What Kind of Trainer/Roller Should I Get?

I went to a bike shop to get a roller for the off-season, but my team-mate (employee) called me a moron, and said that I should get a trainer for the off-seson, rollers are just for warming up. I already have a trainer (convieniently, it's broken somehow), but I need a new one if I'm gonna use a trainer.

Is my mate right? Should I get a new trainer or a new roller? Which kind?

It depends on what you want from a trainer/rollers. If working power is your primary interest, trainers are the way to go. You can run higher power at reasonable cadences and you can focus on your efforts without worrying about falling off the rollers.

If you want to work on bike handling, riding a straight line and getting more of an on road feel, rollers are great. They definitely force you to ride smoothly and teach you not to oversteer or shift around in the saddle a lot.

I use both, but since I've started power training the rollers only get used for easy rides, rest weeks and get carried to the track for staying warm between events. I still enjoy the rollers and like the mental challenge of actually riding a bike in place but I've got to drop into my 53:12 to get any kind of decent power at reasonable cadences. I could add a fan unit to pump up the load on the rollers, but frankly I use a Kurt Kinetics trainer for focused power work.

There are some high end rollers that give you the best of both worlds like the tru-trainers: http://www.trutrainer.com/
and the E-motion rollers:http://www.fixedgearfever.com/module...owcontent&id=5
Both offer greater resistance than your average rollers and a more road like feel but both are awfully pricey. I'd love to have a set of E-motions, but it's not in the budget right now and I still think I'd do my harder power based workouts and testing on a trainer so I could give my complete attention to the workout and not have to worry about crashing in the living room.

If you decide to go the trainer route I highly reccomend the Kurt Kinetic's trainers:http://www.kurtkinetic.com/ I use the road machine but like the idea of the oversized flywheel on the pro unit.

Good luck,
Dave

Moron? I think the only moron is the fellow who thinks he knows all of the answers. Like Dave said, a good quality set of rollers will give you the best of both worlds. I use a set of Kreitler Dynolytes with a smaller drum and a headwind unit and a flywheel. It's perfect for a realistic and interesting indoor ride. With the headwind unit all of the way open, at 16mph I'm putting out around 300watts, with room for more (http://www.kreitler.com/content/trainer_wattage.pdf). I started with trainers and now find riding rollers much more interesting and engaging. If you want to do sprints for some reason, you can get the stand as an add-on.

My two cents,

chris

__________________
I bike therefore I am.

Cool, but I am on a limited budget, so how much would a "wind roller" cost?

Probably more than a good quality trainer, but I found mine used for 350.00 US. That's a set of dynolytes w/stand, flywheel and headwind unit. They're out there.

chris

__________________
I bike therefore I am.

I really like the kurt kinetic road machine I could do a one hour infomercial on it. The speed to watts computer is a great way to track improvement while using it. Feels exactly like the road speed matches road speed at 1% grade leak free shaftless design is nice to. http://www.1upusa.com/kurtkinetictrainer.htm

__________________
Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. http://www.earnharts.com/html/realau...cific.asp?id=3

Fluid2 all the way. I ride one and they're really nice this year. Super easy to get a good workout on them. They also come with a quick release/quick adjust resistance this year. I also own rollers but I can't get a good workout on them. I'm not real good on them yet so I concentrate mostly on staying on the rollers and not on the ground! I'd imagine that after you get used to rolling on them, you could push harder and not worry about falling off. I own a set of Kreitler Dyno mytes from about 10 years ago. Also note they are the hot dog rollers (only 10 inches wide). I'd highly suggest getting the normal sized rollers first

__________________
Lemond Tete De Course
-Sram Force
Trek T1