I need to get something for casual rainy day and daddy-daycare training windows.

What are the benefits/disadvantages of each?

Thanks.

Gym bikes just never feel like a real bike IMO,both in sensation and actual set up.
No experience of a Turbo but do have a set of rollers in my garage for exactly the same reasons as you,if the weather is dismal or short on time I can jump on the rollers for 30/40 mins with my Ipad propped up playing a movie or similar and get a quick exercise fix.
I use my singlespeed on it more often than not,as the highish gear combined with the small drums on my rollers create a decent amount of resistance.
If you haven’t used rollers before then they take a little getting used to,as with anything the more you do the better you get ,I can even do no handers on mine now 😀

Spining bikes can be made to be pretty close in configuration to a MTB. I’d recommmend them much more so than an exercise bike.

ta, does resistance on a roller not increase with a change of gear?

does resistance on a roller not increase with a change of gear?

Certainly does ,also the size of the drum can alter resistance too (or so I have read)Small drums-more resistance / Large drums-less resistance.

There are rollers available where you can alter the resistance manually like on a Turbo trainer,also if you have deep enough pockets there are rollers which can also slide back and forth on a frame,they supposedly allow the bike more natural movement so you can get out of the saddle and sprint for example,
try doing that on a static roller and you will probably end up throwing the bike off the rollers.

I just prefer the feel of rollers , I have tried a turbo briefly in a shop but the resistance did seem very artificial like a exercise bike plus as you fixed it does not allow any side to side movement.

Just the process of trying to stay upright on rollers will help improve your core balance along with smooth spinning which should enhance any cycling you do.

This would appeal to the STW miche lot then:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC7QGFyOXlE[/video]

I prefer spining classes to anything else, but they’d be impractical in your front room, I struggle with motivation for anything else turbo related.

I had a set of rollers. Never used them.

Turbo for me. I have a decent one – Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. Fluid resistance so as smooth and quiet as they get (still not silent!).

Laptop with a sufferfest video, a big fan blowing cold air (cos you’ll sweat like a Geordie in a spelling test) and you’ll be broken in 40 mins.

I use a turbo for recovery from injuries that prevent “real” riding (I.e in a sling), specific training sessions (intervals and the like) and also for rainy day riding. I also find, if I have a day to myself and fancy watching an old movie or documentary then doing so from the turbo is quite satisfying (Rocky, Battle cry, 3 hours of tour de france history).

Turbos are great in as much as you can put a normal bike in there and get normal position (if you raise the front wheel a bit). The resistance does feel a little riding through custard or as if someone is gripping the tyre a little which isn’t natural but you get used to it. They also eat back tyres and I seem to have buckled a few front wheels on the turbo too.

I’ve never tried rollers but would be tempted as it seems a bit more natural and you are actually riding the bike rather than just turning the pedals.

Exercise bikes don’t appeal to me. They never feel right, from the cockpit to the bottom bracket. Maybe its just a cheap model thing, but even the ones in the gym don’t feel like bikes!

I’ve got this turbo

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-crono-fluid-elastogel-trainer/ Currently £150, I got it for £140, but some times they have it at £170 ?!?!

It feels very natural in use, I totally get the comments about about some turbos not feeling at all real, but this one does, its very progressive resistance with pedaling and gear change. Its also VERY quiet as Turbo’s go which is handy when Jnr FD (2 year old) is asleep upstairs.

I’ve never used rollers, but most say they are better.

I could use a Turbo though without a Sufferfest video (just releives the boredom for me) and a fan blowing air on to me.

Thx all. I’m not too bothered about it feeling weird, it’s indoor stationary cycling after all, it is weird.

May well go for rollers, tho it does occur to me perhaps the other half is more likely to use a turbo.

cos you’ll sweat like a Geordie in a spelling test

lol I repeated that to mrs jg and got a slap. her being from Chester-le-Street and all.

It’s grim to the power of crap.

Every time I end up just mtfuing and going to a local hill.

I literally just got off my rollers for the first time a couple of minutes ago. Very odd sensation at first, then adjusted the front roller back a notch and it became a bit less strange.

I quite like it, the balance is different to normal as you move across the rollers by turning the bars and not by leaning! Not sure long it will take to leave the comforting bosom of my corridor, but it went from scary to comfortable quite quickly.

The balance aspect is very cool, more of my body is active than if I was on the exercise bike which doesn’t feel much like a bike. I went for the JetBlack alloy rollers from CRC at £125 (£140) with the code they have currently. They seem simple and well made with a nice machines finish to the drums. I’ve read bad things about some Tacx not having the bearings seated properly and plastic drums deforming hence my choice.

My only slip off was a fairly undramatic stop of the front tyre on the frame and a rubbery smell.

As another thought, I use my turbo as a work stand quite a lot too…

Do any of the cheap rollers have a good amount of resistance?

I can’t afford to shell out for kreitler’s with a nice small roller and equally I can’t afford one of the ones with resistance.

The Tacx antares seam to have quite large rollers but looking at the jet black rollers or the Cyclops aluminium rollers or minoura action they seam to have smaller ones that should have a bit more resistance. Can anyone confirm this?

Iain

Rollers don’t seem to have a lot of resistance, no. I borrowed some hoping to be able to do intervals, but it wasn’t anything like enough.

Iain we have the same surname, spelt the same way – that’s quite rare!

Yeah it is quite rare!

I repeated that to mrs jg and got a slap. her being from Chester-le-Street and all.

Put her on your bike on the rollers/turbo and get her working out while you ask her how to spell antidisestablishmentarianism. 😀

She can spell ‘sneck’ and ‘spelk’ and ‘oxters’. **** knows what she’s on about tho.

Rollers rock, light, easily stored, quiet, up and running in seconds, and give plenty of resistance.

I do anything between 2 * 20 minutes, 4 * 4 minutes, or tabata sessions on mine without issues.