jadmt

I used to ride rollers all winter and then stopped cycling for 20 years. I decided to dust off the Kreitlers which are probably 40 years old and still spin smooth as silk....
It was harder than I remember lol....I used to just use a chair to hope on and get spinning but that was scary lol.

ClydeClydeson

I intend to get my rollers (Stabili?) out when there is snow on the ground, but the drive belt is dry and rotten and generally pooched, so I need to find a replacement.

jadmt

I needed to replace mine too. Kreitler has them. Might work depending on roller diameter

ClydeClydeson

I found Minoura replacement belt that might work

MNBikeCommuter

I retired mine 25 years ago when I got going on winter biking after being chastised by a co-worker after I drove to work after a 6" Nov snow storm. Roads cleared up enough a couple of days later so "I showed him" and haven't looked back.

My daughter was interested in them a couple of years ago so I gave them to her. I tried showing her what to do but it was a different bike and a couple of decades later, and I gave up after three embarrassing falls. I don't think she ever used them, but they're at least out of my basement.

mrv 

I'll use my cheap TACX (TAXC? TRAXC? TAR-XTC? whatervers...) a couple of times a winter. Studded tires on iced over dirt roads are a favorite winter exercise time. The key is ice-roads, not mud roads..... so ROLLERS!



lets be careful out there....

Bald Paul

There's still a rough spot in the sheet rock wall at my old house from when I (or the bike) decided to make a hard left turn while I was on those things. Punched a good sized hole in the wall.
I like my smart trainer now.

staehpj1 

I quit using rollers quite a few decades ago. Not sure what happened to mine (Bike Nashbar or maybe they were from the Bike Warehouse days) . I don't remember who actually bought them. I do recall that my dad and older brother both had then for a while before I did. That would have probably been 40-50 years ago that they had them. Now that I am in Florida I don't see much point in going back to riding rollers.

MikeWMass

I do on occasion. I set them up in a doorway in the basement, so I don't have far to fall.

MasiMoe

Had a set of Corona ? rollers I bought back in the '70's. Decided I'm too old for kind of stuff so I sold them when we last moved.

mercator

I used to ride them pretty regularly every winter.
Last year I got everything set up, rode on them once.
So far I haven't pulled them out yet this year, but it only started snowing last week.

Carbonfiberboy 

I still ride my old set of resistance rollers at 77. A doorway is safest. I have a post next to my set which makes it easy to get on and off and take little breaks. I often spend an hour on them, occasionally 2.

smontanaro 

I'm generally an outdoor winter rider. Last winter I borrowed a set of Kreitler rollers from a friend that were gathering dust in his basement just to see if this old dog (nearly 69) could learn a new trick. It took me four or five sessions to get comfortable enough to ride for a few minutes without grabbing a support. After that, I got comfortable enough that they turned out to be just as boring as my old CycleOps. So now both the rollers and the trainer are gathering dust my the basement. I think loaning the rollers to me might have just been a ploy by my friend to make space.

Mikey58 

Yes! Still riding my Kreitlers for a light training session or as a means to warmup. Good for developing legspeed and a smooth pedal stroke. Only ride them for 30 minutes, with music, so boredom isn't an issue.

Mike

P.S. Just received a notice that I've been approved for Medicare - does this make me an "old guy"?

OldTryGuy

Gave mine to a friend in July 1986 just before we moved to SW FL where they are NOT NEEDED!!!!

Bob Ross

My wife owns the rollers (and the trainer) in our family, though she hasn't used the rollers since she broke her neck a few years ago. Not sure if she'll ever get back on them; I don't think she ever really loved rollers, plus we've been spending the winter months in temperate climes lately and are hopeful that will become a permanent thing on our schedule.

Me, I don't do any indoor cycling. If there's something going on outside that legitimately prevents me from getting on a bicycle and riding out there, I figure that's the universe telling me not to ride a bike that day.

rsbob 

Nah, you were considered old when you received your first AARP solicitation.

rsbob 

I bought a friend’s rollers back in my 30s and used them for about a year. I have an excellent sense of balance (track-stands aside) but I found the rollers extremely frustrating. I unloaded it on another cyclist when I inherited the same friend’s squirrel cage rear tire mounted trainer. Now my wife uses it on her bike and I use a Wahoo unit and Zwift. Am no longer frustrated and keep highly entertained riding with, chasing down others, or just doing my own thing. Don’t miss the rollers for a mouse-minute.

ZIPP2001

Gave my rollers away to a friend 8 years ago and have been back out in the snow and ice having way more fun in winter.

jppe

No. Never!! It’s just not right……..I couldn’t even skate or ride a skateboard growing up. Just imagine what trying to ride rollers on a bike would be like for me.

zandoval 

At 69 I never used um... But most likely should not try.

On one of my rides I did see a guy effectively pushing it on a slick roller set in his garage. He was using a Walker bungee corded to his head set for stability.



I do fear that if I get on a roller set I will end up using the walker for its intended purpose... Ha

RB1-luvr

I'm 58 and have been riding rollers since 25. I use a home made step placed next to the rollers to get on. The other side is counter top. The step is approx the height of the rollers rail, and angles up from there maybe 5 degrees. It has a rubber pad on top for grip with the shoe cleats.

jadmt

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iJYjyiWvUfZ2Nnb97
going to take a few sessions to get smooth lol

50PlusCycling

Still use rollers. Nothing works better to improve your balance and pedal stroke.

Trakhak

I bought my first and last set of rollers back in the mid-'70s from a company named RollTrac (or maybe RollTrack; I've failed to find a single reference to those rollers on the internet). Great design: the chassis consisted of sheet metal that had been folded down and welded at the front, back, and sides to form one continuous platform with holes on the sides for the roller axles and slit-like openings on the top for the rollers. Very easy to step on and off.

Used those rollers every winter for several years but sold them when the Racer-Mate stationary trainer appeared on the market. Suddenly we could go from aerobic spinning to hard sprinting on a trainer just by switching gears.

You do sometimes see the pros using rollers for easy warming up and cooling down before and after races, but I doubt that many of them use rollers for anything else.

I never bought the claims about rollers improving balance and pedaling smoothness, either in the '70s or today. If you can ride a bike 100 feet without falling over, you're as skilled at balancing as you'd ever need to be. Sure, people new to riding in packs need to learn to ride predictably, but that's a matter of intelligence, not skill.

And pedaling smoothness is apparently overrated. In fact, someone in the racing subforum recently posted a link to a study that confirmed that pro riders generally have a less smooth pedaling stroke than amateurs. I guess the less power we put out, the easier it is to maintain a smooth stroke.