[Closed] Tell me about... rollers

Just started using them - have borrowed a pair of flat topped ones off a friend, but have a pair or parabolic ones on order. Parabolic meaning they are slightly concave so tend to hold you in the middle of the roller a bit more.

I've started by having them in the middle of a doorway. Lean on the doorway to start but soon you'll be riding upright when you pick the Cadence up. Also useful as when dropping down from high Cadence efforts I'm still a little wobbly, although not come off yet.

I've been told they're better than a turbo for pedalling technique and leg speed. I also find it more engaging.

Use a Garmin Speed and Cadence Sensor with my garmin edge 810.

These are what I'm using, concentrating on the Cadence based ones, and on about my fifth session I'm upright on the rollers for about an hour https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/knowledge/training-plans/article/izn20140529-Indoor-Training-Sessions-0

Last year I got a Tacx Antares which are the parabolic type where there is a curvature to the rollers that supposedly helps you to stay in the middle of them. Getting used to riding them is a pretty quick process. You'll be doing it after 5 mins or so. However I didn't get on with them. I just couldn't get to a point where I felt I could give them some stick - get out of the saddle and go for a high intensity workout. Great for high cadence training or aerobic training. Also I felt I had to maintain a high degree of concentration which meant I couldn't lose myself watching a movie or following a training programme because as soon as my mind wandered i'd get a wobble on. I guess if you persevered you'd become an expert at it and be able to relax and go for it, but I just wanted to use them as a device to use when the weather was bad instead of a key piece of training equipment. So this year i've got a turbo.

If you decide to go for rollers and the Tacx Antares looks like they might fit the bill for you then give me a shout by all means.

They're great for technique and a good laugh, but I'd say a turbo is more useful. If you're serious I'd get both, but if it's one of the other then a turbo and zwift is more fun.

I had some elite rollers that were great for long z4 efforts, but they didn't have enough resistance for really hard efforts, they were also a bit too hard to do really easy spins on, whereas an adjustable turbo will do it all.

I just couldn't get to a point where I felt I could give them some stick - get out of the saddle and go for a high intensity workout.

That's not really the point of rollers though. If you watch the pro's at track events they spin them up pretty fast and remain seated all the time and keep action smooth.

I have a set and find them a lot more tolerable that the turbo which I got rid of as it wasn't getting used. Also has benefit of minimal setup time, no changing back wheels, clamping bike into turbo etc. Starting in a doorway is good, also find something a few metres away, at head height, to look at. Do not look at front wheel !

A mate described rollers as like riding on ice, and has gone down the turbo and zwift route.

Was at the national track champs at Manchester yesterday and they made it look so easy! Especially the Paracylists.

You can get adjustable resistance ones to make higher intensity efforts easier to dial in.

They're not hard to ride after about the first 10 seconds. If you can ride a bike you can ride rollers.

I know 15 year olds who do knitting on the rollers (no, really)

Was at the national track champs at Manchester yesterday and they made it look so easy! Especially the Paracylists.

Yep, me too...

I bought a set of aluminum rollers off of eBay about 18 months ago for indoor use but didn't get on with them as well as I had hoped. My bike doesn't have much stand over clearance and the increased height of the rollers made getting on the bike and starting tricky. I made a bit of progress with them, but put them away for safety reasons when we got a puppy, and bought a fluid turbo last year.

The rollers are louder than the turbo, but I am not sure if the bearings need attention on my set as they were used. I do agree that rollers require a better pedaling technique, but a turbo suits my needs better. I live in a mid terrace so noise is a consideration for me. Every now and then I think about giving the rollers another go, but I should move them on really.

If you get a set with adjustable resistance then they're pretty versatile and hard enough to work at threshold. I have Cyclops ones. The parabolic ones seem a bit of a gimmick to me - once you've got used to them you're not going to wander off. Or if you do then a slight lip at edge won't stop you.

Mine are quieter than the turbo.

But I need to lean on something to climb aboard.

I used to have some. I used to balance between 2 motorbikes in the garage, as when you fall off there's a long way to fall. In the end I realised I'd rather ride the MTB and get muddy than get hot and bored in the garage.....

Used to have some and they were OK, were the planet x ones with resistance which are rebranded sportcrafter ones. Sold them to pay for a tubro to use with zwift which is way more fun

leaning down to get your water bottle out the cage can be fun as well !

I have parabolics, they give you a little nudge when you're straying but not needed once you've got the knack...which shouldn't take long.

They're great for Z1 stuff, recovery spins. Also use them as a warm up at races as they're a little easier to set up and chuck in the car.

Don't have any resistance on mine so it's the turbo when I need to put some decent intervals in.

The parabolic ones sound a bit boring...I got the Cyclops one and after riding onto them and then off the other side, the next best thing is to see how close to the edge of the rollers you can ride 😉

Actually, teaching my wife to ride them was the best entertainment.

P.S Never really got into them seriously. However if you ride them with an oval ring the effect is quite noticeable... Noticed that after riding the singlespeed MTB on them!