Training Rollers

hobbo31

After some infomation, I work Nigeria and its not possible to ride outside, I can buy a bike of some sort overhere and was looking at bringing some rollers back with me, are they easy to use and are they best on a road or mtb ? any thoughts

lotus49

I don't have any rollers but I can still answer your question.

No. They are notoriously difficult to use. Apparently you do get used to it but it is not trivial. A friend of mine bought some a couple of weeks ago and is having to cycle in his hall so he has something to hold onto and still cannot manage more than about 30s at a time.

Turbos don't have that disadvantage but they are obviously more artificial as there is no balancing involved. There are quite a few threads on here comparing rollers and turbos so have a look and you can see what the received wisdom is.

Out of interest, why can you not cycle outside? Is it too dangerous?

Melter

Hijack alert! (sorry)

While we're on this subject, I have gone through many many posts and articles, but can't find the answer: Which would be the quietest, a quiet roller, or quiet turbo? ( I live in a flat)

sorry for jumping in, but maybe someone can help me at the same time

thefd

Melter wrote:

Hijack alert! (sorry)

While we're on this subject, I have gone through many many posts and articles, but can't find the answer: Which would be the quietest, a quiet roller, or quiet turbo? ( I live in a flat)

sorry for jumping in, but maybe someone can help me at the same time

Quiet roller!

They have no resistance which is what creates the noise.

de_sisti

lotus49 wrote:

I don't have any rollers but I can still answer your question.

No. They are notoriously difficult to use.

Hobbo, be aware that lots and lots of people find rollers easy to ride on. :P

Sprool

i'm really happy with my rollers, they took a couple of sessions to get used to, i was aided by watching a few youtube videos with handy hints, but after a couple of days i was riding 30 - 40 min sessions with no problem. I get a good workout using the bikes gears and its really helped work on smoother pedalling technique and speeding up my cadence.

Melter

TheFD wrote:

Melter wrote:

Hijack alert! (sorry)

While we're on this subject, I have gone through many many posts and articles, but can't find the answer: Which would be the quietest, a quiet roller, or quiet turbo? ( I live in a flat)

sorry for jumping in, but maybe someone can help me at the same time

Quiet roller!

They have no resistance which is what creates the noise.

thank you

hobbo31

Thanks for all the replies, will get some have plenty of time to get used to them, and yes not safe to go out and the roads even worse

bigpikle

took me 10 mins to be riding solo - just helps to have some tips on how to do it as it can be counter intuitive in some ways.

They are a great piece of kit, and much better than turbos in many ways as they keep you focused. Tougher if 'eyes-out' intensity is your goal as its hard to stay upright and work at that level of intensity!

hobbo31

Wilo13
Based in Port Harcourt so worse than Lagos, not a chance of going out on the roads