Disagree on that.

But, one of my favorite stories, and I know this to be the audience that will (well most will) appreciate it.

Nobody with a Cinelli roller story??? Amazing that a company that built such desirable bikes built such a tortuous/terrible creation as the rollers sold with ‘Cinelli’ boldly emblazoned upon them. They still did much to improve one’s riding style. Ah, but I digress, it’s time for a Cinelli Roller story. I swear everything I write below is the absolute truth. No fabrications. No exaggerations.

Winter was coming upon us up in the Northeast in 1972, and while I had no interest in riding any of my stable out on the sandy, salt encrusted roads in the Boston area, I was interested in maintaining, not to mention improving, my general riding condition and style. So I asked dear old Dad if I could borrow his Cinelli rollers for the duration. He’d not used them in some years, and was quite pleased to see them disappear, along with my tail lights. (In his prime Dad used to ride rollers at North Station as an advertisement for the 6-Day bike race in the Boston Garden arena).

Since I lived on the second floor of a three-floor apartment building, I thought it would be neighborly to advise those in the apartment directly below mine as to what I was about to do, and to let them know it would be fine to tell me to knock it off. They weren’t home… So back up to my apartment. The rollers were set up in the ‘living room’, next to a wall, and on the carpet. I don’t know how long I rode for, 30 minutes to an hour I guess. Worked up a prime sweat, so took a shower before heading off to somewhere. On the way out the front door of the building I could hear that my downstairs neighbors were home (we were friends) so I knocked on the door. This was about 44 years ago, so I don’t remember their names, but Tom and Alice, who lived across the hall from me, were among the others there. When the door was opened to me, almost in unison they all exclaimed, “DID YOU FEEL THAT!?!?)

“Ummmm, feel what?”

“The vibration.” Unbelievable! We thought the boiler was going to explode!”

“Ummmm, no, I’m just getting in… “ That was the end of my roller riding there. When I picked the rollers up to return them to Dad, I noticed that the 6 Universal Brake Pads that served as ‘feet’ had chewed their way down through the carpet…