I’m thinking of getting some rollers, especially as I keep hearing how they are excellent for your balance and core strength. Will I notice the increase in balance control and core strength when I transfer on to the mountain bike, over jumps, rough ground etc?

You’d notice an improvement in technique more

possibly not over rough ground and jumps but more on climbs and endurance. a good work out is the “arse an inch above the saddle for as long as you can bare it/until your quads explode”….

I’ve this week had the privilege of trying this out..

At first it takes a little while to actually get up and running but once you do its so much fun..

not really seen an improvement as of yet (only been a couple of days) but surely its worth a shot for the fun factor alone

dont think I ever noticed an increase in core strength

pedaling techique and balance yes.

tbh I’ve just got a turbo….which has been a revelation in terms of how deep you can push yourself.

I’ve been using the rollers for a year or two

I still like the rollers for: steady/recovery/race warmups

Rollers are great for form and spinning the legs and warm ups but a turbo will really give you the chance to bury yourself without having to really pay attention to not falling off. I doubt either will do amazing things for core although the turbo may do more. Proper core strength exercises like planks and squats will be far more effective.

Rollers and turbos are complement each other. I prefer the rollers as they are (marginally) less boring and I don’t think they are as harsh on a frame as a turbo. I’m not sure of the wisdom of anything carbon strapped into a turbo (and it might invalidate any guarantee a frame has).