Kurt Kinetic Z Rollers Review: 5 Reasons To Buy/Not Buy
- Last Updated: November 10th, 2019
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Kurt Kinetic has a long history of producing some excellent indoor trainers including their much loved Rock ‘n’ Roll II.
Having cracked the formula for building a quality turbo trainer, they now have their eyes on the roller market which is why we’re so excited to have the opportunity to write this Kurt Kinetic Z rollers review!
Let’s get started.
Kurt Kinetic Z Rollers Review
We spent 8.1 hours reading reviews from experts and users. In summary, this is what we found:
5 reasons to buy
- Pre-assembled, they’re easy to set-up out of the box
- Fold down and store away extremely well.
- The rollers run smooth and are pretty quiet
- Lifetime warranty gave buyers piece of mind.
- Little touches like small grooves on rollers to keep tyre from slipping when putting the hammer down.
1 reason not to buy
- No fork stand available from Kinetic.
Out of the box, the Kinetic Z Rollers is extremely straightforward to setup and get working, the rollers are smooth and extremely comfortable ride that isn’t going to make too much noise, even when you put the hammer down. Once you’ve finished with them, the Kinetic Z fold down nicely making them easy to store.
Ease of Setup
Thanks to the way these rollers fold down, setting them up out of the box is a breeze.
Simply fold them out, adjust the front roller to suit your wheelbase (the Kinetic Z is adjustable from 97cm to 110cm), check that the rubber belt is correctly positioned and away you go.
Similarly, when it comes time to put the rollers away, the Kinetic Z simply fold back down into one neat, flat shape making them easy to store.
Ride Quality
As you’d expect from Kinetic, the ride quality of the Z-Rollers is fantastic. The machined aluminium drums and sealed cartridge bearings help create a smooth ride with enough resistance to feel like you’re out on the roads. While the noise level will depend on tyre choice, even a chunkier tread isn’t going to create anything above a quiet hum – making the Kinetic Z rollers a perfect choice for anyone living in an apartment and looking to keep their bike training up during winter.
While the aluminium surface on the rollers do have a texture to them, this isn’t going to increase the frequency that you’re having to replace your tyres.
Resistance is good, however, the Kinetic Z is only available with one drum diameter (8.9cm / 3.5 inches) which might not suit those riders looking to really pump out the watts on thier rollers. That said, the ride resistance certainly does feel comparable to the road, although admittedly, it’s like riding on the road with a slight tailwind.
The Bottom Line
For a first attempt at building a set of rollers, Kurt Kinetic have done an excellent job. If we did have one criticism in this Kinetic Z Rollers review, it would be that the frame could do with some extra support, although this is only an issue when man-handling the rollers rather than riding them.