I am defiantly going to be making a rocker plate soon for my Kickr Core, planning on going with what seems to be the default build; Rear wheel only, 3 vibration isolators for the central pivot and rubber play ground balls for the springs. I weigh 97kg and I am wondering how many of those balls I should use in my design and what size they should be.
Humor: I searched for the isolation mount on amazon and the “Frequently bought with” item is four playground balls. Stuck me as funny as normally those don’t go together. Must be a fair number of people building rocker plates.
Added just a bit more to the right ball before jumping on for the Zwift Grand Fondo today and it worked fine and felt great(no right leaning feel). Definitely the longest ride I’ve ever done on the trainer at 3 hours and change and I’ll say that I feel without the rocker I wouldn’t have made it. Overall I feel about the same as had I ridden outside for 3 hours.
Thanks for bringing the rocker plate concept to my attention!
Probably just need one ball per side. 5" (125mm) is becoming popular. But anything from 4-6" (100-150mm) can do the job.
At 66kg, I use a 5" ball on each side, 6" from the pivot axis, with just 3psi.
That is awesome news! So glad you can tell the difference and had such a good first experience.
That is what I hoped to have happen when I started doing this years ago. Happy rocking!
That was mine in case you have any questions.
Has anyone here used the full-on rocker board from Gravitrainer? I like the price point, but there doesn’t seem to be much out there in this specific one.
There are a few members on the FB group that have them. You can search on the “Gravi” name to find the related posts. All good feedback from what I have seen.
Instead of the balls could you just use something like a 12" inner tube? one of the thick and wide ones which are used for something like a wheelbarrow. Easier to pump with a standard shraeder valve.
Yup, they work and have been used by many builders. I dislike the feel compared to the balls. And some of them have a very strong odor that is not very pleasant.
I saw that you recommend make the top plate 32” wide x 24” deep. Is that just a good size to fit a wide range on trainers? Or is there some magic to performance with the 32” width?
I have a Kickr Core and I think I could get away with a narrower base than 32” wide to save space, I just don’t want that to effect performance.
@toyman let us know how your build goes!
That size does work for many. I picked the size after measuring many trainers I had access to, and then seeing how that would fit on a 4’ x 8’ sheet of plywood with minimal waste.
The 24” is a bit short for the Wahoo Snap, that could be better with. 25-26”.
it was nice meeting you @bbarrera, I will definitely post when I’m done. no promises on when that will be
Same here, glad a TR fan got my parts and really interested to see your builds!
Hey Chad! I finally built my rocker plate with the kickr core. Replacing the metal legs to function as a top deck wasn’t doable and would have required a lot of woodworking. So I modified your design and used tee hinges below the deck.
I’ll send photos of the finished product soon, but I’m having trouble centering it on the top deck. I centered it with my bike attached, above the pivot point using a plumb bob. But with my bike off, there is a significant left sided weight bias. Photo attached with my level. Is this acceptable? Thanks!
Can’t wait to see the finished product.
Do keep the bike dead center over the pivot axis. Then the best is to add a 10lbs weight on the right side of the deck, at the outer side. This is a near perfect balance for most trainers and flywheels. You can fine tune the weight position to get it just right (or add weight if 10lbs is not enough).
Then you use equal pressure in the springs and it feels very even,
Hi Guys. First time on here for TurboRocks. Just to let you know that if you are unable to build your own Rocker plate we manufacture full rocker plates, the Realplate+ here in the UK and have 100’s being used across the globe. Take a look here for more info but let me know if you have any questions. Steve
https://turborocks.co/
Great thread everyone. Thanks for that insight. I’m looking at building one similar to the SBR Pro. Quick question - when you add the vibration dampeners down the middle is there a particular one that works best? Do I need any special fasteners to attach them to the board?? Thanks.
In general, you want softer, low diameter rubber for easier flex. No special fasteners needed just match the threads for the specific mount.