I’ve been on my Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for about 15 years. I’ve had no problems with it, except for the fluid resistance unit starting to make noise, but Kurt Kinetic replaced it under warranty and it’s still running like new.
I’m considering moving to a direct drive trainer, most likely a Zwift Hub. Never tried ERG mode, but from what I’ve researched, I would not really be using it since I’m only on Trainerroad and the big power jumps of the intervals aren’t really conducive to ERG mode. I’m not doing Zwift or anything where that has gradients.
Seems silly to spend $600 or more for less noise and maybe better feel?
I was on a Kurt kinetic for years. I got a used kickr a few months ago, it has been a good quality of life improvement.
I was tired of changing tires to ride in and outside.
Erg has been amazing. I didn’t necessarily mind changing gears to find the right one for the interval at hand on the kinetic, but not having to think about it now and just focus on my effort has been nice. Certainly reduces some cognitive load.
It’s been fun too riding Zwift in sim mode occasionally. It is more immersive and doing an easy pace partner recovery ride is a lot more engaging than an easy erg mode ride.
All in all, I’m definitely enjoying the kickr (it’s an old v1). It was only a 100 bucks, I don’t know that I would’ve spent 600 for one, but now I won’t go back to a wheel on trainer.
Depends on how big of jumps. If you are doing 4 second intervals then ERG is not good but if you are doing 15 seconds or for sure 30 seconds or longer then ERG is excellent.
I can’t speak for the Hub specifically (still need to get and test one), but I have been able to use ERG for even 15/15 and longer intervals with large steps. I suspect it is on par with the Kickr Core and others like it. There is a delay in the overlay of the resistance compared to the blue bars, but you get that same delay on the back side.
So the ultimate loading on the body is as intended for the duration, it is just time shifted a bit behind the “target blocks”. Your interval summary in TR will show that you missed it a bit, but looking at the actual graph will show you are solid and getting the intended training load.
I switched from a kk road machine to zwift hub last spring. Major upgrade, zwift hub is so much better, much quieter and better feel. Well worth the price imo.
Your post says you have no reason for upgrading and think it’s silly to spend the money. If that is truly how you feel, I think it’s a mistake to switch. On the other hand, if there is anything specific you don’t like about the KK and want to know how that compares to the Zwift Hub, I’d ask that question. It’s a massive step up, but it sounds to me like you’ve already made up your mind, and I’d hate to see you waste your money.
I went from a Elite Muin to a Elite Suito 4 or 5 years ago. After a brief folly into ERG I use it mainly on Resistance mode but I quite like digital resistance and have enjoyed virtual courses.