bneville66 said:I just started riding a pair of rollers, and I'm wondering how stable I should be on them. I don't have very good balance anyway (which is why I got them) though I can usually ride for a few minutes without having to put my hand out to catch myself, but I'm all over the place on them and constantly moving back and forth. I sure it will get better (only put on about 50 miles so far), but to those who do ride them regularly, can you stay pretty well centered or do you still have some wobble/drift? Any tips or advice? I already leaned quickly to not give into the urge to hit the brakes.
thanks
you need to practice on them... after a while it's just like riding on the road, sure you wobble a little bit here and there but it's not a big deal and you don't even have to think about it, you just correct yourself automatically just like on the road. the other thing is to just get in your head that it's not like falling on the road... on rollers (as long as you have a mat or a carpet underneath) if you fall you just put your foot down and nothing happens... no road rash, no injury, maybe just a little embarassment if someone is watching you or hears you from the other room.
what is good practice is after your workout just take some time and try this.... ride until you get steady an then try to get as close to one side of the rollers. ride there for a bit then centre, then get as close to the other side and ride there for a bit... do this serveral times. this just gets you more comfortable with riding close to the edge and helps you with control and knowing where the edges of the rollers are. also after you do the above and are comfortable with that you can try to ride from one side of the roller to the other... remember nothing is going to happen.. you lose your balance, you just put your foot down and that's it.
some tips...
- riding a larger gear is easier to balance than smaller one... when you are learning start with a bigger gear to get the hang of it
- if you start to lose your balance pedal faster momentarily and this tends to stablize you
- don't look down, look up and ahead... putting some thing in front of the rollers at head height or front wheel height will give you something to fixate on and know you ar centred without having to looks down... looking down tends to make you lose balance for some reason
- adjust the rollers to make sure the centre of your front wheel's axle is aligned with the centre of the front roller... front wheel sits right on top of the front roller or as close as possible
- make sure the front and rear wheels of your bike are at the same height... this can make it difficult to ride and if the front wheel is too high it might make it easy for the bike to feel or even to actually slip off the back of the roller... can also make your butt hurt too. measure from the foor to the centre of each wheel and they should be at the same height. if not then just prop (usually the back roller) up with some books or block of wood or something
- put a box or a large toolbox in the centre of the rollers so when you step down you aren't so high of the ground
- put a non-slip mat under you rollers to collect sweat and so you don't slip with you slippery cycling shoes
- and this isn't particular to roller but get as big and bad a fan or fans for cooling as you can get your hands on... cooling is the biggest limiter to getting quality workouts indoors... you'll never be able to ride indoor number that you do outdoors without proper cooling
i have been riding rollers for years and can ride no hands, and can ride stand up... these are two skills you are going to have to teach yourself eventually too if you plan on spending longer periods of time on roller (give your back and butt a break).. same deal.. just take some time and practice some of this stuff after your workout.. one handed for sure so you can take a drink during your ride
rollers are mostly about getting rid of your fear there is no difference in riding outside, you're just scared to screw up on the roller... get rid of the fear and they are easy... biggest thing is that it's no big deal to fall off rollers, just put your foot down and all good... keep that in mind and that will go a long way
