Discussion
Well, my lovely wife has bought me a set of rollers for Christmas. As we're away over the holiday I have been given them today.
Erm, good grief they're hairy. I did ask for them and did expect a bit of a challenge but blimey. I have a turbo as well but fancied a set of these for some of the lower intensity sessions on my winter programme and to help get smoother on the bike.
So, set them up then scared myself s
tless on my TT bike. Ok, an extreme position twitchy handling thing maybe not best to start so tried my winter bike and after about 15 minutes had decided to sell them. After tea I had another go having had a read of some online guides. Better but these are going to take some learning; it's like learning to ride all over again.
I think I'll persevere but does anyone have any tips? I've got them set up against the garage wall with a high back garden chair on the other side.
Erm, good grief they're hairy. I did ask for them and did expect a bit of a challenge but blimey. I have a turbo as well but fancied a set of these for some of the lower intensity sessions on my winter programme and to help get smoother on the bike.
So, set them up then scared myself s
tless on my TT bike. Ok, an extreme position twitchy handling thing maybe not best to start so tried my winter bike and after about 15 minutes had decided to sell them. After tea I had another go having had a read of some online guides. Better but these are going to take some learning; it's like learning to ride all over again.I think I'll persevere but does anyone have any tips? I've got them set up against the garage wall with a high back garden chair on the other side.
I am thinking of purchasing a roller set for my 22 year old son who is a tool on a bike and was looking for a turbo trainer.
As a youngster he cycled for a Spanish team and has recently jumped back on a carbon road bike from mountain biking and is racking up a fair millage. Tends to run 10k every second day so I am thinking the rollers will be better for him.
Any advice on makes etc or should I just go with TT
As a youngster he cycled for a Spanish team and has recently jumped back on a carbon road bike from mountain biking and is racking up a fair millage. Tends to run 10k every second day so I am thinking the rollers will be better for him.
Any advice on makes etc or should I just go with TT
Set them up somewhere you can use a support, door frames are ok, i used a strap hanging from the beams in the garage. Just hold on to the strap with one hand with the other on the bars as you pedal.
Alternatively, set them up in a wide open space and wear trainers so you can just jump off when you feel a wobble.
Dont use clipless pedals for a while, just get used to the feeling of how your front wheel moves around on the drum and how to gently correct it.
Start off in a high gear and you will settle easier compared to a lower gear where you will be spinning too fast and bouncing out of the saddle.
Stay on the hoods and dont try to ride on the drops for a while, a tt set up as a newbie on rollers is a bit adventurous!
Dont sell them just yet, rollers are a no-nonsense way of improving your balance and increasing the efficiency of your pedalling stroke which, if properly developed, can improve every aspect of your riding. You remain far more alert when using rollers too, actively engaged in maintaining your balance so switching off and allowing your mind to wander is not an option.
Stick with it, they are so much fun when you get the hang of it, it took me about 3 hours of perseverance over a few days before i was riding clipped in and hammering along at 40 km/h on mine!
Alternatively, set them up in a wide open space and wear trainers so you can just jump off when you feel a wobble.
Dont use clipless pedals for a while, just get used to the feeling of how your front wheel moves around on the drum and how to gently correct it.
Start off in a high gear and you will settle easier compared to a lower gear where you will be spinning too fast and bouncing out of the saddle.
Stay on the hoods and dont try to ride on the drops for a while, a tt set up as a newbie on rollers is a bit adventurous!
Dont sell them just yet, rollers are a no-nonsense way of improving your balance and increasing the efficiency of your pedalling stroke which, if properly developed, can improve every aspect of your riding. You remain far more alert when using rollers too, actively engaged in maintaining your balance so switching off and allowing your mind to wander is not an option.
Stick with it, they are so much fun when you get the hang of it, it took me about 3 hours of perseverance over a few days before i was riding clipped in and hammering along at 40 km/h on mine!
Don't look at the front wheel, focus on a point at least a metre in front of the wheel.
If/when you start getting a wobble on, keep pedalling. Don't slow down or you'll lose it, try to up your cadence and you should be right.
Follow the advice on here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCUN7-nezQ
Or here:
http://www.rochellegilmore.com/wp-content/uploads/...
Don't give up with them. Once you get the hang of them they're great fun, much more so than the turbo.
If/when you start getting a wobble on, keep pedalling. Don't slow down or you'll lose it, try to up your cadence and you should be right.
Follow the advice on here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WCUN7-nezQ
Or here:
http://www.rochellegilmore.com/wp-content/uploads/...
Don't give up with them. Once you get the hang of them they're great fun, much more so than the turbo.
I had exactly the same thought process last week after getting a set for my birthday. Then I set them up in a tight corridor and was away. Lean on the walls when needed and just keep pedaling. After about 5 minutes it just clicked and I was fine then. That was on a road bike and then again on a TT bike later on. Just stick at it you'll be fine.
Anyone any recommendations for which rollers to purchase? Have been browsing chain reaction they start at £138 which seems a lot for what they are but reviews seem to say those are cheaply made and not durable, it seems you should go for ones with aluminium drums not thermoplastic, that takes them up to £200+ then resistance as well £250+. I have used a basic tacx turbo for the last year or so and I find I have to end up at a cadence of 90-100 in top 52/12 to get my heart rate to targets, it just seems like there isn't enough resistance - could never simulate climbing for example, this makes me think I need adjustable resistance on rollers?
Well, for example I did the sufferfest rubber glove this morning on my turbo, when I was on 7/10 for effort with cadence of 90 in top gear, I was expecting them to crank up the cadence but no, it assumed I had another 3 gears to go as suggested cadence stayed at 90 but effort was supposed to increase three times before the end if I backed off the gears at the start so 9/10 effort was a cadence of 90 in top, at the start I would have been in the little ring with what I'd describe as zero effort.
Fastpedeller said:
Years ago a mate of mine could ride them no hands and take his jersey off! I never got to that level of expertise, but I could (eventually) ride no hands. Just (as with all these things) practice, practice, practice. Make sure they are set to longer wheelbase than the bike!
The girl on Rubber glove makes it look easy cooking an omelette when on the rollers.Herman Toothrot said:
Well, for example I did the sufferfest rubber glove this morning on my turbo, when I was on 7/10 for effort with cadence of 90 in top gear, I was expecting them to crank up the cadence but no, it assumed I had another 3 gears to go as suggested cadence stayed at 90 but effort was supposed to increase three times before the end if I backed off the gears at the start so 9/10 effort was a cadence of 90 in top, at the start I would have been in the little ring with what I'd describe as zero effort.
Try it with trainer road.. It will become a LOT harder - I know, speaking from experience 
Rolls said:
Try it with trainer road.. It will become a LOT harder - I know, speaking from experience
Just watched the video about trainer road, think I'd require a more technical turbo or rollers than I have as it talks about altering resistance - I can't do that, so that's why I guess it's worth paying the extra for rollers or turbo with adjustable resistance.Well, I persevered with them and I now think they're great, if still somewhat hairy. Concentration is key but due to that the time goes by a lot quicker than on a turbo.
Mine don't have any resistance so it's just done with gears but I am able to get more of a workout than I maybe thought, I am presuming that the concentration and work required to actually "ride" the bike needs more physical effort than with the bike just clamped to a turbo. As such I can happily do my Level 2 endurance sessions on them.
I am glad I have both rollers and a turbo. Turbo is for full on intervals simply as you can really work without worrying about falling off and I can control things more on them. Rollers for technique (I can already feel a difference) and lower level stuff.
Mine don't have any resistance so it's just done with gears but I am able to get more of a workout than I maybe thought, I am presuming that the concentration and work required to actually "ride" the bike needs more physical effort than with the bike just clamped to a turbo. As such I can happily do my Level 2 endurance sessions on them.
I am glad I have both rollers and a turbo. Turbo is for full on intervals simply as you can really work without worrying about falling off and I can control things more on them. Rollers for technique (I can already feel a difference) and lower level stuff.
Rollers are great. As mentioned, they force you to maintain concentration and smooth out your pedal stroke. You simply can't mash the pedals like you can on a turbo. Do that, and you're off.
Personally, I'm happy to stare at the front tyre. It doesn't bother me. Watching sport while using rollers is a different matter. Your eyes follow the ball, and the bike follows the eyes. So the fly half punts it towards the corner and you ride off your rollers and topple out of the window.
As for resistance, mine has three magnetic resistance levels. Even on the second level, doing Russian Step intervals on my highest gear, I'll be able to hit my MHR (194, as worked out by a RAMP test on a watt bike). So it's safe to say that rollers can take you to some very dark places indeed, and are a perfectly useful training aid.
As for 'tricks' on rollers, I can sprint, ride no-handed, take my jersey off while riding no handed, and can ride out of the saddle. I can't fully sprint out of the saddle, and neither can I ride no-handed one-legged, as I found to my cost late one night while bored and drunk. Result? One bent carbon Wilier.
Personally, I'm happy to stare at the front tyre. It doesn't bother me. Watching sport while using rollers is a different matter. Your eyes follow the ball, and the bike follows the eyes. So the fly half punts it towards the corner and you ride off your rollers and topple out of the window.
As for resistance, mine has three magnetic resistance levels. Even on the second level, doing Russian Step intervals on my highest gear, I'll be able to hit my MHR (194, as worked out by a RAMP test on a watt bike). So it's safe to say that rollers can take you to some very dark places indeed, and are a perfectly useful training aid.
As for 'tricks' on rollers, I can sprint, ride no-handed, take my jersey off while riding no handed, and can ride out of the saddle. I can't fully sprint out of the saddle, and neither can I ride no-handed one-legged, as I found to my cost late one night while bored and drunk. Result? One bent carbon Wilier.
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