Timely post. Did an hour on the rollers last night because all of my computrainers were sold out.
Rollers are great. Fun. Useful. Definitely good for newer pack riders. Older ones with experience - if you haven't ridden rollers you'd pick it up in a few minutes with ease.
I do agree that all serious power style loading/TSS work is better served on a trainer.
That said I know a lot of top performers who exclusively ride rollers... Turns out genetics, training ethic, diet, and determination trump the equipment used every time.
Ever been on that first outdoor ride after a long winter (up here in the crappy winter states)? Everyone tends to have moments of what I like to call "trainer handling". Riding rollers at least a little during the winter can help fix that.
Unsure? Ride a trainer a ton and then do a roller ride and feel how sore your core is afterwards....
Originally Posted by
BikeAnon
I believe that, if a quality, reasonably-price resistance trainer had been invented before the roller, rollers wouldn't exist. Or at best, they'd be a novelty used by very few.
Some traditions are slow to die, even when their time has come. Like tubular tires. And terrestrial radio.
I caught the
....but still.... Tubulars are not a "tradition". They are a superior tire/wheel platform in general and purely dominate in specific applications such as cyclocross.
I advocate the use of clincher in every instance where I think they are needed, but some applications - tubulars are just best at. The demand is still there as well. I sell far more tubular tires than clinchers. I have glued thousands in the last few years (gluing 4 today in fact and had another dropped off this morning). I agree that having to glue a tire on to a rim seems like a quaint notion that harkens back to an era where people used the word "harkens" while sipping espresso around the cobbler's shop, but...it ain't broke and there isn't a better technology or solution out there.