umd

Hanging out at my in-laws, didn't want to disappear on christmas morning, so I thought I would give the rollers a try that were folded up in the closet of the guest bedroom we are staying in. My father-in law helped me get started and after a few bobbles I started to get the hang of it. It's... different, I'll say that. The difficult part for me right now is getting started but once up to speed it's not too bad balancing. I am noticing that the power output is much lower for the perceived effort, even compared to a trainer. I was in a 53x12 and only putting out 120W @ 90RPM, and 180W @ 110RPM. I couldn't spin much higher than that without feeling like I was going to launch off the front of the rollers, but I imagine that will come with practice.

I'm taking a break right now while he tinkers with one of the rollers, it seems to be making a lot of noise when it gets up to speed; likely something with one of the bearings. I hear him going on it now, sounds a little better.

Pablo.

I got to get myself some rollers. Looking at a set of Kreitlers on eBay now.

Tequila Joe

What model rollers are they? You can get a resistance unit for most. I have a set Magura Mag Rollers and the resistance unit doesn't put out nearly as much as my Cyclops Fluid 2 but its nice to have some resistence for spinning / pedal technique work. Oh, I also deflate my tires a bit to get more resistance.

Impulse666

i hear you can put a folded towel under one of the rollers and it'll drag along nicely. shouldn't damage the towel too bad but use an old one anyhow.

umd

Minoura Magroller

I should add that I'm on my tricross and although I put road tires on, the wheelbase is a bit long and the wheel axle is only a tad behind the roller axle, and the roller position isn't adjustable... anyway, fun stuff. I'e only been able to stay on it for about 15' at a time so far before I want to stop and cool off.

hao

roller is fun.
to me, roller feels like a more intense workout, for any fixed amount of time.

umd

Did about 30' more and am getting the hang of it, even did no hands for a few minutes, a few times, stood up once (but was very shakey), and did some intervals up to about 400W.

KiddSisko

Waaaay back when I got into bike riding as a teen, the club I joined would often rent a space in the local mall to promote itself and attract new members. To draw attention, they'd have a rider spinning away on a set of rollers beside the booth. I did some time on the rollers back then.

ridethecliche

Not like you're showing off or anything

Good job. Rollers are fun. I wish I had the space for them, but a dorm room just isn't safe feeling...

JBD

If your rollers are plastic, use a metal comb and wire it to the door knob. Not too much in the way of added resistance, but potentially entertaining.

brian416

A fan in front of you will keep away the feeling that you're going to sweat to death on the rollers

umd

Here's a video my father-in law shot while I was practicing. Didn't realize he was doing video at first.

ridethecliche

Haha, that's awesome.

Looks like you had fun and an entertaining christmas. Good!

KiddSisko

Very tentative riding there! Here's a link to a video by somebody you might know doing Stupid Roller Tricks. (assumption based on shared geography - SBC is Santa Barbara Cycling, is it not?) Points for using the classic song Hocus Pocus as the soundtrack in the video.

dmb2786

i just tried my new rollers for the first time this week. love em. i have a video that i might post later.

mloywhite

The hardest thing for me is keeping my concentration up, I tend to get too at-ease after awhile and lose concentration.

botto 

that's about the best excuse to avoid dealing with your inlaws that i've ever seen.

umd

That's my teammate, Marco. He's been doing this quite a bit longer than me

ridethecliche

Lol.

Did you notice how the father in law kept trying to get him injured?

"Lets try it with one leg now."
"Turn around, turn around and look at us!"

Pablo.

lolz.

nitropowered

I rode the rollers for 2hrs today. back on them for another 2-3hrs after dinner. Rollers aren't as mind numbing as the trainer. I've got 3" kreitlers and they are more than plenty resistance for me. Actually probably more than I really need if I'm just planning on doing a "light" spin

Rowan

Rollers are great for balance and smoothness and checking fit adjustment in a controlled environment.

Axle behind the front roller strut is ok. Fan is pretty well essential.

Look up to where you want to go -- applies as much to rollers as on the bike. IOW, look at a fixed spot on the wall directly ahead of you, not down at the front wheel, and especially at low speed.

Change the effort without the add-ons by changing the tyre pressures... that will find you out.

umd, I'm a little surprised it's taken you until now to find out about rollers, but then your outside distances mean you've probably never bothered.

umd

"one leg" was my wife

Looks like altogether I did about 2.3 hours on the rollers today, not counting some initial practice time before I started the timer. I think I would prefer a little more resistance so that I could be more in the middle of the cassette instead of mostly in the 13, 12 & 11...

Yeah, I meant that the wheel axle is barely behind the roller axle... so it didn't feel like the bike was very secure in the rollers, compared to my father-in-law's bike.

I was dripping buckets, but I just did an hour outside. It is cold and windy and rainy, so it was just perfect in shorts and a mesh baselayer

That's pretty much how it is with everything directional or balance related...

My rear tire had a leak, so after about 20 minutes the pressure would be low and it would take more effort... which made it easier to get good power, but more difficult to stay in position on the rollers.

Yeah, I rarely need to ride inside. After I broke my collarbone I rode the trainer for a few weeks; that was the most not riding outside I've done. I bought some rollers a while back but the band was broken and I never got around to getting one. Last year a friend did 12 hours on rollers for a charity event and I said I would do it with him this year, but he didn't do it again. He has a nice set of e-motions.

I'm going to borrow these for a little while.

Here is another video outside

ridethecliche

Whoops

Flatballer

I do it. Works just fine. You don't want a lot of space around you. Better to have things to grab onto.