Have been using the SuperMag for about 2 months now. Previously I used a BlackBurn Tech Fluid for nearly 5 years. I went through 3 of them and just gave up and used it despite the noise, vibrations and most annoyingly the inconsistent resistance.
I ride over 4K miles per year on the trainer. I couldn't take it any more and finally decided to get a good trainer. I read as many review as I could find in regards to the Kurt Kinetic, Cycle Ops fluid and this trainer. One thing that stood out in at least one review of the fluid trainers was that there was a warm up period and there was also the mention of them not being as quiet as advertised. The SuperMag has no warm up and was said to be very quiet.
What I like about this trainer- No warm up, consistent resistance no matter the ambient temperature, the progressive resistance is much better than BlackBurn, the 4 different progressive curves to choose from are nice, I pretty much leave mine in the interval curve which is closest to fluid trainers, nice heavy flywheel for a very smooth feeling and nice roll down, it doesn't get hot (my Blackburn would melt the tubes in my tires) and it is absolutely silent. The gear train is much louder than the trainer. The only noise that actually comes from the trainer is a little wind noise off the flywheel since it has the handle to change the resistance on it. I also really like how the resistance unit tightens down on the tire. It would be the same every time you mount the bike. I have a bike I leave mounted on the trainer.
The only thing I don't like about it is that it is not adjustable for height necessitating the need to raise the front wheel.
To me the progressive magnetic unit on this trainer is 21st century technology whereas fluid trainers are last century tech. The best fluids are still good, just not as good as this. It's well worth the extra money if you spend a lot of time on your trainer.
I love how quite this unit is and easy to adjust and set. The power curve is pretty good and the fly wheel is great for giving the feel of a gradual slow down. Each gear feels a little different and works you like it would on the road. I just started using it, so the benefits haven't been truly realized quite yet.
Expert craftsmanship, sturdy, and great for all levels of biking. Definitely quiet and better than I expected.
