Any rules of thumb for setting up how tight the “roller” should be on a turbo?

Went on a rare outside ride and found it easier to hold a fixed speed on the road than I do to hold the same speed on my turbo. Route was undulating and sheltered so I think the turbo is giving too much resistance.

Part of me says it doesn’t make any difference but I’m just curious if I can make it more realistic without resorting to trial and error

turbo resistance and speeds =/= outside resistance and speeds. Mine’s self adjusting and i have to spend around 95% on my time in the granny when on the turbo!

In other words, not really worth worrying about

As per above; it’ll never feel like riding on the road, due to the fact you’re not moving. There’s also some physics behind it aswell.

As long as the tyre isn’t slipping it doesn’t matter how tight to the roller the tyre is. Outdoors cycling is a stochastic activity i.e. the intensity varies. Even what appears to be a flat road isn’t flat and if it undulates slightly that will give you micro rests that normal turbos can’t duplicate. The difference you are feeling is that your turbo’s resistance is absolutely constant and so it feels harder than riding on the road. If you have a power meter try riding on a flat road and keeping your power constant- it takes some concentration and that’s the wayto make riding on a road feel like a turbo- that is unless your turbo is an ergometer. I recently tried the Elite Drivio and that felt uncannily like riding on a real road.

Thanks all, makes sense! I’ll go and finds something else to worry about!