rollers: advice please

Sprool

I'm pretty new to road cycling as a recent convert from MTB, and pretty hooked. Been clocking up about 60 miles a week for the past month since buying my new road bike, now looking to get a trainer for the garage to help keep me fit now the days are getting short and wet. I've heard rollers can be tricky but develop much better balance and technique, they also keep you more focused. A lot of people have said that fixed turbos get too boring and they don't persevere with them, though they are better for developing power. I'm quite set on the idea of technique over power so am after some recommendations for a set of newbie-friendly rollers up to but not over a budget of £160.
Is it worth getting a set that you can add extra resistance to, or can you pretty much do that using your bike gears?
Any other pros/cons to look out for?

Herbsman

I'd say get ones with resistance if you want them for general training. Mine are only really good for warming up or doing speed drills, which I rarely ever do.

Herbsman

Oh, and get ones with a metal drum, or you risk static electric shock if you touch earthed metal while riding.

You can actually buy earth wristbands to disperse the electrical charge buildup...

Sprool

hmm, the resistance rollers i can find online are all way above my budget. Maybe I could fix a dynamo to help power the house while i'm training...

Tom Butcher

I think a standard set of Tacx are fine unless you are planning to do 30 second intervals on them - anyone that can't get enough resistance for say minute intervals upwards either has a tiny gear on their bike, very slow cadence or puts out a lot more power than I do ! As for static shock - not really an issue is it ?

Sprool

thanks, i see the tacx ones get good reviews, how do they compare to the Elite Parabolics? The outer lip on the Elites rollers looks like it may help keep me on track more?

Tom Butcher

I haven't used them but they look OK - I've used the flat basic Tacx, the Tacx parabolic and the Tacx ones that move a bit on the ground - personally I think the basic are as good as any of those and cheaper. I'd go for a wider roller over parabolic shape if you are worried about falling off the edge.

jeepie

I too am looking to get some rollers and am a complete noob. I'm very tight for space inside my house. Can you use the rollers on a flat surface outside? I was thinking about using mine on the patio? Any issues with this rather than indoors?

Sprool

just the neighbours laughing as they watch you fall off I guess. Cooler to exercise outside but i'm guessing the rollers and frame won't like being rained on.

Tom Dean

I use the rollers outside and find it ok in a bit of drizzle, anything heavier and they get slippery before long.

Herbsman

If the weather's good enough to roller outside why not ride on the road?

I can actually think of numerous reasons and I've done it myself, in my back garden. But I'm interested in hearing why other people do it (other than warming up for crits & outdoor track racing).

colinsmith123

Sprool wrote:

thanks, i see the tacx ones get good reviews, how do they compare to the Elite Parabolics? The outer lip on the Elites rollers looks like it may help keep me on track more?

After going through two sets of TACX rollers, which were used for warm up / cool down at the track so not that often, I got my money back and bought the Elite Ghibi. The TACX have a design flaw! Google TACX Rollers Noise. You decide.

dave35

Go for a set of Kreitler challenger 3.0, plenty of resistance and will last for ages

Sprool

dave35 wrote:

Go for a set of Kreitler challenger 3.0, plenty of resistance and will last for ages

£339 :!:

...a set of newbie-friendly rollers up to but not over a budget of £160.

Elite Parabolics it is then.

The Bounce

Sprool wrote:

Elite Parabolics it is then.

But in the long-term you'd be far better off buying the Minoura ActionRoller Advance rollers which are the same price - plastic drummed rollers are not as nice to use.

Learn to ride them properly and not rely on the gimmick of parabolic drums.

Sprool

I'll check them out, not come across them so far - thanks

Tom Dean

The Bounce wrote:

Learn to ride them properly and not rely on the gimmick of parabolic drums.

+1 if your wheel comes off the edge you would just stop, you won't fly across the room or anything.

dave35

Minouras are good, bang on your budget
http://www.mailordercycles.com/m2b23s14 ... LERS/RS_GB
And you can get the stepmto help you on/off
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/minoura-actionr ... r_Step-Red

And then grab one of these
http://www.comet.co.uk/p/Fans/buy-BIONA ... Fan/235709


All sorted.

Tom Butcher

Yeah go for them - I haven't been overly impressed by the quality of the Tacx either and if you can get aluminium rollers for that price on the face of it that's a good buy. Agree that parabolics are unnecessary - I got a set as I thought it would be easier for my kids but having tried them (the Tacx ones) I don't think it makes a deal of difference.

Herbsman

Not happy with my Tacx ones either.... or anything Tacx for that matter

mick1355

Hi, my mate just bought some elite arion rollers, nice and smooth, not sure on the plastic rollers or the curved edge but good value at 150.00, and they were easy to ride on.
Personally, ive just bought a set of Jet Black rollers, with alloy rollers, similar to cycleops rollers but cheaper, Ribble are doing them for 135.00 with free delivery at the moment, that's a bargain.......

Sprool

I'm going to knock up one of these in my garage to sit it on:
http://youtu.be/StcY7bG1xzs

Sprool

i was bought a set of elite arions this afternoon as an early birthday pressie. Set up in my garage strategically between a door frame and after 15 mins of wobbles I'm starting to ride straight and stable. Really impressed, a good work out through the gears, rattled off 17 miles with a stop to retrieve the electric fan from the attic. Takes a bit of focus and relaxation, certainly keeps you on your toes. They run smooth and quiet, now I'm after some more structured training program to follow rather than just pedalling the miles at a stable cadence.

bigpikle

I started on (a borrowed set of) the Elite parabolic rollers but as soon as I could I bought some of the alu Cycleops rollers - much smoother, quieter and the parabolic element makes no real difference IMHO. These have the advantage of having an optional attachment for adjusting resistance, making them ideal for some higher intensity work as well. In standard form they are fine for intervals up to 300w pretty comfortably and maybe more if you get down in the 11/12t and go for it

Sprool

Any advice on where to look for some stamina and weight loss training programs focused on rollers? I have a clock, stopwatch and basic cycle computer with mph at my disposal.

bahzob

I much prefer rollers to turbo, they help with riding and time seems to go by more quickly using them since more to focus on than just power number.

Started with Tacx but as noted above issue is they dont have enough resistance to train properly. If you are training indoors you want to be able to go at threshold and above.

I got the optional resistance unit which helped but only for a while, then it stopped working. I think it couldn't take sustained high load .

So bit the bullet and got some Cycleops aluminium rollers with resistance. They are great, I can take them past 400W which is enough to do most routines. Would definitely recommend them.

bahzob

Sprool wrote:

Any advice on where to look for some stamina and weight loss training programs focused on rollers? I have a clock, stopwatch and basic cycle computer with mph at my disposal.

Its pretty basic and you have all the equipment you need. Do a test where you ride as hard as you can for around 20-30 minutes.

Note the average speed for the ride. Then training consists of breaking that into intervals, so 2x15 at a higher speed than that with a short recovery rest in between. (can do 3x10 or 6x5, shorter the interval the higher the speed. With time and practice you will get used to judging the load, it should leave you just about able to do the last interval but no more.)

Keep retesting and you will find you can ride quicker. Chances are you will get to the point where you can ride 2x20 minutes at the same/faster pace than you did your first test. If you can you may choose to make this 2x20 the new basic routine, aiming to increase the average speed of each 20 a little bit every time you ride. Mix this up with some sessions of shorter harder intervals and you should progress nicely. Since you will be burning calories at high rate/minute it will help with weight loss and endurance. With warmup/cooldown the total length of the session is around an hour so hopefully it can be fitted in most days/week. (If weight loss is goal don't forget any short session like this doesn't need any extra food.)

Sprool

thanks bahzob, thats a useful starting point for me to work out some more structure in my sessions

just come across a link which looks like it may be useful too: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.ph ... ecipe-book

Tom Dean

2x15 above 20 min max is not a good starting point.

The info on that link is better, it's ok to train for more than 30 minutes, and at threshold and below! You don't have to push to go faster in every session you do.

ariege_cyclist

I have the Tacx parabolic rollers and they are OK, if you want/need to add resistance find an old bit of carpet cut off and stick it under the rear roller, folded over if needed to get it in contact with the roller. Even just a little extra drag on from the carpet adds a fair bit if resistance and you can soon tailor the thickness that works for you.

The roller can get warm but even the plastic rollers cope ok with this. Biggest problem with Tacx is the cheap bearings they fit. Buy a better set for £20 and replace them when it starts to get noisy!

Herbsman

Ariege cyclist wrote:

I have the Tacx parabolic rollers and they are OK, if you want/need to add resistance find an old bit of carpet cut off and stick it under the rear roller, folded over if needed to get it in contact with the roller.

Worst advice ever. I have the melted roller to prove it