I've borrowed some training rollers from a work colleague to train for a cycling tour in August, but they are a little bit small, the front hub extends 1 or 2 inches beyond the end of the front roller. I wanted to know if the reason that the hub should be directly over the front roller is just for stability or whether it will actually damage the bike or the rollers if it's not?
I had a go anyway and after a fashion (1st time on them) was able to balance with a lot of focus and would be happy to carry on with them so long as i'm not going to cause some damage to the wheel, fork or the very kindly lent rollers.
Does anyone have any opinions or experience on the matter?
You should not damage them however every brand of rollers I've seen, used or sold all enable the front roller to be moved to adjust for differences in mike size. Usually you remove two nuts (one on each side of the front roller) and move to a new location, there should be multiple sets of holes. A few models the size adjustment is on the frame.
Thanks for the reply, I should have mentioned I've already extended it to the furthest forward set of holes, if it was my own and not a lend I might consider drilling 2 more, but I don't think my colleague would appreciate that.
What is the wheelbase of the bike you are trying to use on the rollers? Is it a type of bike with a long wheelbase such as a large touring frame?
Riding rollers with the front tire contacting TDC on the roller will not damage the bike, but stability will be negatively affected. Riding with the front tire ahead of the roller's axis will not only make keeping up with steering difficult, it will make the bike much more prone to coming off the rollers during enthusiastic efforts or uneven pedaling.
Thanks very much for the info campybob, it's a large frame (60cm)l, wheelbase is 1028cm, not advertised as a tourer but that is what I'm using it for and it has a lot of features you'd expect from a tourer (here's the frame genesisbikes.co.ukequilibrium framesetOpen ↗).
If the only issue is the stability I think will persevere but remember not to go too hard on it, as I was able to stay up unaided for the most part - I guess the times I wobbled and needed support will also be due to lack of practice on rollers.
I would ask your friend if it were OK to drill a new set of holes somewhere around 1040 MM from the center of the two rear rollers. Or buy a set that accommodates your wheelbase.
I spend Ohio winters alternating between rollers (Kreitler brand) and a fluid trainer. There's no way in Hell I would spend more than 5 minutes fighting an incorrect roller setup. I've tried it when swapping between a short wheelbase track bike and a road bike without bothering to adjust the rollers to match the bike properly. It's too frustrating for me.
