with fluid, as the name suggests this system use fluid as its resistance.
When first introduced in the market, many of them are having leakage issues due to the nature of fluid but it is much better as newer releases are entering the market so we don’t have to worry about the issue anymore. The working mechanism of Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Machine Road Machine will be the same for the viscous fluid inside will cause resistance as users continuously adding the speed so the faster we go, the heavier the resistance will be as well.
Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Design
Like many other indoor bike trainer, the shape of these two models will be the same and as you can see on the sample picture above, they are practically identical in terms of design with one part featured with the main mechanical parts forming a “U” shape then a pair of feet used to stabilize the whole trainer and your bike. In terms of durability, you don’t have to worry because both of them are built to be rigid yet, Kurt Kinetic Road Machine especially this 2.0 model is largest in diameter.
It is also heavier in comparison so you may feel more secure with this trainer while on the other hand Cycleops Fluid 2 is lighter and it may affect the performance when riding in heavy load yet, overall it still very stable for you have to put a lot of effort to make it tips over. In the end it is between sturdy and convenience because while the latter is more stable and put our mind at ease, the former takes less energy to move around or stow.
Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Resistance
One of the first thing many people want to know about indoor trainer is the resistance especially with fluid because we don’t have preset settings and for serious riders, sometimes things can get less challenging if the unit doesn’t provide a higher and powerful resistance to improve their performance. Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine will provide you pretty much of resistance and the latter even tested to 3000 watts without thermal failure while the former offers resistance from 20 to over 800 watts.
This simple description doesn’t mean that Cycleops Fluid 2 is a less capable trainer but it is only because they don’t disclose the information on the upper range. In addition, average performance riders usually go from 200 to 250 watts so both of them are certainly capable to entertain your training program. However, if you are more serious we can add Pro add-on flywheel to increase the weight of available flywheel from the former 6 lbs. to 18 lbs.
Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Noise
Another plus side of fluid trainer is the noise because many people don’t like the loud noise coming out of magnetic trainer, moreover those who are living in an apartment complex or have family and roommates. Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine are significantly quieter in comparison to magnetic trainer but it doesn’t mean they will be identical because in competition, the former is actually less noisy around 64-68 decibel while the latter is slightly louder at 69-70 decibel.
Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine Securing System
Another thing we want to talk about here is their securing mechanism because all of us want to utilize a simple equipment and like many other bike trainer, these models will have the same rear wheel skewer pressure to secure your bike. In comparison, we can say that Cycleops Fluid 2 is the easiest and faster in terms of installing because it has an easy to use lever which slides until it engages the skewer while Kinetic Road Machine uses a threaded engagement system.
This mechanism obviously not the simplest to use but it is indeed bulky and full of machined aluminum so we do adore its solid and secure feeling. However, it is unfortunate that none of them will work with the majority of skewers in modern bike today which means we have to replace the skewer with a basic steel included in these trainer package.
Comparison
Both of them are an ideal choice for anyone who wants to have the versatility to train at home and there is no bad trainer among both of them for they are equally a great options. However, it is true that Kinetic Road Machine especially the 2.0 model in our article is heavy, making it more stable and put our mind at ease but not convenience as well for moving around. It requires slightly longer setup but we forget to mention that it can adapt to smaller wheel less than 650c as well for children workout.
With Cycleops Fluid 2, not only the frame is lighter so we can move it easier, the setup is also more convenient and slightly quieter when operating for those living in packed environment or family and roommates.
Cycleops Fluid 2 vs Kinetic Road Machine
Conclusion
Choosing between Cycleops Fluid 2 and Kinetic Road Machine is very hard for they are equally a reliable trainer but between the two we do adore Cycleops Fluid 2 better because of its light frame, easy to setup and quite but also cheaper in comparison.