Rollers recommendation

sqwerl_mk2
sqwerl_mk2 Posts: 31
edited October 2007 in Training, fitness and health
Can someone recommend a decent set of rollers.
I'd prefer something that folds.
A quick scan of Wiggle shows either the Minoura Action Advance or the Elite Ghibli as being reasonable. The Ghibli's parabalic rollers suggests it's easier to stay centred. Something useful to someone (i.e. me) that's not used to riding them.
Ta

Comments

  • rohloff-rich
    rohloff-rich Posts: 232
    Interested in this myself - also what adjustable resistance one are available?

    (apologies for the hijack by the way sqwerl_mk2!)
    An MTBer, but with skinny wheel tendencies...
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    sqwerl_mk2 wrote:
    Minoura Action Advance
    I got a set of these from Wiggle....................simply brilliant!!! They are reasonably heavy with metal rollers (not plastic like most other makes) and are well made (had them about 2 years with no problems). They fold up fairly small and are not so heavy that they are a pain to lug about.

    Haven't used the parabolic ones so can't comment, but part of the reason I went for rollers is that you need to concentrate when riding (unlike turbo trainer) which makes them time spent on them go a bit quicker and once you get the hang of it, your balance will improve.

    When I first rode them, I clung for dear life to the adjacent wall, but can now ride no handed. You will pick it up surprisingly quickly.............I've only had a few "moments" on them..............best not use them indoors on the best carpet until you get the knack. :oops:

    I actually only use them to spin my legs - either as warm-up/down when track racing or as a recovery ride after a hard ride. There is no resistance and even in a high gear, you just spin like a top. It does improve your balance and encourage smooth pedalling but is no use for interval training. I tend to use mine with a fixed-gear track bike, but there is no reason why you couldn't use a road bike (don't want too much tread on the tyre though).

    The only rollers with resistance I have seen are made in the USA by Kreitling (?) but they are about $800 for a set with a turbo fan driven off a separate band from the front roller.
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    Came across these rollers with 5-levels of variable magnetic resistance:
    http://www.trisports.com/cyroalwre9.html

    Bit more reasonably priced than the Kreitler ones I mentioned above:
    http://www.kreitler.com/product.php?pg=product
  • andrewgturnbull
    andrewgturnbull Posts: 3,861
    Hi folks.

    Have a look at insideride rollers - a friend of mine imports them into the UK and let me have a shot on them last week. The steel rollers themselves sit on an internally sprung frame which allows the whole unit to move back and forth with you, so you stay on even when you're out of the saddle giving it some wellie. Also there are small horizontally mounted buffer wheels on either side of the front roller which bounce your front wheel back onto line. I've hit these pretty hard while giving it a 100% sprint effort on the track bike - no worries.

    There's a flywheel which smooths out the ride and gives resistance approximate to riding the road. A magnetic resistance unit then offers another 3 levels of resistance, going right up to 1200w resistance at a cadence of 100rpm.

    I've been riding rollers for a few years (and have fallen off a few times), but these are really something else. Here's a youtube of me riding my triathlon bike while practising taking my shoes off (at 30mph) getting ready for transition.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=driJSVzg0cY

    There's a few other youtube videos of top scottish riders on the insideride rollers too - check out Craig Hardie's one for some aggressive sprinting.

    If you want any more details - contact Martin at REClassicBikes@aol.com

    Cheers, Andy
  • rohloff-rich
    rohloff-rich Posts: 232
    The InsideRide's are nearly $800!! What's the UK price??
    An MTBer, but with skinny wheel tendencies...
  • MartinCo
    MartinCo Posts: 8
    Hey

    thanks for the plug Andy!

    Yes these rollers are expensive but they are not just your traditional 3 drum rollers!

    If you want a set of three drum roillers with no resistance for warming up on before or after races, these are not for you and you can buy some very good rollers for much less.

    The insideride e-motion rollers are a serious bit of kit for home training on.

    They have super smoothy unlimitted progressive resistance.

    They allow you to stand up, rock the bike, sprint. In fact to just ride your bike as you want to, inside. Every thing short of going around corners. Things you can not do on traditional rollers or turbo trainers.

    You can ride at speeds as low as 5 or 6 miles an hour, with full on resisance, completely smooth. Like climbing a very steep hill. Or you can hammer away on your TT bike at 30 miles an hour and 500 watts.

    They are callibrated to allow you to know the power that you are prducing simply by looking at the speed on your bikes computer. No need for an additional power meter.

    The build quality is off the scale, so they are a once in a life time purchase.

    But do not take my word for it, try reading some of these reviews:-

    http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/train ... px#reviews
  • rohloff-rich
    rohloff-rich Posts: 232
    MartinCo wrote:
    Hey

    thanks for the plug Andy!

    Yes these rollers are expensive but they are not just your traditional 3 drum rollers!

    If you want a set of three drum roillers with no resistance for warming up on before or after races, these are not for you and you can buy some very good rollers for much less.

    The insideride e-motion rollers are a serious bit of kit for home training on.

    They have super smoothy unlimitted progressive resistance.

    They allow you to stand up, rock the bike, sprint. In fact to just ride your bike as you want to, inside. Every thing short of going around corners. Things you can not do on traditional rollers or turbo trainers.

    You can ride at speeds as low as 5 or 6 miles an hour, with full on resisance, completely smooth. Like climbing a very steep hill. Or you can hammer away on your TT bike at 30 miles an hour and 500 watts.

    They are callibrated to allow you to know the power that you are prducing simply by looking at the speed on your bikes computer. No need for an additional power meter.

    The build quality is off the scale, so they are a once in a life time purchase.

    But do not take my word for it, try reading some of these reviews:-

    http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/train ... px#reviews

    That's all great, and they do look and sound awesome... But what is the UK price?!
    An MTBer, but with skinny wheel tendencies...
  • MartinCo
    MartinCo Posts: 8
    570 including uk (mainland) delivery
  • rohloff-rich
    rohloff-rich Posts: 232
    MartinCo wrote:
    570 including uk (mainland) delivery

    Wow! :shock:

    Seriously I'd love a set, but I winced at £200 for the CycleOps ones mentioned above!!
    An MTBer, but with skinny wheel tendencies...
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    Here's a youtube of me riding my triathlon bike while practising taking my shoes off (at 30mph) getting ready for transition.

    That's impressive...............if I tried that on my rollers I would have bitten the garage floor pretty hard. :roll:
  • MartinCo
    MartinCo Posts: 8
    The standing up climbing and sprinting is really good and adds an extra training dimention and much more comfort too. probably more comfortable than the road as there are no potholes.

    but the thing that really impresses me is the smoothness of the resistance. It feels just like riding on the road, no matter what you are doing.
  • jakob_s
    jakob_s Posts: 477
    Bronzie wrote:
    sqwerl_mk2 wrote:
    Minoura Action Advance
    I got a set of these from Wiggle....................simply brilliant!!! They are reasonably heavy with metal rollers (not plastic like most other makes) and are well made (had them about 2 years with no problems). They fold up fairly small and are not so heavy that they are a pain to lug about.

    What the noise level like on these?

    Jakob
  • Bronzie
    Bronzie Posts: 4,927
    What the noise level like on these?

    Nearly silent - there is no fan - just the tyre and chain noise plus spokes cutting through the air...........I can quite happily watch TV with the volume turned up just a bit.
  • rohloff-rich
    rohloff-rich Posts: 232
    Anyone have experience of the CycleOps Alu rollers, with or without resistance?
    An MTBer, but with skinny wheel tendencies...
  • pjh
    pjh Posts: 204
    £570.00 yikes! Shame the import duties/carriage kills the price so much ... these are around $750 in the US i.e. £375 equivalent UK price (without the duty etc).

    I'm sure there would be a LOT more orders at sub £400


    It's great to be .....
  • Theres some DIY "free motion" rollers on YouTube

    eg.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAvVcNxGlR0

    You can see that essentially one creates the outer cradle, attached some wheels to the rollers, and uses bunjees to act as springs.

    and here for another close up of another variant where theres more discussion on how to build it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS2yvBo8EMQ