Which Rollers?

peanut1978

I am thinking about buying rollers as opposed to turbo trainers as

1. I am looking to use my good bike on them
2. dont want to wreck my rear wheel/tyre on a turbo

Any experience/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

Jed

MikeWW

These work fine

lhttp://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/product/146/t1000/tacx-t1000-antares-roller-trainer.htm

fernholt

I have a tacx antares roller. It has been very good. I view it as a supplement to the turbo though. I don't think it's a replacement because you can do quite varied sessions on a turbo. The rollers have been very good at improving my riding (I think). I am still very nervous when starting a session though as they are easy to fall off. That said. I have been lucky in that dept. so far.

m00nd0g

I have a set of Minoura rollers.
I bought them with everyone telling me I needed a turbo
Tried both and the turbo lies unused but kept incase of an emergency.
Cant fault my rollers.

TarmacExpert

It depends how much power you output. Many rollers don't provide much resistance, so someone who outputs a lot of power needs to look at something like the Kreitler 2.25" rollers.

Personally I prefer the turbo, but I have a separate wheel with a turbo tyre on that I swap onto the bike to use on the turbo. I was never able to get into the TT position on rollers, which is my main reason for preferring the turbo.

TommyEss

I got the Tacx rollers too - for warm up at the track. Not used them much yet, but have been pleased with them so far.

For me, since they're for warm up rather than any formal training, I'm not sure there's as much to say about them as there might be for a turbo trainer, with all the differences between wind, oil, magnetic, size of the flywheel etc.

The only real things to consider with rollers are:

Diameter and weight of the rollers - affects inertia;

Cylindrical or concentric (i.e. shaped to keep you riding in the centre)

Foldability - depending on where you want to use them, can be an issue. Some fold down better than others.

peanut1978

great response so far,

really looking for a solution to the indoor trainer problem.
Living in the Highlands of Scotland there are usually 2 months a year where it is a little dicey on the roads.

I have a specialized langster and a cannondale caad9.

Dont want to wreck Caad on a turbo

what is my ideal solution?

MikeWW

Have got both rollers and turbo
Use both probably about equally (especially as the rollers are great for warm up and recovery)
Prefer using the rollers as well
However if I could only have one I'd go turbo. Unless you go resistance rollers you can't do threshold sessions on them

the_prophet

I don't think you'd wreck the cannondale on the turbo, i was just put off with the pain of having to swap wheels or tyre, everytime i wanted to use the turbo, or suffer high wear rates. I bought a set of rollers (tacx) and use the fixed gear and my road bike on them, and they've been good. I live in a flat and there quiet enough not to get any issues.

I'd say its down to personal preference both if you can, otherwise my money would be on the rollers as they'll improve your balance etc at the same time.

stevec1906

I bought the Elite E-Motion rollers at christmas (best present I got too by the way) and use them regularly in the spare room whilst watching TV. Been using them along with a Suunto T4d HRM and they're great. They have 3 resistance levels so you can easily do threshold sessions on them and they're just so much more engaging than a turbo to use. There's no denying they're expensive but a friend just bought the next model down with the same resistance levels on eBay for £175. For me if it doesn't feel realistic then I won't be inclined to use it.

dawebbo

Also have the e-motion rollers. Much prefer them to the turbo, and as stevec says, they have easily enough resistance for intervals. I gather that the kreitlers with the fan have more resistance still.

You won't wreck your bike on the turbo, just remember to wipe the sweat off after each session. I'm currently using my best bike with indoor tyres on the front and back for the rollers (find that outdoor tyres screech when out of the saddle) and still on the training bike out on the roads till the weather improves.