What I really like is it almost reduces the footprint of the kickr
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Okey doke - video and post are all up. Hereās the video:
And hereās the post: InsideRideās New Wahoo KICKR E-Flex Motion Accessory: Hands-On | DC Rainmaker
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Iām in the UK and can see it
Thanks for the write-up/videoā¦looks like a winner to me.
Awesome review, Ray. I think you nailed the focus and fact that comfort is far and away the biggest benefit of adding motion to trainer. The standing and sprint demo is obligatory, but far from what we really need to focus on with this trend.
When I stated down my DIY motion path, the standing and sprinting were foremost in my mind. But I soon found out how much even the most minimal amount of movement added to comfort. Subsequent testing on my saddle pressure mapper showed the difference from rigid to minimal movement. Additional movement doesnāt make more difference for comfort, but it can improve āfeelā when standing and sprinting.
Following the law of diminishing returns, there are the most gains with the pure change from rigid to some movement, and less payback as you add more.
To the Flex, I think they have the potential for a real winner. Well designed and easy to use. They have a totally practical price, and I hope they sell a ton of them. This could be the opening to bring in more scale and āofficialā builders to move us past the DIY trend. If we are lucky, it will force Saris to adjust their pricing and also consider a simpler solution.
Overall, I see this as all positive as your coverage will continue to spread the topic of motion to new users and get people headed in the direction that I think can benefit many riders.
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So hereās a random thought - sort of brought on by the aquisition of Speedplayā¦I wonder if InsideRide could/will be acquired by any of the major playersā¦seems like there could be a fit with Wahoo, Cycleops, Garmin/Tacx, etc. If this E-Flex thing takes off it could be interesting to watch.
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Yeah, something like that could happen. They are the most developed in this area at the moment. But the motion aspect of trainers is very small and underdeveloped right now.
Inside Ride with their motion rollers and Kinetic with the original Rock and Roll trainer (as well as the newer R1) are the āoldā companies in this area.
- Obviously, Kinetic is already a on -stop shop for trainers with motion. They hold a notable patent on integrated motion on a trainer, but that is set to expire in the next couple of years. Perhaps that is the limiter on seeing more options from the bigger players, or just a coincidence.
- I donāt expect an Inquisition of Kinetic makes sense to any of the other players with that short patent life, and the fact that they are well behind in the smart trainer world.
- Inside Ride could make some sense. The motion rollers are also patented and I donāt know when that one expires. However, since rollers are the very narrow niche, I donāt see that as a particular draw.
- This new design is very good and could be a great option for many users. But I question if they have a patent or other work here that makes a direct acquisition worthwhile or necessary.
- As noted by Ray, these are a low-tech solution. As such, I see it as a relatively āeasyā product to copy or replicate in similar or different means. So I donāt think there is a big business case for existing trainer makers to buy them.
I say all that with little to no actual business knowledge and pure common sense consideration. I may well be off the mark.
This is probably the first time I regret owning a NEO.
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This makes me sad
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They had my curiosity, now they have my attention
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The Core should actually be a relatively easy offering for them. The fact that the horizontal legs are easily removable, leaving 4 very handy mounting hole locations within a curved surface, should make them solid mounting points.
They just need to alter the center support design a bit and a Core would work really well. If they are smart, theyād be working on that right now as I think the time and material are minimal at best, and it is a very popular trainer.
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Hopefully the initial Kickr version launch goes well.
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Add to that, I think any of you Core owners who would like this need to be vocal and contact them to let them know you are interested.
- I think just a few people and a realization from them on the relative ease might be enough to make it happen for you.
- info@insideride.com
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Thanks for that. I added it to my post as well.
Fingers crossed for you guys as I think it should be a easy job for them.
Do you want the $399 version with minimal marketing or would you prefer the $599 version with all the hype and glitter?
Some of us already use and love their products, which should be how theyāre judged, but to most people marketing is apparently more important than performance.
And why did it take years for Rainmaker to review any of their stuff? Because big players like Wahoo and Tacx command all the attention.
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Hey, I also own their rollers, and their smart resistance unit, and their FFS, so I know the quality. But when I ask about an upcoming product on the company FB page, and their answer is to redirect to a 3rd party for something as simple as a youtube video of the device in action, I have to question their business sense. Iām not asking for some multi-million dollar marketing scheme, but I expect a company to take ownership of their product rollouts. Maybe if they did a little bit better job of those things, theyād have a bigger market share, and ācommand all the attentionā along with the big players - you and I both know the quality of their products warrants it.
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They (the big guys) command the attention in that case because they go out of their way to get products to him to test. The company is making a connection with him and sending pre or post production units for him to test. They know he shares the reviews with a large audience and his takes on these products is well trusted.
The lack of testing of the older Inside Ride rollers is most likely down to two things:
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Ray is not a roller guy, so there wasnāt much interest from him to go out of his way to get some and test them on a whim. He knows roller use is niche at best, even for a great product like the Inside Ride ones.
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I am betting that Inside Ride finally realized that they needed to take action and sent the rollers to Ray. It coincided with the re-introduction of their home built smart controlled resistance unit, and maybe from the inclusion of the Floating Fork Stand. The FFS is not new, but itās addition may have been enough of a carrot along with the smart resistance to get Ray to take them on for review once Inside Ride offered.
I am speculating on all of that, but I think that jives with the stated comments from Ray about his other testing.
To the whole poor marketing from Inside Ride, I am a vocal critic of their current site and methods.
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It wouldnāt cost them a fortune to revamp their website to something appropriate for this decade. The current one is outdated at best and a pain to navigate. Not the impression I think a company wants to have when they are selling products at premium pricing, especially when one is a tech based option (smart resistance)
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And their lack of any updates on their YouTube channel is silly at best.
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Seven yearsā¦ yes, SEVEN YEARS since their last video.
- Nothing on their current Floating Fork Stand.
- Nothing on their current Smart Resistance Unit.
- Nothing on their old Smart Resistance Unit.
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It seems like pure laziness and lack of interest in promoting their product. Part of selling something is letting people know you have it for sale.
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Their current knowledge in the training world is mostly word of mouth and postings from people outside their company.
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That is just odd lack of ownership in advertising. They donāt need to spend many thousands to make this happen. Some smart video and web editing could take them into the current decade and make them seem ready meet the demands of the customers in this industry.
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As it stands now, they leave a loose impression that this is a side job from someone without the time or interest to make a better presentation of their work.
I say all that in the hope that Inside Ride will get on the horse and make something happen. I really like their product and general design direction. This current Flex product is even better and stands to make them a real place in this sphere. But they need to grab the bull by the horns and own this to make it really happen.
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When I researched their floating fork I was told there were patents pending as a roller attachment as well as a trainer platform. My guess is they have it locked up. Maybe someone here knows how to search patents for more info?
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Quick patent search (and it was very brief) turned up nada. Only used āInsideRideā and 'e-motion" as search terms.
I think this is the search result list for Larry Papadopoulos (AFAIK, the head behind the Inside Ride designs).
Here is the Floating Fork Stand. This appears to the the application only, and I donāt think it is officially issued yet.
Chad - not to nitpick - but I think Rayās actually had the rollers for a pretty long timeā¦I could swear I remember him mentioning them, or seeing them in the background shots of other reviews. I think it took a while due to the multiple iterations of the smart resistance unit, for one - probably not worth taking the time to review until they have the final product. The FFS has been around for a while as well, so it sort of seemed to me like he was just doing it for sort of completenessā sake, since it is an option on the market.
Edit: You can see them here, in a post from 2014: [The new DC Rainmaker Caveā¦and new Bertieās Cake Studio in Paris! | DC Rainmaker]
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