Rollers or Turbo Trainers
- Thread starter dharbon
- Start date
I think each has their own benefits. For fitness I like the trainers. I have a Cycleops Mag trainer and I love it alot. Although I could benefit from a new Carmichael training video...
As for the rollers, I was told those are a good training tool to help you learn to balance and is good for learning to ride in tight groups.
I think both are good and eventually I'd like to get a set of rollers. However, I think for fitness training at home a good turbo trainer is hard to beat, IMO.
Good luck!
Gary
As for the rollers, I was told those are a good training tool to help you learn to balance and is good for learning to ride in tight groups.
I think both are good and eventually I'd like to get a set of rollers. However, I think for fitness training at home a good turbo trainer is hard to beat, IMO.
Good luck!
Gary
Rollers are great b/c they vastly improve bike handling skills. Typically, trainers can be a little more of a workout b/c they can have increased resistance and you can hammer out of the saddle while on trainers. Some rollers have added resistance units to make for a harder workout, but it's hard to hammer out of the saddle on rollers.
I've used both, and I prefer rollers. I use the cycleops alloy rollers and they have sufficient resistance for me (I weigh 185 lbs), and I find that they're more interesting than a trainer as I need to pay attention so I don't fall off them.
I've used both, and I prefer rollers. I use the cycleops alloy rollers and they have sufficient resistance for me (I weigh 185 lbs), and I find that they're more interesting than a trainer as I need to pay attention so I don't fall off them.
I have a set of rollers and absolutely love them. It's easy to get the bike in there (no wheel adjustment needed) and the most important thing for me: You're actually riding your bike !.
I reckon trainers might be a bit better in regards to resistance variance, but, in my case that was not a big deal.
cheers
I reckon trainers might be a bit better in regards to resistance variance, but, in my case that was not a big deal.
cheers
I've seen these rollers online as i'm looking for an inside way to ride my bike and I like the fact that you're actually riding... not just spinning... how does the bike go on them.. how do you get on your bike? off? does it put extra wear on your tires?
tumbleweed77 said:
Rollers don't wear the tyres as much as a turbo in my experience. As other posters have said, the advantage of rollers is you have to actualy concentrate, so it's not as boring as a turbo. For more resistance, get the speed up! The faster you go, the more stable you are too. They also make you concentrate on pedalling smoothly, which is a good thing.
Getting on? Best to have a handy wall or rail alongside to lean on. Get your self clipped in and perfectly upright (this is important or you'll spin out sideways), then start off in a medium gear, trying to start as smoothly as possible. The first few times you might make a **** of it, but you'll soon get there. Then it's a case of bringing up the speed and keeping the front wheel in the centre of the roller. Once you get good, you can experiment with riding as close to one side or the other as you dare, just to relieve the monotony. Some people tape a stripe round the centre of the roller as reference, but I've always found that, like tightrope walking, you're beter off looking ahead as you would on the road - you'll ride smoother, with fewer small corrections.
Getting off? Either slow down and grab the wall, or get up a good speed, flick yourself sideways, land on the ground with wheels spinning and take off like a drag racer. With practise you can do this and stop more or less instantly, but you'll need to unclip and run to avoid getting a beating for putting scorchmarks on the carpet.
Oh yeah - plastic rollers and synthetic carpet = big static electric charge...
lol.... I'll blame you for when my mother comes home to find me crashed through the wall-height window and there are tire tracks across her carpet! though i've heard that since you don't have momentum, you just fall over instead a continued travel... but could you imagine? you could rev up on the track and at the horn, just hop off and you're off!? i'm trying to find a place where i can get one today.. have to wait an hour or so till places open to start calling around. lol... it rains in cali and we think the world stops.. (it rained all last night and the roads are all wet and my bike just came home from a huge tune and clean... can't get it dirty the first time out.....
============================================================tumbleweed77 said:
Rollers = Excellent
Trainer = boring I have both. Trainer never gets used. I sometimes ride my training bike on the rollers for 10 - 15kms then change to my race bike for the same time - adds interest and gives my butt a different place to get saddle sores.
Good way to start getting used to rollers is putting them in an inside doorway then you can lean either way.
I have them in the garge and although I could have no side support(experienced) I have them between my unfinished MG sports car and my large welder so I've got something to grab either way. Also I rest my drink on my welder and can reach for it and drink while riding.
Tyre wear - I have never seen any!! Even after weeks of having my rollers in the same place and riding them regularly I haven't seen tyre dust etc around.
I've used a wind trainer a lot but never used rollers.
Is it possible to get in training sessions on them, for example an hour of long or short repetitions and heart rate at 85% etc or are they too easy for that?
Also what happens if you fall over on them. Are they easy to learn so you can stay on them without falling? I usually ride where there's a wall on one side but it's open on the other.
Is it possible to get in training sessions on them, for example an hour of long or short repetitions and heart rate at 85% etc or are they too easy for that?
Also what happens if you fall over on them. Are they easy to learn so you can stay on them without falling? I usually ride where there's a wall on one side but it's open on the other.
Eastway82 said:
Holy **** I'd love to see a video of someone getting off their rollers with that method! Youtube please!
Rollers are great for developing your spin, leg speed and balance. Trainers are for power building.
Here are riders trying to jump off the e-rollers:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jm2S6dCY3ks
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0lwD1RzwmFQ&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5xa7UncF-8&NR
http://youtube.com/watch?v=jm2S6dCY3ks
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0lwD1RzwmFQ&mode=related&search=
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5xa7UncF-8&NR
tumbleweed77 said:
You've got LOADS of momentum stored up in your spinning back wheel, like a big flywheel. Think of thsoe friction toy cars that you wind up and then put on the floor when the wheels are spinning fast...
And what's all this "came home from a huge tune and clean.."
You mean you pay a shop to clean your bike...? Next you'll be paying someone to ride it for you...
all this talk of rollers inspired me to get my old ones out of the shed. I climbed on and.... the drive belt snapped! To be fair, they are twenty years old... Anyone know where I can get a new belt?
John Rupp said:
This doesn't count at all. These rollers don't develop the same skills because they are so easy to ride. It might be great to say look what you can do on them - but don't be comparing them to a regular set of rollers that don't slide around with the momentum that is generated by unsteady riding.
I have rollers so I can only comment on that aspect. That said, I do love my rollers. It took a bit for me to let go of the chair that was positioned next to me as a "training wheel" (the wall to the other side of me), but now I can go the whole time without touching and no longer need the chair. My balance has improved tremendously and it shows just after a few times on them. It does require a bit of concentration but the more I use the rollers the less concentration it seems I need to balance. I have it position in front of my TV and watch TV or DVD's as I ride.
As far as the resistance, I have the 80mm rollers so it has more resistance than the 120mm rollers. I could add more with a resistance unit like a fan but I haven't found a need for that much resistance. I get plenty by just shifting to a higher gear. You'd be surprised how much resistance you can get just by doing that. You can also let out 10 lbs of air pressure from your tires.
I'll probably end up getting a trainer at some point in time, but my rollers suit me just fine for now.
As far as the resistance, I have the 80mm rollers so it has more resistance than the 120mm rollers. I could add more with a resistance unit like a fan but I haven't found a need for that much resistance. I get plenty by just shifting to a higher gear. You'd be surprised how much resistance you can get just by doing that. You can also let out 10 lbs of air pressure from your tires.
I'll probably end up getting a trainer at some point in time, but my rollers suit me just fine for now.
all righty... got my minora rollers in today and put them together... I started with them in a sort of doorway we have... couldn't let go of the wall... i decided to put them against a wall in the kitchen with a chair to my left.. was able to put my elbow on the back of the chair for support with my right elbow against the the wall.. after a few minutes i was able to push off from the wall and ride without support... fell off once, no biggie... the 80mm rollers seem to have enough resistance for now as i'm a 17-21 mph rider and i couldn't get them to go past 16.5 just pedaling normally... but wow! they are a ton of fun and a challenge... eventually when i don't need that wall anymore i'll set them up on some wood planks in front of the tv... but for now i want that wall! so music and my dogs will have to do for entertainment. getting on and off is not as hard as i thought it would be either.
You most likely will fall at lease once or twice while learning to ride rollers. I went off my rollers twice so far. The first time I fell into my wall and the pedal axle gouged a hole in the wall. The second time I went off the rollers on the other side but I was able to unclip on that side and kept from falling. Even if you do fall, it won't be as bad as most people think. You won't go taking off and flying into the TV or wall in front of you. You kinda just keel over. Slowmotion-like. The biggest thing to learn about rollers is that small adjustments in steering are required and that steering plays a larger role in balancing then it normally does. When you are riding normally on the road, you usually adjust your balance by leaning and steering. Plus you have momentum working to help keep you up. On rollers, you no longer have momentum to help in the balancing equation. So steering and centrifugal force (your wheels and pedalling) helps keep you balanced. It is a skill that takes a few times to learn and a while to master. But they are a lot of fun. Plus, rollers don't put the stresses on your frame and wear your tires as fast like trainers do.John Rupp said:
Some cool links:
InsideRide.com & eMotion rollers - I'd like to get these rollers someday.
InsideRide.com's Interactive Power calculator - You can get a lot of resistance on rolers by shifting to a higher gear.
