Roller Convert
 

Well I sold my trainer and bought some rollers. I am officially converted. The rollers are so much fun. It took a litte getting used to, but after about 15 minutes I was able to ride with no hands and all that.

/Just sharing.

post of the day.

I thought so. After all, what do friends do? They share.

Just an FYI to anyone adding addition tension to rollers via towel, garments, etc. It needs to be non-flammable and have a high melt point. I burnt up a smallish (what I thought was cotton) blanket last week. A minute into the spin and the smell of smoke:o

Cool. I am a new roller guy myself. Never used trainers much but did not like them much when I did. The rollers are definitely more interesting.

I also love my rollers. Mag unit on the way so I'm not cauterizing family towels :D

+1
I love mine - a more engaging workout and it really has accelerated my n00b skillz. I also like a mag resistance unit.

Me too, if I could figure out what to get that will work with the Performance rollers I bought.

Update: Here is a pic of the Madone resting on the rollers.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...22/Rollers.jpg

any plans on cutting down your steerer anytime soon?

I am currently in the "do I really want it this low?" phase. Another few hundred miles with no problems and the excess is getting cut.

If you're talking about the TravelTrac/Technique Pro Alloy folding rollers....in the manual they mention a mag resistance unit. I was interested in this as well but they don't list it on the Performance site. I contacted customer support and they said it would not be available until March.

But, I'm thinking it would probably be possible to use a resistance unit for nearly any roller set. Might require a little finagling to get it mounted but it can't be all that complicated.

I really need to get some rollers. The trainer is like torture, but I know that I will need some inside riding this year. Hmmmmmm ... now I'm starting to gett excited. :)

Do it! Do it! It's so much fun. It feels like riding a hover bike. It's kind of a weird sensation at first.

I am loving my rollers(performance) too. I actually look forward to riding inside and knowing it will improve my spin and handling skills.

I just added the Krietler Killer Headwind unit to my rollers and damn what a difference. It was a god workout and the lowest setting and the fan blowing in my face was awesome. I was sweating much less.

Hey, any chance you could post a photo showing how the unit attaches to the roller frame? I like the fan idea better than "just" mag resistance. If it could work with any roller set (not just Kreitlers) I would go for that.

How easy is it to crash on your rollers?... I imagine myself getting the rear wheel to fall off the roller sending me head on into my TV set ala Rodney Dangerfield...

What also happens if you turn your front wheel while riding?

Quite easy to ride off the rollers. When that happens, the bike shoots forward a few feet and you stop and maybe/maybe not fall over.

If you turn your front wheel... see above.

Do you know who you talked to? I called shortly after reading your post. When I called a month ago, I got the same story I got this morning: no more resistance units for this roller. I talked with someone in Customer Service who then called someone else. I need a straight answer on this, or look for options.

I've come off the rollers three times already. One time I went down like a bag of bricks on my side ( I let go with one hand not thinking). The other two I slipped my front wheel off the side and caught myself. Only one time I went forward - because my rear wheel came over the forward-rear roller and I gained momentum coming off the roller.

They really aren't as difficult as you think. At least they weren't as difficult as I had imagined. I could ride normally after 15 minutes, though the first 5 minutes seemed impossible.

Because you have no forward momentum you can't crash into your TV at 20 mph. You would basically just fall over. And if you are like me, you did that plenty of times while learning clipless. It is no big deal. The fear is worse than the reality.

To prove this to yourself while off of the bike, just turn the cranks a few times in a high gear while just holding the bike off the ground. Then let the wheels touch the ground after it is going really fast. Does your bike fly off at 20 mph? No, the wheel just comes to a stop and the bike moves an inch maybe. Same deal with the rollers.

As with riding on the road you have to turn your front wheel to balance, but since the rollers create a smaller contact patch each movement is exagerated thus improving your handling skills and making the whole experience more interesting. I did fall off once last week, but somehow managed to end up with my rear tire still on the rollers and the front tire balanced on the 1/2" wide frame of the rollers. I didn't even fall over. After just 30 minutes of riding on the rollers I was able to watch TV without incident.

I love riding my rollers, but eventually my mind just wanders and I fall off.

I don't think it's the best for ADD-type people.

This is why I like the rollers (Minoura) in the OP's pic (just got a set myself for xmas). My set came with the front wheel guards which keep the wheel from coming off the rollers.

They were a definite help when my concentration started to drift.

As a new roadie, my experience has been very positive and the fact that I can be in the saddle year-round is a big plus.

This is getting twilight zone creepy, your bike is just like mine, your rollers are just like mine,and your wall is the same shade of off-white! OOOOooooOOOOoooo *music*