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Saris MP1 Nfinity Platform - The most realistic indoor training experience?

First look: Saris MP1 trainer platform and H3 trainer

New suspended platform claims to offer the most realistic indoor riding experience ever
by dave atkinson
Thu, Sep 12, 2019 10:10
4

Indoor training was a big theme at this year's Eurobike show, where we caught up with Saris and their new MP1 indoor training platform. Their what now?  Well, if you're into indoor riding you might have seen videos of people knocking up rocker plates from plywood and tennis balls in a bid to make the feel of riding indoors a bit more realistic. The MP1 takes that to the next level.

It's a beautifully made and rather intricate thing, with a Birch base plate and an assortment of rockers and rollers underneath that allow the MP1 to not just rock from side to side but also to move fore and aft. That means the bike moves underneath you much as it does when you're riding out of doors.

This has a number of advantages. For a start it feels more realistic, but it also engages a lot more muscles in your core and upper body that you wouldn't normally use that much on a static trainer. It also means you're not confined to one position as much, so riding is more comfortable and you can ride indoors for longer.

The MP1 will work with pretty much any trainer, but Saris had it paired with its new H3 trainer, the next iteration of the trainer that was originally the CycleOps Hammer, and then the H2. The CycleOps name has gone now but the trainer technology is the same, with the H3 boasting even quieter internals than its predecessor which was pretty quiet to begin with. It's also £150 cheaper than the H2, at £849. The MP1 is a pretty high-end bit of kit and that's reflected in its £999 price tag. You can buy the two together for £1,700, a saving of £149.

https://www.saris.com/product/mp1

indoor training
Saris
Dave Atkinson

Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.

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4 comments

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Dawn12345 | 5 years ago
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What a prize, just had 60th birthday so intend to continue to keep fit and well .

 

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Stinkers | 5 years ago
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Just a word of advice, I have/had a Hammer. Loved it but it died just outside warranty and there are no facilities in the UK to fix them. Nowhere. Would happily have paid but was told facilities don't exist. Had zero assistance when I contacted the US. Recognise that many will have had good life out of theirs but I'd have struggled to say it was value for just over 12 months' use.

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fukawitribe replied to Stinkers | 5 years ago
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Stinkers wrote:

Just a word of advice, I have/had a Hammer. Loved it but it died just outside warranty and there are no facilities in the UK to fix them. Nowhere. Would happily have paid but was told facilities don't exist. Had zero assistance when I contacted the US. Recognise that many will have had good life out of theirs but I'd have struggled to say it was value for just over 12 months' use.

If it's the electronics that went, then EU directives (1999 ?) should cover those for 2 years if it was a fault with them. If it was, maybe worth contacting the dealer and looking to see if this issue has happened to others.

Edit : this one

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX%3A31999L0044

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kil0ran | 5 years ago
3 likes

Now that is genuinely cool. One of the biggest issues I have on my static trainer is that you're pretty much locked into one position, I find I get fatigued/aches and pains much more quickly than I do on a road ride. I'd imagine it also removes a lot of stresses from the frame, which is at least perceived as being an issue by some manufacturers

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