Using the rollers...advice please

Ands

I set myself an autumn challenge of mastering the rollers, so as to enthuse me back in to indoor training. I had my first go last night and it took about 5 mins before I understood that I was not going to fall off with every wobble. Eventually, I actually enjoyed being able to move from side to side along the roller without falling off.

I had two main problems - firstly, drinking. Is there a knack to reaching for a bottle and having a drink?
Initially, my other half held the bottle while I drank. However, the second time we tried this I had a massive wobble and fell off (fortunately he was there to catch me) :oops: .

Second issue was not being able to shift around on the saddle to change position. I daren't get out of the sadlle and I had a numb bum after about 25 mins and had to stop to get comfortable again. Is it easy to get out of the saddle on the rollers?

Any tips for using them? Is it just like learning to ride a bike - i.e. your balance will get better? I did manage an hour and felt quite stable when going at speed, but had no confidence to change position, take a hand off the bars, etc.

acidstrato

practise moving your hands on the bike. switch between hoods, drops & straights. once you got switching down then try one handed intervals. eventually you should be capable of reaching for the bottle. hardest part i find is actually tilting my head to drink..short, quick slurps is the only way i can.

I have the rollers that are supposed to be easy to jump out of the saddle but tbh i aint mastered that yet. just shimmy back and forth. try and stay on the widest part of our saddle

Drumlin

Practice makes perfect. Position the rollers next to something solid to grab on to just in case. I find that keeping my head up as if looking at the road in front helps.

Ands

I set them up in the narrowest part of the hallway so I didn't have far to fall and had something to hold on to.

It took me about 10 mins before I dared move my gaze from the front wheel/floor to the Garmin!! I felt quite stable in the end but only if I kept my position the same - hence my probs with numb bum and not being able to drink.

More practice planned this week. I will try shifting hand position - I rode on the hoods so as to be close to the brakes even tho I would have liked to use the tops more. I did spend the last few mins seeing how slow I could go without feeling unstable (about 10kph) and tried a bit of one-handed riding (wobbly).

deswahriff

..set yourself up in a doorway, then if you lose it, you can just bounce a shoulder off the door frame. Not been on the rollers since last winter, it'll take me a few sessions to get confident again, but after three winters, I still don't take a bottle on the move...maybe set myself that challenge this year..
...oh, and you must keep your head up, and don't grip too hard...

Cleat Eastwood

how do you actually get on them - the bike height rises considerably doesnt it, or do you use a stool type thing to mount it.

Pross

Watching the kids warm up at the velodrome before races and they quite happily ride no handed on rollers. Little b***ards make me sick as I needed to be held on my only attempt

deswahriff

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

how do you actually get on them - the bike height rises considerably doesnt it, or do you use a stool type thing to mount it.

....hold on to said door frame! I clip in left first and lean against the doorframe to balance myself while hooking my right leg over the saddle. The other way is to get on the bike while its in front of the rollers, then pop yourself up and back (using door frame as necessary)...sometimes results in just pushing the rollers back along the floor, tough!
..or a stool thing would probably work too.....
..either way, hours of endless fun for all!!

CiB

Yeah park in a doorway and use that as your leaning post. It took me a bit of time but once you get it you've got it. All you need once you're past the constant battle to stay upright is something to stave off the boredom, either a DVD or some comedy on the radio or a podcast. God it's boring doing more than a few minutes. Sold mine eventually.

ps getting on? Just throw your leg a bit more enthusiastically than normal whilst leaning the bike over a bit more.

Drumlin

deswahriff wrote:

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

how do you actually get on them - the bike height rises considerably doesnt it, or do you use a stool type thing to mount it.

....hold on to said door frame! I clip in left first and lean against the doorframe to balance myself while hooking my right leg over the saddle. The other way is to get on the bike while its in front of the rollers, then pop yourself up and back (using door frame as necessary)...sometimes results in just pushing the rollers back along the floor, tough!
..or a stool thing would probably work too.....
..either way, hours of endless fun for all!!

I have the rollers with a stair rail on my left to hold onto. I stand astride the bike to the right of the rollers, with my left foot inside the frame of the rollers. I clip my right foot into the pedal and lift the front wheel onto the front roller. The I take hold of the stair rail with my left hand and with my clipped in right foot hook the rear wheel onto the rear rollers and sit on the saddle. Then its just a question of clipping the left foot in, and starting to pedal whilst letting go of the rail.

hopper1

Ands wrote:

I set them up in the narrowest part of the hallway so I didn't have far to fall and had something to hold on to.

It took me about 10 mins before I dared move my gaze from the front wheel/floor to the Garmin!! I felt quite stable in the end but only if I kept my position the same - hence my probs with numb bum and not being able to drink.

More practice planned this week. I will try shifting hand position - I rode on the hoods so as to be close to the brakes even tho I would have liked to use the tops more. I did spend the last few mins seeing how slow I could go without feeling unstable (about 10kph) and tried a bit of one-handed riding (wobbly).

That's your problem, re the stability! Don't look at the wheel/ floor.
Pick a point as far up ahead as possible and focus on that, you will note how much easier the bike is to move. An occassional glance down will be ok for position checks.
Think about being on the road, you don't stare at the front hub while you ride.
Hope that helps.

Paul

majormantra

hopper1 wrote:

Think about being on the road, you don't stare at the front hub while you ride.

+1. If you can ride along a painted line on the road, you can ride rollers. And unless your headset is buggered (notchy) your bike will want to go in a straight line when left to its own devices.