Rocker Plates for Trainers

Depending on where you are located, Amazon and Google will give a variety of options:

Some rocker plate makers also sell kits, that include the mounts. So you can check any of the ones in your region from my list to see if they have some to offer:

After a year I figured its time to give the rocker plate an upgrade: Wheels!
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Now I can cart the setup to square in front of the TV and out of the way later.

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  1. The levers are cheap toggle clamps, I think 50lb rated each so shouldn’t be a problem.

  2. Obviously DO NOT stand on the setup when wheels extended. The knuckle joint(?) is pretty shallow so a little movement will pop it out and release the clamp.

  3. Also there isn’t enough strength in the metal arm and leverage to stomp on it and raise the platform. Add a lifting loop front and back then lift and press the lever.

EDIT:
So things didn’t work out the way I’d hoped fully loaded.

Lag bolt not long enough which caused it to tear out. However the bigger issue is I noticed the arm twisting as I was rolling the whole assembly around. Not surprising I guess since the thin arm was meant to only clamp downwards.

I could use a metal plate to spread the load and longer lag bolts but does not solve the arm twisting issue. The easiest solution would be two simple dollys that I shove under each end while lifting. Not as cool but ah well.

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Can’t find a company that actually has them in stock.Everything Comlanybi went with told me 8-10 weeks wait…Anywhere else I should look at?

Try RS Online? They’ve got warehouses in various countries. This is what I used. Note it’s metric thread but they might have imperial.

The threaded hole is not that deep so you might need to shim depending on your bolt length.

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Assuming because of COVID its on backorder all over.Cant seem to find them.What about the ones that ROCKR diy use in there kit?

Rockr Indoor kits are great. They actually have what I consider to be the best vibe mounts in the biz.

Yeah I found them as well but $25 each is a hefty price tag.

I get that, but that’s the price for them using a custom rubber spec along with the design that are unique and perform better than a standard vibe mount.

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Spoke JW Winco just now and they have something very close to it 351.3-50-40-M10-EE-55…You think i would be fine with this size?

That jumble of letters and numbers (presumably a model number) is hard to decipher. I need clear height and diameter dims or a reference sketch to really know what that is.

The only number that changed was the 40 instead of 50.

OK, but what is that (Diameter or height)?

Overly simple, the most common is 50mm diameter x 50mm height.

  • All else equal:
    Smaller diameter will lead to easier lean.
    Smaller height will lead to harder lean.

|Brand Name|JW Winco|
|Height|40 millimeters|
|Item Diameter|50 millimeters|
|Item Shape|Cylindrical|
|Item Weight|5.6 ounces|
|Material|Rubber|
|Model Number|351-50-40-M10-SS-55|
This is what i found Would it help?

Yup, so that follows the last point I cover. It will be effectively “stiffer” from the shorter height, all other details being equal.

It can work. But you may need to add spacers between the mount and the decks, to give sufficient height for the lean angle you want. Common gap between decks is around 3" [75mm", give or take, to get around 7* lean angle per side, for a typical width rocker (around 30").

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Hey everyone. This may have been raised previously, but I couldn’t find it… I bought a rocker plate last week from Bespoke Rocker Plate. It’s very comfortable and looks like it puts much less stress on my frame, but everything feels harder. Has anyone else found this? Did you adjust to it eventually? I should probably put my ego away and just lower my FTP a bit!

Yup, it’s been mentioned by more than one rider. There is more body working and overall effort in play once you add motion to a previously rigid system.

You can use higher pressure in the leveling springs to give more support as one starting point. Do rides for a week or so to get used to that, and then work on dropping pressure and adapt again. Rinse and repeat until you are happy with the rocker setup and your performance.

Just like anything new, there are differences and need to adapt. But it can happen and works for most riders I have seen.

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Chad, how would you compare there is “more body working and overall effort in play” with a rocker plate versus a “static” or “rigid” trainer to using rollers? The ground isn’t shifting underneath the rider on rollers like on a rocker plate though with something like the Elite Nero rollers there is some forward & back motion.

Rockers and rollers end up pretty similar, at least more so than fully rigid.

I have used fixed and sliding motion rollers. The motion rollers are the easiest to ride and feel awfully close to outside when compared to fixed rollers. As such, the motion rollers (and even fixed) demand more control and muscular demand than any other option IMO.

You are responsible for balance AND position when on rollers, while a rocker plate is just balance. The differences may well be minor in the end, as long as you are looking at someone that has taken the time to adapt and master whichever one is in question. Overall, once you get them down, there should be relative parity on body demands inside on rollers, rockers and outside riding… generally speaking.

I think any of the motion options are a step in the right direction compared to rigid. Does that help?

Thanks, Chad, for the detailed reply. I was just curious as I ride on the Elite Nero rollers now. Well, I was also having a thought that it might be nice to be able to zone out like when I had a Kickr before (which was pre-thru axle, hence the rollers). Seems that except for a maximal effort to exhaustion or wanting to zone out (say get emersed in a tv show or movie or read a book while listening to classical music), rollers are “better” (or not :slight_smile: ).

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I just bit the bullet and bought the horridly overprice Saris MP1. It is very good. hard to justify $1,300 good unless you can’t find any other way to blow through company provided “Stay Fit” funds, but the fore/aft motion really does add something to the mix that one just doesn’t get with side to side only.
Other way I justified it, is that even knowing that I need to and DO “measure twice, cut once” I ALWAYS screw it up.

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