Rollers!

bainbridge · 26 Jul 2015 at 18:19

I've decided to get a set of rollers for winter use. I can't get on with the turbo trainer, it's just so boring and even with music or watching tv it's still just so monotonous. You don't even need to balance so I find myself leaning to one side or the other like a little kid on stabilisers

Does anyone else use rollers?

PermaBanned · 26 Jul 2015 at 18:57

Have you tried Zwift?

platypus · 26 Jul 2015 at 19:18

Yes rollers are brilliant for technique.

bainbridge · 26 Jul 2015 at 20:13

PermaBanned said:
Have you tried Zwift?

That looks good, just watched the vid but I kind of hate the turbo trainer now so won't be going back to it

bainbridge · 26 Jul 2015 at 20:13

platypus said:
Yes rollers are brilliant for technique.

That's what I heard, plus apparently the time passes much quicker than a turbo trainer.

Is is still a good workout?

PermaBanned · 26 Jul 2015 at 20:31

bainbridge said:
That looks good, just watched the vid but I kind of hate the turbo trainer now so won't be going back to it

Heh, well it's mainly intended to break up the boredom of being on a trainer but you can use it with rollers if you have a bluetooth/ANT+ speed sensor i think, or power meter of course. It just won't adjust resistance for the hills.

platypus · 26 Jul 2015 at 21:06

bainbridge said:
That's what I heard, plus apparently the time passes much quicker than a turbo trainer.

Is is still a good workout?

It is a great workout, and has quick, tangible benefits for technique. No downside really.

neil_g · 27 Jul 2015 at 08:13

i used to have a set of jet black rollers, were pretty easy to get the hang of. as i ride mtb i just found it a pain switching tyres around especially after going tubeless.

One More Solo · 27 Jul 2015 at 10:17

Rollers are very good but IMO they're not nearly as good a workout as a turbo. They'll definitely help your pedalling technique and you'll be able to work up a decent sweat but there's not enough resistance for a full on session.

They're an excellent tool for event warmups/cool downs and that sort of thing though, so useful if you do anything competitive too.

neil_g · 27 Jul 2015 at 11:16

thing is with rollers is that you have to go pretty fast to keep a good balance (at least i found it was easier with speed) so its not a bad workout to keep a good cadence/rpm.

DanF · 27 Jul 2015 at 12:32

I'm currently using a set of rollers, had them for years and still going strong kreitler rollers with 2.25" alloy

I find I need about 80-100 watts to keep enough speed to stay stable and can hit up to 400+ in short sprint efforts bit it's kinda hard to stay on them doing that as that's pretty much top gear and 110+ cadence so plenty of bounce. The Kreitlers are almost silent up to about 180w, its' almost all drive train noise then a low rumble kicks in and then goes pretty loud after about 250w but I think that's my rear wheel not being totally straight (cheap rim join I can't true away).

Was looking to get a turbo as well for higher threshold workouts and alternate between them.

I tried some tacx with plastic rollers but they made a massive amount more noise.

If you get Kreitlers with normal frames then you can get some pretty serious wattage with their addons

http://www.kreitler.co.uk/wattage_info.asp

Berger · 29 Jul 2015 at 11:32

I have the Elite Al13 which are metal rollers with a magnet to give three levels of resistance.

Then you can use your gears to increase or decrease effort also.

In top gear the resistance is too high to pedal, 600w+

They work well but I find you end up doing a high cadence so you can't do low cadence hill efforts like you could on a turbo.

PermaBanned · 29 Jul 2015 at 15:26

On a related note, what actually are the options for turbo trainers? From what i've heard fluid trainers are typically preferred to magnetic trainers because they're quieter, but you can also get "smart" versions of each. What could you expect to pay for a decent one?

DanF · 30 Jul 2015 at 10:20

Think it depends on the power curve and features you want. Ones with built in power meters are £500+, the automated ones that can vary power for you with something like TrainerRoad are £1k+.

£200 will get a decent one without those features like a cycleops fluid 2. Loads in the summer sales right now.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/sale/cycle/turbo-trainers-accessories/
http://www.cyclesurgery.com/turbo-trainers/sale/fcp-category/list?resetFilters=true

I'm going for an elite turbo muin as it's a direct drive unit so way quieter than the normal ones. I'm in a flat atm so can't make much noise.

http://www.powercurvesensor.com/cycling-trainer-power-curves/

Roady · 7 Aug 2015 at 17:16

bainbridge said:
That's what I heard, plus apparently the time passes much quicker than a turbo trainer.

Is is still a good workout?

If you're bored of the turbo you'll be bored of rollers in less time! :eek:

Very hard to do any kind of resistance or structured interval work on rollers, it's all cadence and technique.

Although I know of a guy who places them outside, does a lap of his garden/road then bunnyhops onto the rollers for a few minutes high cadence & hops off again for another lap. Nutter! :rolleyes:

bainbridge · 24 Nov 2015 at 23:24

Update:

Got a set of Elite parabolic rollers in early September and haven't looked back, I love em!

A little wobbly at first but soon got the hang of it, riding no hands after about a fortnight. It's an easy way to ride every day and fit it into my routine.

I'm not a competitive roadie or anything, I'm a tourer so little and often is a good way to stay conditioned with a proper ride mid week and a long ride or 2 day mini tour on the weekend.

The daily pattern I've fallen into is

1 mile at low cadence warming up.
2 miles at medium cadence
2 miles at high cadence (all out sprinting is too bouncy)
1 mile resting at low speed, practising balance.
2 miles at high cadence
Half a mile winding down

That's enough for me, it's actually quite a good workout and great for balance. I didn't realise I swung my arm out when grabbing the water bottle from the cage. Rather than doing this and having to countersteer I simply grab the bottle from the cage and bring it up to my mouth while keeping it in the central line of the bike and no steering correction is needed.

Also makes the pedalling action much lighter and based on rotation rather than pulling up and down.

Roady · 1 Dec 2015 at 14:23

Great info and good to hear you're getting on well with them! As mentioned they're really down to technique! How long does your pattern take you?

The technique and balance side of things I could probably benefit from myself (can't ride no handed to put on/take off a jacket currently)... Maybe in the spring I'll hunt down a set!

bainbridge · 6 Dec 2015 at 19:16

Roady said:
Great info and good to hear you're getting on well with them! As mentioned they're really down to technique! How long does your pattern take you?

The technique and balance side of things I could probably benefit from myself (can't ride no handed to put on/take off a jacket currently)... Maybe in the spring I'll hunt down a set!

Thanks Roady, it was off the back of the advice in this thread which helped me make my mind up to get one. It takes me about 45 mins to complete the pattern, I'll increase this soon because it's becoming less difficult.

Much as I like riding no hands occasionally (it's a good way to stretch my back by sitting upright) I would personally stop to put on/remove a jacket, purely because if I came off whilst being clipped in and my arms being stuck in the jacket sleeves it would be a disaster falling and not being able to put my hands out to arrest the fall! :eek: