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Rollers Recommendation

Old 11-30-16 | 06:34 PM
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Rollers Recommendation

I'm big, so don't recommend me something I'm going to break at 200lbs+

With that out of the way - which are decent?
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Old 11-30-16 | 06:49 PM
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Old 11-30-16 | 08:33 PM
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After 20 years of riding them, I wouldn't buy a set without resistance. I think Sportcrafters makes a good product. I don't think your weight will bother any set with aluminum rollers.
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Old 11-30-16 | 08:41 PM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
After 20 years of riding them, I wouldn't buy a set without resistance. I think Sportcrafters makes a good product. I don't think your weight will bother any set with aluminum rollers.

+1 on the SportsCrafters. I've had mine for a little over 10 years now, still work like new.
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Old 11-30-16 | 08:56 PM
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I was going to recommend TruTrainer as one of our employees has a set and loves them but then I went to their site and saw the price -

TruTrainer - Premium Bicycle Rollers
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Old 11-30-16 | 09:16 PM
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Inside Ride if money is not an object. Otherwise I don't know, my Kinetic ones work fine but they are the only ones I've used so I don't know how they compare to others.
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Old 12-01-16 | 12:35 AM
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pepe, money is always an object.
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Old 12-01-16 | 12:59 AM
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Originally Posted by topslop1
pepe, money is always an object.
Then here you go:

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Old 12-01-16 | 06:20 AM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Inside Ride if money is not an object. Otherwise I don't know, my Kinetic ones work fine but they are the only ones I've used so I don't know how they compare to others.
Yup, plus if you're new to rollers, build some training wheels for them.

rollers.jpg
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Old 12-01-16 | 06:51 AM
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I bought the Performance Rollers as they are not expensive and often on sale. I added resistance by placing some magnets on a wooden board near the rear roller like in this video at about 0:45:

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Old 12-01-16 | 07:57 AM
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The Performance Travel Trac rollers are solid basic rollers. But I cannot wait to upgrade mine to Inside Ride.
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Old 12-01-16 | 11:07 AM
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Some, Made In Europe, are not straight Cylinders , so the wheel has more tendency to return to the center of the drum.
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Old 12-01-16 | 04:21 PM
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Guess you might tell us more what you want them for. I've had about 6 sets.

Without knowing yet - If you want them for warming up, getting smooth, staying active and travel the Kreitler Hot Dogs are good. They are narrow. But that allows all kind's of options.

I've posted this a number of times (sorry those that have also seen it a number of times):
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Old 12-01-16 | 06:22 PM
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Kreitlers are pretty much the gold standard in rollers. Spend the money and buy 1 set for life. Choose your drum size and go for it. I run the 3 inch with a killer headwind unit.
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Old 12-01-16 | 08:57 PM
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Sort of off topic, but I think relevant.. I've been using a set of basic rollers that my friend gave me almost 5 years ago. I don't use them in the summer but they get a fair amount of use in the winter months. They work just fine.

I've been looking at rollers with resistance. I use my single speed on the rollers I now have. I'm wondering how I might fare using that same bike with resistance rollers. Would I be able to effectively turn over the crank with my relatively high gear ratio (46/16, or ~75 gear inches) on higher resistance settings?

FWIW, I use my SS bike for the rollers I now have for a few, what I believe are very good reasons. My SS by nature has a bullet proof drive train and relatively few moving parts. It's hardly a beater, but I'd rather not subject my nicer road bikes to the wear and tear of the rollers.
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Old 12-01-16 | 09:21 PM
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Originally Posted by on the path
Sort of off topic, but I think relevant.. I've been using a set of basic rollers that my friend gave me almost 5 years ago. I don't use them in the summer but they get a fair amount of use in the winter months. They work just fine.

I've been looking at rollers with resistance. I use my single speed on the rollers I now have. I'm wondering how I might fare using that same bike with resistance rollers. Would I be able to effectively turn over the crank with my relatively high gear ratio (46/16, or ~75 gear inches) on higher resistance settings?

FWIW, I use my SS bike for the rollers I now have for a few, what I believe are very good reasons. My SS by nature has a bullet proof drive train and relatively few moving parts. It's hardly a beater, but I'd rather not subject my nicer road bikes to the wear and tear of the rollers.
I think you might benefit from the resistance. The problem with SS on regular rollers is you can't shift up to generate enough resistance to do hard intervals or to do low cadence hard efforts. Since you can't gear down, you should also keep your present rollers.

Rollers don't have wear and tear. No dirt, no tire wear, no nuthin'. That's a big reason they're better than a trainer.
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Old 12-01-16 | 09:33 PM
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Slight hijack,

I have basic Performance rollers,

would like to upgrade for quieter operation.

One u tube showed parabolic set that seemed really quiet.

There's a Kreitler set on Cl. Larger diameter = quieter?
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Old 12-01-16 | 09:43 PM
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Yes - larger is quieter and lower resistance and better on tires.
Rollers are tough on tires.

I think the whole resistance thing is way overrated. Do weights - turn legs. Miles/time in legs does matter.
1X week get that HR way up. Other than that, working hard pedaling does not seem to do much.
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Old 12-02-16 | 12:00 AM
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Originally Posted by Doge
Yes - larger is quieter and lower resistance and better on tires.
Rollers are tough on tires.

I think the whole resistance thing is way overrated. Do weights - turn legs. Miles/time in legs does matter.
1X week get that HR way up. Other than that, working hard pedaling does not seem to do much.
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I have a set of resistance rollers with ~4" ABS drums. I've worn a lot of the ABS down over the ~20,000 miles I have on them, but never noticed any tire wear, ever. Since it's just my regular road bike on there, I wear the tires down some in summer, but don't notice it in winter because I put more miles on the rollers than the road. I suppose it's possible that aluminum rollers wear tires down more quickly, but I doubt it. My watts are only half that of a pro, so maybe that explains it.
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Old 12-02-16 | 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
Rollers don't have wear and tear. No dirt, no tire wear, no nuthin'. That's a big reason they're better than a trainer.
Not true. For example, both a 3/8" chain and a thin 11 speed chain will wear. The 11 speed chain is less robust and will wear more quickly. There are other factors too.

Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
I think you might benefit from the resistance.
Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
After 20 years of riding them, I wouldn't buy a set without resistance.
Originally Posted by Doge
I think the whole resistance thing is way overrated. Do weights - turn legs. Miles/time in legs does matter. 1X week get that HR way up. Other than that, working hard pedaling does not seem to do much. Free valuable information.
Glad we settled that!
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Old 12-02-16 | 07:29 AM
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You mighty want to get something cheaper but still good in case rollers turn out to not be your thing. I bought some years ago but found them too boring, but my wife took them over and rides them all the time.

Nashbar has a number of models with reviews.

Nashbar - Welcome!

Last edited by sced; 12-02-16 at 07:38 AM.
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Old 12-02-16 | 08:08 AM
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Originally Posted by PepeM
Inside Ride if money is not an object. Otherwise I don't know, my Kinetic ones work fine but they are the only ones I've used so I don't know how they compare to others.
Do you have the Kinetic Z-rollers? As an apartment dweller, the fold-up ability looks appealing if this model works well as a trainer.

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Old 12-02-16 | 09:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Carbonfiberboy
I have a set of resistance rollers with ~4" ABS drums. I've worn a lot of the ABS down over the ~20,000 miles I have on them, but never noticed any tire wear, ever. Since it's just my regular road bike on there, I wear the tires down some in summer, but don't notice it in winter because I put more miles on the rollers than the road. I suppose it's possible that aluminum rollers wear tires down more quickly, but I doubt it. My watts are only half that of a pro, so maybe that explains it.
Hmm - may be the ABS, may be the tires.

Most the "good" tires that I won't allow on the rollers have glued on tread that will de-laminate, esp at lower pressure where there is more resistance. For racing warm-up (OP did not say why they were wanted) ideally you have 2 bikes. Switching wheels is a pain.
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Old 12-02-16 | 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted by on the path
Glad we settled that!
Again - OP did not say what they were for.
They enjoy resistance. I was saying it is not needed in rollers to make you faster.
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Old 12-02-16 | 10:48 AM
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I'm considering these:

https://www.amazon.com/Minoura-400-3...+AC-Pro+Roller

49 lbs, vs my current ones @ 17 lbs, plus larger diameter rollers.

Hoping that I'll be like this:


Last edited by woodcraft; 12-02-16 at 10:52 AM.
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