Rollers - any good?

I use rollers on a weekly bassis even in the summer. I also ride a powertap. Last night I was doing a warmup on the track bike with them and was trying to get some work in before the rain. 105-110 rpm for 15 minutes 250 watt average. Higher cadence , smooth spin.

Ronanmk said:

Hello everyone.

I've been looking at rollers for the last few weeks. My intention is to have a good workout at home. Now....from what the LBS tells me, rollers with no resistance are not very good at that. They say they are used mostly for pre-race warm-up. I (for some unexplainable reason) don't like windtrainers.

My LBS can carry these two:
minoura.jpadvance e.htmOpen ↗

and
cbike.comTacx Roller.htmOpen ↗

Does any of you use non-resistance rollers to train at home?. I'm your ordinary cycling-Joe, I don't need a super-duper training machine, but yes something that will give me a basic workout.

Any (relevant) comments will be welcomed.

Thanks

cheers

==========================================================
Rollers = Excellent workout.
I have a trainer and never use it - too boring. My rollers are much better - more dynamic concentrating on keeping the bike in line and excellent for developing my spin.
Having said that - the best for me is road riding so little keeps me from training on the road.
The workout on rollers can be as hard or easy as you want. Want resistance - put it in a higher gear!
With a bike computer with cadence (& or a heartrate monitor) you can develop different rides to suit.
Could you try someone's before buying?
Enjoy, Paul 🙂

Thanks for that guys...I'll try to find a charitable soul to test ride one before I buy.

cheers

Bigbananabike said:

==========================================================
Rollers = Excellent workout.
I have a trainer and never use it - too boring. My rollers are much better - more dynamic concentrating on keeping the bike in line and excellent for developing my spin.
Having said that - the best for me is road riding so little keeps me from training on the road.
The workout on rollers can be as hard or easy as you want. Want resistance - put it in a higher gear!
With a bike computer with cadence (& or a heartrate monitor) you can develop different rides to suit.
Could you try someone's before buying?
Enjoy, Paul 🙂

I have rollers that I got for free ( 😄 ) and I would like to avoid buying a trainer if I can get an effective work out on rollers this winter. I ride on the road all but 3-4 months, and I'm not looking to train hard, just keep the weight down and be reasonably fit so when I ride again in the spring it's not a major transition.

Last winter I had an exercise bike, which was fine but the fit is of course different from my road bike and I didn't have my pedals/shoes to clip in, just toe straps. I want to keep with the road bike this winter. I have a HRM and would think that by riding in a harder gear and pushing a high cadence, I can get the HR into the proper training zones (is this right?).

Thanks.

Kreitler rollers are THE BOMB.

they (amongst others) have different diameter rollers for different levels of effort. they have a weight you can put on the back to offer more resistance and a bit more momentum (more roadlike)

and they also have a front fork stand if you want to just sit and spin (and perhaps watch a DVD) and not want think about balance.

but yeah, the LBS who said dont buy rollers becasue they dont offer a good workout is full of sh#t. he's probably saying it because he's never ridden or cant ride them, or wanted to liquidate an old stationary that'd been on the floor too long.

they are an EXCELLENT tool for a sense of bike handling, balance, cadence, smooth pedal stroke, and effort... they truly are superior to a stationary stand.

however, all rollers are not created equal. machined aluminum drum much better than pla stic- solid construction is needed... you also want to try them to check sound levels. some can be quite noisy/droning.

also- you need a good fan. some company's (Kreitler being one) offer a fan that is driven off the rollers. adds resistance and keeps you cool. (in more ways than one.... 😎 )

Ronanmk said:

Thanks for that guys...I'll try to find a charitable soul to test ride one before I buy.

cheers

TIP: Dont be discouraged your first time. It will take a little while to be comfortable, but it will help your riding. T2: Put them in a doorway for a while. Falling is no fun if your clipped in

I have to agree the Kreitler roller are tops. They are not a bargain($$) but they kick my ass every time. I chose the 2.25 diameter drums with the headwind fan. I'm not strong enough to add the flywheel option yet.

Start out in a doorway so that when you begin to get squirelly you can use your elbows to steady yourself. After a week or so I moved to just a wall on my right. If you do clip in on rollers, for the love of pete, be smart and put down a chunk of artificial turf/carpet. Disco slippers + concrete/smooth surface = comedy gold.

Ronanmk said:

Hello everyone.

I've been looking at rollers for the last few weeks. My intention is to have a good workout at home. Now....from what the LBS tells me, rollers with no resistance are not very good at that. They say they are used mostly for pre-race warm-up. I (for some unexplainable reason) don't like windtrainers.

My LBS can carry these two:
minoura.jpadvance e.htmOpen ↗

and
cbike.comTacx Roller.htmOpen ↗

Does any of you use non-resistance rollers to train at home?. I'm your ordinary cycling-Joe, I don't need a super-duper training machine, but yes something that will give me a basic workout.

Any (relevant) comments will be welcomed.

Thanks

cheers

Generally, they seem to make people much better bike handlers. With two surfaces rolling against each other -- your wheel and the drum -- any movement is amplified. I highly recomend them.

Does anyone know how the elite parabolic rollers are ? I cant seem to get the kreitlers over here..

bbolstad said:

Does anyone know how the elite parabolic rollers are ? I cant seem to get the kreitlers over here..

ebay kreitlers. personally i would rather not have the parabolics, seems that would take away some of the fear and mystique of the possibility of riding off the sides.
putting your rollers about a foot off of the wall is a good way to practice bump drills. lean into the wall and bump off back up onto your rollers. (i would advise you that your wife shouldn't be in the room when you do this. you will hear about it for a long time if you fall😄 )

none shipping international, and only 4 available, I guess I have to keep looking

Hey ! I finally got the rollers yesterday !

They are the Minoura with a smal(ish) cylinder diameter. They are GREAT !

They DO give you a very good work out, and they were not difficult to learn to ride at all. After like 20 mins I was riding "normally". My wife said I was crazy to ride that...

My tips for starters (hey...after 10Ks on them, I'm a PRO!):
- Don't look down (or back, or to the side, or anywhere else but front)
- To learn to use them, its better if you put them next to a wall and start with your body leaned on the wall and your arm supporting your weight
- When you reach around 25K/h you can actually center your body with the bike and you'll stay "up"
- Stay centered

Resistance-wise, it's definitely not like riding. I was doing 35 k/hr and it didn't "feel" like that fast. But it's not bad either. You definitely sweat like a pig !
Perhaps lowering the pressure in the tyres will help to introduce some resistance....has anyone tried that?

Anyway, GREAT experience. Thanks everyone

cheers

Ronanmk said:

Hey ! I finally got the rollers yesterday !

They are the Minoura with a smal(ish) cylinder diameter. They are GREAT !

They DO give you a very good work out, and they were not difficult to learn to ride at all. After like 20 mins I was riding "normally". My wife said I was crazy to ride that...

My tips for starters (hey...after 10Ks on them, I'm a PRO!):
- Don't look down (or back, or to the side, or anywhere else but front)
- To learn to use them, its better if you put them next to a wall and start with your body leaned on the wall and your arm supporting your weight
- When you reach around 25K/h you can actually center your body with the bike and you'll stay "up"
- Stay centered

Resistance-wise, it's definitely not like riding. I was doing 35 k/hr and it didn't "feel" like that fast. But it's not bad either. You definitely sweat like a pig !
Perhaps lowering the pressure in the tyres will help to introduce some resistance....has anyone tried that?

Anyway, GREAT experience. Thanks everyone

cheers

I've not tried lowering tire pressure...but let me know the result if you do.

Did you ride them with your heart rate monitor on? If so did you find pushing bigger gears with same cadence gave you a harder work out? I haven't been on mine in months because of the good weather, and was contemplating getting a trainer, but I want to play around with these again and see how effective of a work out I can get.

Sweat...in buckets! I use a fan on high speed 5 feet from me; it helps.

Ronanmk said:

Resistance-wise, it's definitely not like riding. I was doing 35 k/hr and it didn't "feel" like that fast. But it's not bad either. You definitely sweat like a pig !

Get yourself one of those bike thongs. It hepls with the sweating all over your bike thing.

i put a peice of foam under my rear roller between the floor before i bought a resistance unit. it makes a little bit of a funny noise, but you dont even realize it after a while.

Now get the Mag unit and you have the best of both worlds!

Ronanmk said:

Hey ! I finally got the rollers yesterday !

They are the Minoura with a smal(ish) cylinder diameter. They are GREAT !

They DO give you a very good work out, and they were not difficult to learn to ride at all. After like 20 mins I was riding "normally". My wife said I was crazy to ride that...

My tips for starters (hey...after 10Ks on them, I'm a PRO!):
- Don't look down (or back, or to the side, or anywhere else but front)
- To learn to use them, its better if you put them next to a wall and start with your body leaned on the wall and your arm supporting your weight
- When you reach around 25K/h you can actually center your body with the bike and you'll stay "up"
- Stay centered

Resistance-wise, it's definitely not like riding. I was doing 35 k/hr and it didn't "feel" like that fast. But it's not bad either. You definitely sweat like a pig !
Perhaps lowering the pressure in the tyres will help to introduce some resistance....has anyone tried that?

Anyway, GREAT experience. Thanks everyone

cheers

Just read this on the Kreitler website about reducing tire pressue to increase resistance... so I guess..do this at your own risk.

"Keep tires inflated to manufacturer's rated pressure. Under inflated tires do cause a greater resistance due to tire flexing/scrub but can also cause rim cut around the valve."

translucentsky said:

Just read this on the Kreitler website about reducing tire pressue to increase resistance... so I guess..do this at your own risk.

"Keep tires inflated to manufacturer's rated pressure. Under inflated tires do cause a greater resistance due to tire flexing/scrub but can also cause rim cut around the valve."

IMO the rollers are for developing spin and are also great for recovery rides. I think if your looking for resistance , a trainer is your next purchase. I have both and use them for different things.............and both with full tire pressure🙂