I’ve been using the Velocity Rocker for two weeks now. It is really nice, The Pillow Bearing (for/aft) is really smooth. The finish is really nice. I use it with a Tacx Neo 2T.
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Mine now have the wife’s approval…so I guess they are staying 
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Right on!!!
Calling out to any and all CurvePlate buyers. Have you had a chance to ride them yet? If so, what bike are you using them with and how do they work for you?
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I bought a wooden rocker plate with fore-aft motion from ‘TrainerTweaks’ on Etsy. It works with my Kickr Core and several other models.
What’s cool is that it uses a design that doesn’t need any inflation (though you could add it if you wanted) and is very easy to assemble. He gives you everything you need plus video instructions on YouTube.
Having ridden it for a while now, I can say it is great for reducing saddle discomfort and feeling more engaged. But it doesn’t require constant attention like rollers do. Just be sure to balance your setup at first then the on-center stability is really nice.
The other nice thing is that it’s very compact. It is only a bit larger than the Kickr Core. The front wheel just sits on a little block. So I can easily put this away in a closet the few times a year when I need to put the trainer setup away.
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It’s a neat design based upon the “Rib Rocker” style. This uses mainly gravity in most examples, while some (like this) supplement with springs as an option (rubber band in the video).
I did extensive use of the Rocker Pod Lite from Rocker Indoor which is the same concept. It is a very effective system and when you just use the ribs, is maintenance-free as mentioned. Curve shape can be chosen to dial in stability along the lean angle curve. I like the middle feel of the RPL, but it got stiffer too soon for my taste, and I’d want a smaller radius curve if I would have continued to use it.
It took me awhile to get mine set up, but I’ve now done a bunch of rides on them. Verdict is unequivocally positive.
The StagesBike is solidly held on by the straps, longitudinal-axis alignment was pretty easy, and the variable curve on the bottom means that the bike does not tend to move very much to either side of its own volition, but you can easily get it to lean pretty far over if you’re trying to do so. I’m quite happy with them.
Only two thoughts:
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I’m going to put a mat under them to prevent damage to the floor, since nearly 400 pounds of “me plus bike” are now resting on two metal curves with a lot less surface area, and rocking back and forth to boot.
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I would have loved it if they had left a hole (tunnel) through the inside center of each curve piece, so I could more easily run the fan’s power cord that way. But that’s a tiny nitpick.
Overall, love 'em.
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Thanks so much for the feedback!
It is odd that they didn’t install some form of protection on the underside of the ribs. Would be an immediate addition for my use as well.
I love the idea of slots or holes for cord management. Could see that being useful for bike/trainer power, fans and such like you mention.
But it sure sounds like a great success to me. Congrats on the motion upgrade 
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Right. The key thing here though is also having the fore/aft movement, which the RPL lacks. It’s done in a very simple way where there are rollers at each corner sitting in curved grooves. So you have a similar tendency towards center but progressively more resistance further into the travel.
Also, this design uses wax between the moving wood parts as a kind of damper. More wax reduces friction and makes the motion faster / easier. You wax the parts to your preference while / after building. And you can always rough up the surfaces again to undo.
One down side is assembly is required, but he gives you every single thing you need (wood glue, wax, a square, various rubber bands). The only thing you need to supply are water bottles.
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Glad you enjoying yours. Still using mine daily in anger and they have been faultless. Really good addition to taking the edge off the stiffness that comes from the SB20. I have a trainer matt under mine to mitigate the floor damage you note and has been working well.
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Sweet! Thanks for your feedback too. I’ve had people wondering about them on FB and it’s great to have some good info to share now.
Happy rocking
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@mcneese.chad
I have knee pain after riding on my smart trainer. This doesnt seem to occur with outdoor riding. It might be some tendonitis from weight training, but outside riding does not flare it up anything like riding on the trainer. Do and of you think that a rocker plate, which would have the bike more similar to outdoor riding, help my issue?
On another note, I have done a few tests between my stages left only pm arm and my cycleops hammer smart trainer. I seem to be able to hit similar power numbers while riding the stages outdoors and the smart trainer indoors. However, when I sync the trainer to one device and the stages left arm to another to simultaneously capture power, I notice something like a 5-10% power difference across different power levels (ex. 200w, 250w, 300w, etc). Do you think the rigid trainer somehow makes me lose a few watts from my left leg due to a somewhat different form? I understand that theyre different meters and if I did gain some watts from a rocker, that would just add that extra power into the hammers reading too. Anyhow, thanks for your thoughts
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Are you using the same outdoor bike on the smart trainer? Normally the first recommendation would be to get a bike fit for your indoor bike…
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Same bike and for years it’s been same fit. I could look into an update tho, but it seems suspect that I have no issues outside, relatively speaking
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I already bookmarked your post yesterday, to comment on tomorrow (but appreciate the edit for the tag).
I will still reply in more detail tomorrow, but I do think a rocker is a worthwhile option for your issue. Static bikes are NOT natural and that is a key difference if you are fine outside but have issues inside.
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Thanks! I have seen you post in general here in the forum lots, but until I just recently started thinking of a rocker and seeing you name pop up on google and all the articles, I see that you’re our resident expert.
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I have the same issue and one way I manage it is to stand up for 10seconds every minute.
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Back at my PC this morning for a full reply.
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I do think adding motion to indoor setups can help to mitigate or completely eliminate issues like you describe. Per my short reply above, there is nothing natural about locking a bike in the vertical plane when indoors. Outside, we are constantly leaning the bike 1-2* for simple stuff like balance, lane position and even simple pedaling action for many riders.
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By eliminating that with rigid setups inside, it introduces a new variable that can lead to saddle comfort issues (super common) but also joint issues as you may be experiencing. It’s not a issue for everyone, but some people are more susceptible to alignment and motion issues.
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All that to say that motion for indoor cycling is something I highly recommend. Some people are happy with moderate ‘hacks’ like simple foam under the trainer feet while others like more complicated setups with actual lean motion as well as fore-aft in some cases. Depending on your budget and goals, you can try the hacks to see if there is any benefit there, or jump fully into a rocker plate.
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You may have found it already, but my Rocker Plates doc has tons of info. I can help narrow down your search if you want, with suggestions for models to build or buy if you want to give these a try.
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- Separate reply here since it’s a tangential subject:
It’s important to recognize the fact that you seem to be getting a power delta between your two devices. This is not ideal, but quite common from all I have seen. The initial issue of whole power vs single-side power doubled is something that can’t be ignored. It is likely that at least some delta is coming from that fact. It’s also possible the power data is just different between the two, and even within their respective power data tolerances, some differences are to be expected.
All that said as qualifiers, I do think that rigid setups can alter power production to some degree as well. During my 7+ years using rockers and such, I have also ridden fixed trainers at least once a season for travel and other needs. When doing so, it feels just plain awkward returning to rigid setup after getting used to my motion setups. I have heard others make similar comments when getting back to fixed setups after long times on motion ones.
With that as purely anecdotal experience, I think it may be a sign that we likely alter our pedaling action in some ways when swapping between freedom outside and rigid inside. It just makes no sense to lock the bike as we’ve done for all the time before motion setups became common (rollers initially, but the Kinetic Rock & Roll that brought it to a regular trainer style use). So this issue along with comfort & injury prevention lead me to suggest motion for your needs.
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I also use several standing drills to help with my trainer use and comfort. But one of the reasons I added motion (in fact the driving one that lead me to make my first rocker) was the fact that standing on a rigid trainer setup is even more awkward than rigid while seated.
With the bike fixed, we have to adopt this odd shoulder & booty shimmy when standing on the bike vs what we get outside. It sure helps to relieve saddle pressure and changes muscular loading a bit like we get when outside, but that standing motion pattern on a fixed setup is not ideal.
Most people don’t stand as often as you or I do, so motion setups for standing aren’t necessarily THAT important. But I find that the more realistic motion makes me more likely to stand vs the odd fixed setup use, so it’s beneficial from that perspective since I do it more often.
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