Kinetic
inRide Power Trainer ($130 MSRP)

With winter upon us, many will be turning to stationary trainers in order to preserve fitness until the spring.

One of the most popular trainers out there is the Kinetic Road Machine fluid trainer. We have one here at Chainlink HQ and love it…as we mentioned in our trainer vs. roller shootout last year. If you own one (or its big brother the Rock and Roll), we think the inRide is a must-have accessory.

In short, since each Kinetic fluid resistance unit is calibrated at the factory, you can achieve an accurate power estimate based on the speed of your bike’s rear wheel when riding on the trainer. Therefore, attaching a wireless speedometer to the fluid resistance unit gives you a power meter.

With the inRide system, the wireless speedometer unit sends a Bluetooth signal to your iPhone/iPad app (an Android version is in beta). An included Bluetooth heart rate monitor sends your heart rate data to the app as well. From the app you can see in real time, your speed, distance, power output, heart rate and calories information. The app also can run you through a threshold power test, and once your “FTP” is established, run you through structured interval workouts.

Once workouts are complete, you have the ability to upload them to popular training websites like Strava. If you play your cards right and don’t invite anyone fast over, you can pretty much guarantee yourself the “KOM” of your basement.

The only shortcoming of the system is that it can’t really measure “peak” power during jumps the way you can if power is being measured at the crank. This is because it takes a few moments for the trainer’s flywheel to spool up. But other than that, the system provides an excellent means to flog yourself silly without spending a lot of money or making modifications to your bike.

Purchase Information:
https://kurtkinetic.com/products/kinetic-inride-pod/

Next Gift: Zjay's Saddle Sore Soother