DIGITAL39

Has anyone experienced any differences between the two, to be clear I am considering the Performance Travel Trac PRO Alloy rollers and the Nashbar reduced radius rollers.

Thanks
Pete

staehpj1

I am considering the same two sets of rollers. I hope someone chimes in with some comments on these products.

If you get comments offline or from another source please share them.

Pete

Pat

Performance bought Nashbar. Now if they were efficient, one would think that they use the same manufacturer for both rollers. They might be different models. I have the impression that Performance catalog is a bit more high end than Nashbar. But I would suspect that they would be very similar. You could call the 800 number and ask. You might even get ahold of someone who knows the answer.

staehpj1

They look similar, but the Nashbar one does not seem to fold. I am not sure but the legs look like they may be different. I bet that otherwise they are probably the same.

staehpj1

I decided to spring for the Performance model for the folding capability.

DIGITAL39

I did too, I am going to get them friday or if the store doesnt have them I will order them.

CmpsdNoMore

Let me know what you think of them, please.

I want to buy rollers, but I don't have alot of money to spend.

branman1986

I bought the performance rollers and so far have no complaints with them. These are the first rollers I've ever used though and I only have about an hours worth of use on them.

One word of advice on getting on, I like straddling the bike first, then backing it onto the rollers, rather than getting on the bike on top of the rollers. Not sure if that's how everybody else does it and I'm just an idiot for trying to get on while on the rollers or not, but those 3" of extra height seem like a lot

staehpj1

Mine were ordered on the 27th and came yesterday. I took advantage of a %15 special (may be for team members only?). I called the order in to avoid a $15 shipping charge that seemed impossible to avoid when ordering online despite the fact that there is a free shipping deal ending tomorrow. I called in to ask what was up with the shipping charge and the said it was an oversize item charge and they could ship it for $5 if I ordered over the phone and didn't need second day shipping. The rollers came the next day anyway!

I haven't had a chance to try them out (in the middle of a bike overhaul), but they look like a quality item. I am a rollers noob, having only tried rollers briefly many years ago. I am not in a huge hurry to get started until daylight riding hours become a problem, but I will give a report on how they work out.

Pete

gabe@alamoads.c

I guess Im a noob, and hijacking this thread but...

What is purpose of rollers vs. a trainer?

DIGITAL39

Well when I really got into riding many years ago I rode with a very experienced rider and they told me not to get rollers because you can ride off them and they are hard to get used to. I think he recommended a trainer to me primarily because I was young. After looking over a number of posts it seems that rollers will greatly improve your riding technique, while a trainer will keep you sitting upright no matter how you ride. The increased balancing skills you learn on rollers will help your riding technique and you will feel like you are really riding as opposed to just sitting there.

I have seen some fork mounts you can get for rollers that allow you to take off your front wheel and attach your fork to it, this would give you a similar setup as a trainer would, you could ride without worrying about your balance. I plan on making my own for days I just want to sit and pedal.

staehpj1

I tried out my new Travel Track rollers from Performance yesterday. I don't really plan to use them much before lack of daylight is an issue, but wanted to see how they were.

I found that for me at this time, I needed to set them up in a doorway so I could lean at shoulder against the door frame and start with both hands on the bars. It wasn't too hard to stay on and I got to where it was fairly comfortable in a few minutes. I am sure that skills will improve with time spent on the rollers. Initially it is pretty "twitchy".

The resistance was adjustable enough by gear selection to suit me. I plan to use them to work on my cadence and to do base miles. It seems like interval work would be do-able without an auxilary resistance unit though. Nothing to simulate mashing a big gear up a hill is available, but I don't want or need that on an indoor trainer right now.

The rollers seem very well built and run smooth. I can't see where there would be much advantage to a more expensive set of rollers unless maybe they were the ones that float in a horizontal plane and I am not clear on what advantages those offer. It wouldn't be too hard to improvise something with some skateboard wheels and bungees, but I would want to try a set to see before going to the trouble. Can anyone comment on this?

Pete

DIGITAL39

Thanks for the info Pete, mine should arrive Monday hopefully not Tuesday. I havn't tried a set that float, but the guy that made the set and posted pictures has a video of it. The advantages as far as I understand are ease of riding with no hands, ability to sprint and climb, and a more realistic riding sensation.

gabe@alamoads.c

thanks for the info digital

DIGITAL39

No prob, I was hoping my Performance rollers would show up today but they are coming through the fedex depot I seem to have trouble with. There is a delivery exception stating that because it is rural it requires additional transit time. Like nobody in my area had a package arriving today, they are probably mad at me for complaining about what a shotty job they did delivering my last package.

DIGITAL39

My Performance rollers arrived this afternoon, nice suprise I didnt have to assemble them. Easy to adjust the front roller for my bike. They were much lighter than I thought they would be and me being 256 I was hoping they would be heavier material. First ride on them was strange, felt like riding a bike on ice and like the other Pete said it is twitchy at first. Well to be honest I was all over the place haha, my doorways are wide and the front wheel actually drifted off to the side when I fell into the door.

My biggest problem was how much the rollers raised the bike, I have short legs and it raises it to the point I have trouble getting on. I can see how this will be a problem when I stop using a doorway.

Does anyone have any advice on how to start out when you are out of a doorway?

shakeNbake

Someone posted this a while ago:

Milkcrates on both sides should help.