First look: Saris MP1 trainer platform and H3 trainer

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