Kurt Manufacturing's fluid resistance unit is engineered not to leak and to replicate the feel of an outdoor ride.

The roller, driven by your bike's tire, is connected to the impeller inside the sealed fluid chamber by a magnetic coupler. Twelve neodymiumrare earth magnets, 6 per side, create a virtual drive shaft to spin the impeller inside the sealed fluid chamber.

Although the drive shaft has two parts, the magnetic coupler links the two parts and it spins as a single unit. The magnetic field is so strong; it can withstand the torque of suddenly accelerating the roller from 0 to 50 MPH with an electric motor. These magnets are not used for resistance, but only to couple motion across the leak-free barrier. Because there is no moving or rotating part penetrating the sealed fluid chamber, it just won't leak.

Kurt provides a rock solid warranty for a lifetime of use.

Fluid Trainers are praised for the their ability to replicate the feel and resistance of an outdoor ride. Kurt's fluid resistance unit is engineered not to leak. The fluid chamber is totally sealed as you can see above.

Crank Armstrong, the newest member of the Kurt Testing Team, is powered by a Dayton 3 HP electric motor, driving through a Boston 10 to 1 gear reducer, and connected to the non-chaining side of the bicycle bottom bracket. Using Crank Armstrong, Kurt Engineers can break a competitive trainer within several hours. Feedback from bike dealers confirmed that leaking fluid units are a major issue with " other" trainers.

In the photo above, Crank has a 207-pound "rider" and running at 25 MPH, adding mileage to the test resistance unit and checking the durability of our custom feet. After 96 hours of continuous riding (2297 miles), neither unit showed any signs of wear.

We continue to perform destructive testing on the Kinetic trainers. Running at average of 25MPH, one resistance unit has logged over 40,000 miles at up to 50 MPH with no leaks or breakdowns. The engineers believe it would run over 100,000 miles without a problem.

Bicycling Magazine, in their trainer review article, described one fluid unit as getting "blazingly hot".

Kurt engineers designed our cast aluminum housing with over 80 cooling fins to dissipate the heat and keep the housing cooler, even at high wattage rates. In addition, we use specially selected thermodynamically neutral silicone fluid for resistance. At all temperatures, the liquid silicone will keep the same viscosity or resistance to flow. This means your resistance at the beginning of your workout will feel the same as resistance at the end of a workout. The Kinetic does not get easier as the fluid heats up. This is one reason the Kinetic Trainer maintains such a consistent ride and delivers the proper amount of resistance.