Stability on rollers?
I have a set of Cycleops rollers, been using them on and off for a couple of years.
What is it that makes some bikes more stable on rollers than others? I have a 2005 Giant OCR2 which is very easy to ride on them, I'm no expert no handed rider but can drink from the bottle when riding the rollers no problems.
I have a couple of other bikes which are very uncomfortable to ride on the rollers, a Kuota Kredo Ultra and an old 1980s Coventry Eagle touring bike. These are both very twitchy to ride and it is hard to relax and concentrate just on the riding, it's an effort just to stay upright!
I adjust the wheelbase of the rollers to put the front axle just above the front roller on each bike but I can't get the other 2 bikes to be stable enough to 'enjoy' riding them. The Kuota is quite a short wheelbase and the Coventry Eagle very long so it can't be just down to wheelbase, I've tried putting the axle a little in front and behind the front roller but it doesn't make much difference to stability.
Turbo trainers feel a little 'dead' compared to the rollers and winter is nearly here! I'd be interested if anyone has identified which part of the bike geometry is important to making some bikes more stable on rollers than others?
What is it that makes some bikes more stable on rollers than others? I have a 2005 Giant OCR2 which is very easy to ride on them, I'm no expert no handed rider but can drink from the bottle when riding the rollers no problems.
I have a couple of other bikes which are very uncomfortable to ride on the rollers, a Kuota Kredo Ultra and an old 1980s Coventry Eagle touring bike. These are both very twitchy to ride and it is hard to relax and concentrate just on the riding, it's an effort just to stay upright!
I adjust the wheelbase of the rollers to put the front axle just above the front roller on each bike but I can't get the other 2 bikes to be stable enough to 'enjoy' riding them. The Kuota is quite a short wheelbase and the Coventry Eagle very long so it can't be just down to wheelbase, I've tried putting the axle a little in front and behind the front roller but it doesn't make much difference to stability.
Turbo trainers feel a little 'dead' compared to the rollers and winter is nearly here! I'd be interested if anyone has identified which part of the bike geometry is important to making some bikes more stable on rollers than others?
0
Comments
-
I may be wrong but I think it's the rake on the front fork that will affect the handling.
I have a cyclocross bike which I have no problem with on the rollers but my full on road bike is twitchy as hell - on the road the road bike has much quicker handling so I presume (maybe wrongly) this relates to the handling on the rollers too.0 -
Rake affects trail, trail affects handling, I understood
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_(bicycles)
My track bike and Winter bikes I can ride hands-free on the rollers.
My Summer bike and I'd be on the floor in 15seconds0 -
If you can adjust the distance between he rollers it may help. The wheelbase on one of my bikes is about 3cm longer than the other. If I increase the distance between the rollers by 3cm it rides fine, if not its like riding on butter with hot wheels.0
