thewalrus

I don't own a trainer or rollers... debating which to buy. Leaning towards rollers because I want to develop a faster spin. Questions:

I've read that trainers wear out rear tires faster than rollers, which wear both tires more evenly. I have also heard something about excessive trainer use doing some sort of damage to the headset or the head tube, such as ovalization. Is this BS, or has anyone actually had it happen to them?

Will rollers drive my downstairs neighbours insane? I live in a wood framed apartment building, it's pretty solid, but a constant rumbling would be a bad idea. I can always put a thick piece of carpet down with a board on top of it to muffle the noise...

$109 performance rollers? Bad things have been said about cheap rollers with plastic drums. Is this any good, or should I spend more like $160-170?

https://www.performancebike.com/shop/...&estore_ID=504

Snicklefritz

I just bought those rollers and have been pretty happy with them so far. I've never ridden Kreitlers, people say they are the best, so I don't know how to compare them. However since I ride outside most of the time I decided not to pay $300+ for some of the pricier stuff. Figured I would start with these since I really just use them for technique practice a few times a week. I'm not on them all the time.

I saw Elvis

Rollers will have your downstairs neighbours going crazy, in my experience a trainer is quieter, I've got a Hypermag turbo and it's pretty quiet.
Again in my experience you'll get less wear on rollers, turbos can shred your tyres, I got throu 2 rear tyres last winter (about 3 months). But Continental now make a tyre just for turbos, I've been using one for about 3 weeks now and all I've got is a garage floor covered in little orange (the tyres orange) rubber balls as it wears down, so the jurys still out on that.

Price wise a more expensive set of rollers will last longer, give a better ride and be stiffer.
If you ever think about measuring power output then you can get Turbo trainers with power output meters that you feed into your computer.

I've worried about the flex on a trainer myself, but the bike flexes on the road and it's designed to flex or at least absorb that movement, I don't know of any tests in that area, but I ride my turbo with the clamps lose so these's less resitance - but I've no idea if that's good science or not.

merlinextraligh

I don't think damage, tire wear or noise should be detrmining factors. Damge isn't a problem. Tires wear however you ride, if it's a concern throw a cheap rear tire on for the trainer. For noise use some padding and or carpeting.

The determining factor should be what you want to accomplish. Rolllers are great for perfecting your spin and improving your balance. However, trainers are better for high intensity training. Ideally, it's nice to have both. If you go with just rollers, some allow you to add a resistance unit. Also the smaller the drum on the roller, the more of a resistance workout they'll give.

bashy-smashy

I've also read about the headset problem with trainers, but never had it confirmed by anyone. If you want the stability of a trainer for some power workouts, roller accessories like resistance units and fork stands can be purchased. For additional cost of course! Anyway I'm leaning toward rollers, because I really need to work on my spin. Let me know how the shopping goes Walrus, I'm not even sure what bike shops around here sell rollers.

The Carpenter

I ride my Minoura rollers up stairs while my wife is down stairs and she has no complaints. I would know FOR SURE if she did, she's in no way a cycling fan.

Rollers with mag unit.