Originally Posted by mocolotion

I've had a set of rollers for about four years now and have only really used them with any degree of consistency one of those winters. With that being said, they did seem to do a pretty good job of getting me ready for spring and I felt like my pedal stroke was much smoother after logging around 1,000 miles on them.

As someone who's ridden both, there's really no comparison between rollers and a trainer in terms of realism, because you're actually riding with rollers. You can actually crash - and I'm speaking from experience - if you wander off the edge of the drums. With that being said, I'm planning on fastening a sturdy handle to the wall in my finished basement so that I can set them up near the wall and still have something to grab on to in the event I start heading for the deck. I used to ride them for an hour a day after work watching tv and they worked great.