MattyK wrote:
Random further thought for the day (yes I was pondering this earlier today after seeing the new Kurt trainer on video):
Basically trainer rocker plates seem like a crap idea because they don't replicate proper bike movement, the roll centres are all wrong and the steering is still fixed. So...
What if you attached a front wheel roller to a kurt trainer? That would make the front wheel want to wander, then the bike lean a bit, which you can then counteract naturally with steering input. Bascially it would be like rollers but with limitations to the range of movement, as well as proper resistance.
I've thought about that one also. The rock/roll is not the correct climbing dynamic.
My idea was to have the trainer bolted to a pair of heavy duty rails that are curved down toward center and have springs on the outer limits.
As you climb out of saddle shifting the weight back and forth, the bike would properly slide left/right like it does on a real climb or sprint. The entire assembly would be a maybe 18" x 36" rectangle. 36" the direction the bike sways left and right.
I've always thought the front doesn't move nearly as much as the back.