Touching back on a prior topic, connecting the front and rear sections of the E-Flex. I and others were wanting a way to prevent shifting and twisting of the front section in particular. I had one hack that I used for a while, but it was not easy to produce and not worth sharing.
This weekend, I hit on a super simple and effective solution, so I am sharing here for anyone interested… Below is option 1, that I think is the best overall solution. Basic design & dimensions:
The 15" dimension is from memory, and it might need a tweak. I will update once I double check. But just try to place them as wide as you can to engage the side of the rear section.
It is a single long 2" x 2" piece of lumber with two 2" x 2" spacers screwed and/or glued into place. I measured 2-3/8" [60mm], but it’s possible this could vary for other users. I’d suggest checking with a level and tape if you have the means.
Hold the bridge in place with four instances of any strap of your choice (two at each section). Cable ties, hook & loop or nylon straps and the like at the ends of each aluminum tube on the front and rear sections.
Rough and unpainted example of the work in progress from my friend, Barrett. The clamp is there just to hold the spacer for the glue to dry. The final setup will be the wood bridge with 4 straps.
And now is my overly simple straight and single example. one 2" x 2" about 36" long, with two velcro straps. This works well too, but lacks the longer engagement of the better design above. But it’s so simple and an improvement over nothing, that it may be fine for many users.
Key with either design is placing the straps just beyond the slots of the fore-aft motion so you don’t inhibit that at the ends of travel. Overall, this is simple and allows for infinite options on wheelbase with no moving parts.
I think I get it, but I am guessing a bit based on the pictures and text since I have the original rear section design that differs a bit from the current one.
From what I have seen, the front and rear clamps that hold the center tube of the trainer are independent of each other. They are installed on the rubber vibration mounts without a connection between the clamps. As such, it is important to have each mount aligned and “square” with each other.
I believe the block step above is meant to align each section and make sure the trainer is evenly mounted, without any “twist” between the mounts. Does that make sense with what you have on hand?
InsideRide just added a formal response on Overseas ordering to their FAQ page:
Do you ship outside of Continental USA and Canada?
There is no overseas distribution and shipping individual units by parcel service is quite expensive. The best option is to use a parcel forwarding service to get your Inside Ride product sent to you at a reasonable rate. Simply visit their website to arrange service. We ship to their facility in the US and they send it on to your international destination. This method is typically half the cost of direct parcel shipping.
Here are three services that many of our international customers have used previously:
Very cool! At least there seems to be an option. No idea how that all workouts out with shipping and exchange rates, but that may be something at least. Thanks for sharing that!
Ah, I didn’t realize the rear section differs between the two. The clamps are installed on a bar that runs fore/aft so I don’t see a way to change them so that it’s square. I just angled the rear section so that the trainer itself is oriented straight ahead—don’t see that it matters if the base is askew. But strange that it’s in the directions if it’s not possible. I’ll email them about it: maybe I’m missing something.
Will do the next time I’m home. I emailed them just now, will report back if I hear anything.
I don’t think it’s about eliminating twist in the saddle mounts. I think it’s so that the Kickr’s center is aligned in the same orientation as the frame, so that the fore/aft motion occurs in a parallel sense. Currently with my base and trainer misaligned there would be some slight horizontal motion to the trainer as it moves fore and aft.
It’s just like this. The two distances marked in yellow are not equal on mine, so the Kickr ends up a bit askew compared to the frame. Directions imply you can fix this but I can’t see how.
OK, from what I have seen, the front saddle is attached to a rubber mount. The rear is also on a rubber mount. Each is separate from a “flex” perspective (allowing independent lean angle before attaching the trainer) even thought they are “connected” via the aluminum tubing.
As such, each saddle can rotate left or right a different amount. If this happens when you set the trainer into the saddles, the trainer will be “turned” a bit left or right. This is not ideal.
So, the blocking spacer step is meant to align the two saddles to the same lean angle, which is should align the trainer parallel to the main slider legs.
Makes sense (basically placing the trainer in the correct orientation and forcing the saddles to move to compensate) but I don’t see why the saddles won’t just return to center after some aggressive rocking. Will be interesting to hear what InsideRide says.
Presumably, if you tighten the wing nuts to properly clamp the trainer in place, there is enough friction to hold the trainer and ALSO resist “twist” at the clamp. The proper function of the device is clamps locked firmly to the trainer frame, with the rubber mounts as the only motion component for lean.
If the mounts twist at all, that partly defeats the purpose of the rubber mounts. Maybe if you are talking purely about the setup, that is different. But once you lock down the nuts, if the saddles twist on the trainer tube, something is wrong.
So, it’s best to align the saddles during setup and then lock it all into place.
Edit: what I wrote below is wrong: according to InsideRide the saddles shouldn’t be tilted. In my case the gap is less than the 3” that they spec for some reason, so the important thing is to make sure the Kickr is square (ignoring the actual gap distance). The gap was a bit less for the rear saddle so that saddle is tilted just slightly in order to have the Kickr mounted square, while the front is no longer tilted at all.
So you have to force the saddles to tilt enough that the trainer is aligned before you tighten down the wing nuts. Final install looks like this:
I finished my side by side video of the Inside Ride E-Flex & E-Flex PLUS units in use. Hopefully this shows some of the key differences between each one in use so people can consider which one might be best for them.
Let me know any questions you have that I didn’t touch on in the video. I added some expanded notes and info in the Description of the video too, so that is worth a look as well.
Thanks for making this. Makes me bummed they’re not offering the the fork upgrade separately for existing owners, but I console myself in that I do 99% of my riding seated in erg so I’m not sure I’m missing much.
Excellent video, just shared with some friends who are interested.
I’m jealous of your perfectly straight front section. Mine needs to be turned to the left for some reason, or else the balance is wrong. I’m using shims to make sure it’s level, and my bars are definitely straight, so I’m not sure what’s up there (although I just realized I haven’t checked if the rear section is level).
Thanks, glad you like the vid and hope it helps people consider both units.
As to your turning, how “level” is your trainer in the rear section with just the bike attached? Getting the Support Arm in the proper position (Soft vs Firm) is an important step, as is evaluating how even it sits with nothing attached to the trainer. Ideally, it should sit mostly “level” and allow easy lean to either direction.
If that’s not the case, it’s possible there might need to be more changes. I can offer some more guidance depending on what you find if you can do that test and report back.
