haha fair enough. This sure is a long thread by now 
Iām a happy sb20 owner. Iāve trained indoors and out with power since 1998 and I feel itās accurate. Maybe a bit slow dropping the power on 30/30ās but otherwise itās been excellent.
My question is about the temperature of the flywheelā¦.it gets hot! I put a fan on it today andā¦.it still gets hot. Is this an issue? I mean, normally heat is best kept away from electronics but Iām sure itās built for this (?). Iām not cranking out huge watts, ftp is 299 atm about 3.2 w/kg
Is it ok to get hot?
Joe
How did this rocker plate work out?
I gave up on using it after a couple of months. I was never able to get my SB20 to sit perfectly centered along the long axis, so the motion always felt like being in a boat in rolling seas which was really unnatural feeling. Needless to say I miss the motion from the Kickr + Inside Ride E-Flex setup, but the trade-off to my wife being able to use the SB20 was a good trade-off.
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Thatās a bummer, but I totally understand. The pure āleverageā input rockers are somewhat delicate to setup and even rider positioning on the bike. Thatās one reason I really like the E-Flex for the combined lean and steering control, especially on the 2nd gen version of the front end.
That aspect is one reason I am personally not likely to adopt a smart bike at this time. Until they offer some form of steering, and hopefully some practical way to associate that to lean control for motion, I will stick with a bike + trainer + E-Flex. The MUOV smart bike (formerly Muoverti) is the first one to really catch my interest, but their stuff is still untested.
Totally agree. After trying a smart bike + rockr plate, I think trying to barge two things together isnāt really a workable solution.
I wish Stages would release ārockerā feet like the Wahoo did for the Kickr. Just a slight bit of movement for longer endurance rides would be nice to take the edge off things.
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- I have always wanted to find someone local with one to play with, but I can envision using a rigid support like a 1"x4" or 2"x4" under the center of the bike, and then squishy foam at the outer feet to get a bit of motion. Setting the relative heights of support, height and firmness of the āspringsā to dial in some level of motion better than that rock solid frame.
The SB20 is so rock solid, you donāt need the 1"x4" or 2"x4". Iāve tried using pipe foam to get a little bit of movement, and it works great for about 1 or 2 hours before the weight of the SB20 crushed the foam completely flat. Maybe something like cutting squares out of a trainer mat and putting two squares under each foot would work. But I donāt have a trainer mat around to try this. The foam would need more structural integrity than the pipe foam I tried so the SB20ās weight doesnāt just crush it.
Yeah, pipe foam lacks the resilience needed for something of this weight. You really need a quality foam rubber product with a relatively stiff hardness. A trainer mat might be good, and Iād check out those anti-fatigue standing mats. I have to think of other products, but I often just wander through a hardware store and ask the employees for rubber products they know as well.
Some of those connected workout floor mat tiles can work too. But they do vary in hardness and you want the stiffer ones vs the super cushy ones.
Interested in these discussions on adding a bit of movement to the stages.
I am more than happy on mine for 2hrs daily but as the winter comes and I extend out to 3-4hrs a little bit of movement would be welcomed I think.
Watching with interest in case some hacks come up 
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@dcrainmaker and @GPLama,
Completely wild question for you: could you test to see if the Wahoo KICKR Axis Action Feet would fit on the SB20 in-place of the SB20 leveling feet? Not a cheap solution, but Iām wondering if you could get a little bit of movement into the SB20 by adding the Kickr Axis Action feet - or something similar
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Do you think it would take the weight?
A quick look suggests max user weight being 114kg (assume this includes bikes + rider?) - isnāt the SB20 like 60-70kg before you even sit on it? 
I can do a diagram later if helpful, but there are 2 basic ways to do this hack:
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Add compressible material under the 4 primary mounting feet. This āsuspendsā the entire bike and will allow ābounceā up/down, ārollā left/right, and āpitchā forward/backward. This all depends on the hardness of the supports and more motion will come from softer stuff to a degree.
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Add a rigid support under the center of each foot, and then compressible material under the 4 primary mounting feet like above. The difference here is that the rigid center support will act to carry most of the trainer and rider load and limit motion to ārollā left/right. This helps in a way to allow the outer springs to primarily control and allow side motion. You will have more specific control and ability to tune the feel in this case vs #1.
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Yes - the SB20 is 62.5kg. I didnāt think of the weight limit for the feet 
Oh well. Stages really needs to something natively.
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Weight limitations aside (such an issue has never stopped me from doing concerning things in the past), I actually donāt have the SB20 anymore - it was just a loaner and went back. Sorry!
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Does anyone understand how āgearsā work? That is: if I set the resistance to 20%, and I go up in a gear, does the flywheel speed increase (assuming my cadence stays the same)? Or is the flywheel speed constant and the resistance increases?
AFAIK the SB20 uses a single ratio drive system consisting of a single belt & pulley setup. The basic math would be pedal cadence multiplied by that ratio to get the actual flywheel rpm.
From what I can tell, the āgearsā in this and similar smart bikes is purely adjustment of the resistance level applied to the braking system.
Thatās what my understanding was as well, but yesterday I did a sweet spot ride in resistance mode with resistance = 20% and that felt āmore naturalā than when Iāve done this in the past with resistance = 30%. Hence the question.
Have you got a spare cadence meter handy? Magnetic based style would be best, but even an inertia one like the Wahoo might work. Slap that on the flywheel and see what happens for true FW speed at those differences in settings