I had a lay off the bike Oct 2010 to Apr 2011 due to knee pain; I was doing 800-1000k a month at the time. Anyway, heavy use of a foam roller seemed to resolve the issue enough for to get me comfortable on the bike again for me to do sportif distances.

Like the utter nob that I am; as soon as the symptoms stop then I stop with the roller, and now I’m approaching square one again…..although nowhere near as bad. As an aside I’m managing 50k a week running with no issues after a run (this includes 9 hour ultras) but I certainly know about it after a 3 hour zone 2 road ride (MTB doesn’t seem to cause to many issues).

Anyway, my cheap old roller seems to have squashed in the middle; it was only a cheap one and I was wondering if there is any milage in getting a more expensive one.

Any professionals or enthusiastic amateurs care to comment.

A rolling pin wont squash in the middle. You could try listening to what your body is telling you. Also, rehab doesnt stop when the pain stops, that’s when rehab starts.

I was recommended to get an EVA foam roller as they last longer.
£20 for a 90cm length.

The main difference between rollers is that you get one’s that are foam all the way through (good one’s) and the one’s where the foam is glued to a plastic tube (cheap and the foam ends up coming off). You may get different densities of foam, I’m not sure on that though?
With you saying yours has squashed in the middle, I would say you’ve already got one of the better ones. I’d buy a new one for excercises that need a full length roller, chop your old one in half and use them when you don’t need the longer one. A half or third of a roller is also good to take with you when travelling.

my physio uses those cheap swimming floats and cuts them into short sections, seems perfectly adequate

This is what you want!

My physio advised me to get one of these for a problem in my calf and hamstring.

Ace bit of kit and probably the best 13 quid you will spend.

I’ve recently started with one of these

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trigger-Point-Therapy-Roller-Black/dp/B003HSDX92/

and reckon its ace, really able to target tightness and knots!

You can get extra firm ones which won’t warp, they are more expensive though.

Once that gets comfortable you can move onto a PVC pipe if you really like pain.

Cheers SBZ; absolutely no help whatsoever, but your comments seem true enough in their own context.

Wow, expensive rollers….cheaper than a couple of trips to the physio though; how long do they last? I seem to remember being advised to stay clear of the blue foam as they are lacking in density; any distance in that I wonder.

Mine is about a year old or something and is still in good nick. There are two types of blue ones, softer ones are about £10-15 and the firmer ones are more like £25-30 for a metre length.

+1 for The Grid. I got one recently to keep at work after runs and it feels like it’s going to last a long time.

Mine has also squashed in the middle. I will be purchasing the one above (the grid) or this one http://www.escapefitness.com/foam-roller-short.html which has be recommended by a guy I know who is a bodybuilder. He has used it for 2 years without it deforming, and is not exactly light.