Rollers

jacster

Hi,
I'm looking to buy some rollers over a turbo for winter training.
Any recommendations?
And how easy are they to use? (eg am I risking some painful falls?!)
Thanks in advance

leedsmjh

I've got the Tacx Antares which seem fine

There's a learning curve but an excellent tip I gleaned from here is to set them up inside a doorway. The door frame gives you something to grab onto getting on and off the bike and if you start wandering sideways you can just stick an elbow out to re-balance yourself

DaSy

I have the CycleOps Alu rollers which are again, very nice, the rollers are smooth and quiet, and it folds up very easily.

They have the advantage of being able to add the optional resistance unit, which is a very useful addition, it gives 5 levels of resistance, enabling a wider range of workouts to standard non-resistance rollers.

DaSy

I will add that I have both rollers and turbo, and if I was to only have one of them for winter training, I would go with a decent turbo.

Really heavy intervals are very difficult on rollers, as you always have to keep focused on your position etc, and tend to not go 100% due to this, whereas a turbo doesn't suffer from this as you are fixed in position.

I love rollers for upto 90min steady tempo rides, recovery rides etc, but think you can get better fitness gains from interval workouts on a turbo. The ideal world is both, as rollers do offer the added benefit of improving pedal technique (as they expose poor technique with a jerky ride) and improved ability to hold a good line etc.

jacster

Thanks guys. Will investigate those further.

Heini

I am actually looking at a pair of rollers too and am interested in the CycleOps. Out of curiosity if you go for the added resistance unit can you change the resistance remotely (i.e. from the bars) or do you have to get off the bike to do so?

And finally any ideas where one might find the best deal on these rollers currently :?:

hopper1

+1 for the CycleOps rollers with resistance.

You can't adjust the level of resistance remotely... Just bribe/train a child, or submissive partner :shock:

As DaSy says, they're great for highlighting and practicing smooth pedalling technique.

I think Wiggle have them on offer... I bought mine from Cyclestore.co.uk

Paul