I went through a similar conundrum because I was bored with my stationary bike. The fact that I was bored with the stationary bike meant that I did not look forward to riding it. It felt like something I HAD to do vs. something I WANTED to do....so my body might have been in to it, but my heart was not. I wanted something that would give me the same joy as when I was out riding on the road. This meant that I needed to find a trainer that most realistically replicated riding your bike outdoors. Although rollers replicate riding your actual bike (untethered), a fixed roller does not allow your bike to move underneath you (forwards and backwards). Your bike will move when there is a sudden increase in power or when you get out of the saddle and hammer on the pedals. With a fixed roller, you have to be far more careful with technique (often to the point of artificiality) in order to not ride off the front. So the next requirement was finding a set of "FLOATING" rollers that would accommodate the natural forward and backward motion of the bicycle.

With the advent of indoor training, "smart trainers" and the likes of Zwift, FulGaz, etc... I thought the perfect solution would be a combination "Floating" and "Smart Rollers" so I could connect to the app and have it automatically control the resistance.....but do they make them? Yes but they are few and far between. The only quality set (No plastic) that I have found were from www.InsideRide.com.

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that these rollers were THE best investment I have made. I look forward to riding the rollers as much as I do riding my bike outside because it feels exactly the same....coupled with Zwift, it's like riding in a group (I have a 73" TV I use with an Apple TV) inside the house. Does it give me a workout? Yes....it will completely smoke you if you choose a tough route or do one of the structured training plans on Zwift. You can ride in any of your HR Zones you choose. One caveat, don't expect to jump on the rollers and be off to the races. Take your time and practice, don't get impatient. Once your confidence comes, it will just click and you will be off. The learning curve will come fast if you don't give up. Once you have achieved this, you will never want to ride a stationary trainer again. Second caveat, if you are using a big screen TV and are descending fast and hit a sharp turn, it takes concentration to not lean into it....that's how real it feels.

....ok having said all of that, would I purchase cheap rollers without resistance? sure I would because like you said you get to work on your bike handling skills as well. Track riders use them routinely and they work up a good sweat.....but if you can, I highly recommend a set of smart rollers.