Riding on rollers

On 20 May 2006 12:58:47 -0700, "Sammy Shuford" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

If you can ride on a smooth level pavement 18" wide, you can ride
rollers. Raise you tyre pressures to maximum, and increase gearing by
about 25%

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

It's easy for some folks. Not for me. I got a set of used rollers for
peanuts, so no major loss, but I never managed to stay on for more than
a few seconds. I can't roller skate either. :-P

See if you can try a friend's or some in the store first to see if
you're a klutz like me, if so, get a wind trainer or something stable.

Sammy Shuford said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

I prefer rollers over wind trainers because wind trainers bore the hell
out of me. Rollers feel much more like riding a bike.

I never had trouble with my first bike that I used on rollers, it was a
longer wheelbased 26" wheel mtn bike and the rollers I have aren't very
long so the front axle was quite a bit forward of the front roller. The
only problem I had was when standing up, I had to keep my weight back or
I would ride off the front.

I recently switched my smooth tired bike to a 700c cross bike with a
shorter wheelbase and I'm having trouble doing the same things I did
before like ride no-handed, even just riding one-handed. Except for the
wheelbase and wheel diameter the geometry is pretty similar so I don't
know if it's the larger diameter tires or possibly the fact that the
front axle is directly over the front roller.

Greg

--
"All my time I spent in heaven
Revelries of dance and wine
Waking to the sound of laughter
Up I'd rise and kiss the sky" - The Mekons

I believe that riding rollers will take 10 -15 minutes to become
comfortable with if you make a platform, about 3" lower than the pedal
at the bottom of its stroke, that you can put your foot on if you need
to.

In my experience, the reason people have trouble with riding rollers is
that they are scared of falling off them. This is a very real fear
but, if you have something which simulates the ground, so that you can,
in effect, 'put your foot on the ground', the fear of falling is no
longer there.

Using this approach, I have taught several people to ride their rollers
in about 15 minutes.

Lewis.

*****

Sammy Shuford asks -

Quoted message said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

No, not that hard and you will need a set if you ever go track racing.

Best tip I was given was put them in a narrow doorway when you are starting
until you get used to them - rest a shoulder or hip on the frame, until you
can balance on the rollers.

Other way is to start next to a bench that you can rest a hand on, gradually
reduce the weight on your hand until you can move it across to the bars (on
the tops is easiest when your starting). Stopping is the reverse.

I found it most stable to have the front axle perpendicular to the front
roller but ymmv.

Start in a solid gear (big ring) and try to relax and get smooth as soon as
you can.

For mine though I have got more use out of an ergo (stationary bike) once I
set it up to the same dimensions as the roadie - you can pretty much
replicate whataver sort of efforts you want to get strong on and do them
whenever, in whatever weather - there is no really effective way of
increasing resistance on rollers to replicate climbing sprinting etc.

But the best tip is have a coach or very experienced rider write a program
for you - done consistently, this will get you stronger and faster and hence
make the time spent worthwhile.

best, Andrew

The real trick is to realise that when you are cycling on the road, all
movement of your handlebars are VERY slight. They must be the same on
the rollers. It's dead easy when you realise that. I haven't used them
for years myself as I find them intolerably boring.

Also, don't feel there needs to be much resistance. When you're cycling
quite hard on the road the next time, notice the resistance. It's not
much.

Sammy Shuford said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

When you are learning, it is nice to start with the rollers in a
doorframe where you can grab on, and/or lean agains the doorframe if
you need to. As you get more comfortable you can move the rollers
somewhere else.

It helps to pump up the tires a bit more than normal. If you are heavy
you will notice more drag than less heavy people, so just find a gear
that works. The faster the wheels are going, the more stable the ride
(to a point I imagine).

Have fun!

Joseph

PS: A raincoat is cheaper... ;-)

On 21 May 2006 01:06:02 -0700, "[email hidden]" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

When you're cycling
quite hard on the road the next time, notice the resistance. It's not
much.

? I don't understand what you mean. Riding hard on the road has a lot
of resistance. From the air.

JT

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In addition to the useful posts in the thread, I have three
suggestions:
- Look straight ahead, at something at least 10 feet way. Don't stare
at your wheel or the rollers.
- Be careful watching TV. I once reacted to something on screen,
steered off the rollers, and snapped a front spoke when it collided
with the roller frame. I guess I'll mention that it was Tiny Toon
Adventures that spurred the whole thing...
- Don't race your friends in the kitchen. A friend and I were on
rollers trying to see who could get to 1 mile the fastest. He sprinted,
standing (dumbass), rode off the side of the rollers and crashed into
his refrigerator. It was just the power of his last pedal stroke that
had him moving at all (the wheels stopped instantly), but he still
dented the fridge as he was off balance and horribly overgeared.

Sammy Shuford said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

Ditto to all the suggestions thus far in the thread, but I'll add
another that will help and that is to try a fixed-gear bike (assuming
you have one and have ridden one).

One of the mistakes many people make when starting out on rollers is
that when they start to feel like they are losing control and becoming
unstable, they stop pedaling, which only makes it worse. By riding a
fixed gear bike, you are not as prone to stop pedaling.

Also the faster the wheels turn, the more stable the bike is.

Hope that helps,

Greg Wood

"Greg" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Sammy Shuford said:

Is it hard to learn to ride rollers? I want to continue training when
it's raining cats and dogs!

Ditto to all the suggestions thus far in the thread, but I'll add
another that will help and that is to try a fixed-gear bike (assuming
you have one and have ridden one).

One of the mistakes many people make when starting out on rollers is
that when they start to feel like they are losing control and becoming
unstable, they stop pedaling, which only makes it worse. By riding a
fixed gear bike, you are not as prone to stop pedaling.

Also the faster the wheels turn, the more stable the bike is.

Hope that helps,

Greg Wood

top tip,

don't try tri-bars with rollers.

cheers
Jon_H

email hidden said:

Rollers don't simulate a REAL ride at all.

Nobody claimed they did; but then riding on any other kind of trainer
doesn't simulate a real ride either. If you get the gearing right,
rollers can simulate steady state riding quite well, better than any
trainer which fixes the bike in a locked upright position. It should
also be possible, with a combination of heavy rollers to add inertia
and a fluid dynamic brake (e.g. a fan) to simulate a reasonably
accurate resistance for all steady state and dynamic conditions.
Nobody bothers to do this because it's not necessary

Quoted message said:

It may just be me, but I feel very unstable on rollers,

Yeah, it's just you. Everybody who can ride a bike safely on the road
can ride rollers, you just have to get over the initial sensation that
the ground is 6" further away than you're used to.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary