I know they were going to be hard but..... Was exactly like this: LOL
I have lifted some tips from websites/youtube but I think I need to start in a Doorway > Wall > 2 weeks later maybe success?
Move the front roller slightly further back, go faster, wear proper cycling clothing, forget the air mattress. Lucky he's got his helmet on :-)))
Yeh when I tried I think the front roller on mine was a little too far back so more twitchy - I have moved it back so will try again 🙂
You just need something to take your mind off the riding on rollers thing, like F1 driver Bruno Senna
Hmm - mabye in a few months 😉
Brilliant... head in his hands at the end thinking - WTF did I buy this thing!
Got mine for the odd 30mins in the evening without it being clamped to a turbo 🙂
Take it slowly - door frame is a good start, don't look down and try and relax - also don't start off in a gear thats too easy otherwise you'll never get the wheels up to speed fast enough
Cheers Duc - I am going to master this 😉
Rollers are not an instant thing to master, once you get to grips with them you will wonder why you ever had a problem. Worth sticking with it as thet are a really good work out and you use the bike / gears exactly as you would normally.
Totally agree with Duc re using a gear that's too low.
Sometimes I find the front roller takes a while to get up to speed, probably down to the drive belt being a bit tired. If the front roller is not up to speed you have no stability and you are off.
I tend to brace with one arm on the shed wall / roof until both wheels are spinning well.
My rollers are not tapered which means you can easily wander across to the side of the rollers, because of this I tend to keep an eye on the front wheel position on the roller and constantly adjust. If you have tapered rollers I guess you tend to stay more central.
Once you get going try to develop a smooth cycling action as opposed to just pushing hard on the downstroke, this avoids bouncing on the rollers which can lead to dropping offf the edge.
We are all different in how we learn, I suspect with rollers it just comes down to practice, stick with it.
The guy in the 1st vid is riding a single speed / fixed thingy - it's proabaly in the wrong gearing for rollers - as he pushes down with his right leg he veers off to the lefy - light gearing to get going would help him and he's showing us one of the main reasons for riding rollers (to correct the imbalance) but it's getting in the way of him even starting.
Hands on the top - look ahead, light, light spin to start with, it's just the getting on and off that makes them difficult - so walls, doorways, sofa's etc help with this.
Good luck
They are tapered so maybe easier for the beginner - cheers for the tips 🙂
Having looked at that video another thought..
I use a stool next to the rollers to get on and off the bike.
Not so important getting on, but when you dismount, intentionally or otherwise a quick foot onto the stool gives stability.
Obvious one this, but don't clip in until you are really confident, I use pedals with SPD clip on one side and plain on the other.
Coming off rollers at speed whilst clipped in would be a mess.
Yeah thats definetly good advice - hands on the tops to start with - forgot that - starting gear for me tends to be about just on the highside of halfway through the casette on the small ring - hold on for probably five to ten minutes but make sure you are up right otherwise when you let go you'll just fly off the rollers !
- take it in stages !
It takes a little while to get used to - most people look down at the front wheel which is wrong cos then you tend to wander.
Tapered rollers are a lot easier but within a day you should be able to ride no-handed on them. The front roller should sit directly under the front hub, the drive band should be pretty taut - if it starts flapping around it'll come off and then the front roller rapidly stops and you fall off.
Fixed gear makes it a lot simpler as well although using a normal road bike is fine too.
Roller tip: use a front light, look at where it points on the garage door or wall, try and keep it within bounds. Watching the light means you can't look down. That really helps when learning. Fixed gear is a little easier too (no flywheel).
Oh and relax the shoulders. A vice grip is certain to make you unstable.
FWIW my 10yo rides my 3.5in Kreitler rollers on his semi-knobbly 24" Kona without much trouble, 😯
[size=5]I DID IT[/size]
20 mins on the rollers to my ipod - cheers guys - setup properly and although not too pretty by the end I was pretty steady - YEYEYEYEYYEY !