Quality of rollers?
 

I'm looking into buying a set of rollers that will hopefully be quieter than my trainer and will also help me improve my pedaling. I don't have a specific budget in mind, but I was wondering if it was worth spending more for a Cycleops over a Minoura or similar lower-price brand.

Everyone is going to say Kreitler but I've been perfeclty happy with the cheapo rollers from Performance. Kreitlers feel a bit more solid but not enough to make me want to toss my current rollers and run out and by some.

I'm looking at the Kreitler site and they have 2.25", 3.0" and 4.5"--how do the sizes of the rollers affect the ride?

Edit: If anyone looks at this in the future and is wondering this, it turns out Kreitler has a nice guide on their website: http://www.kreitler.com/product.php?...em=which_model

No problems here with the cheaper ones from Performance Bike (TravelTrac). Simple, but work great, and enough resistance to get a solid workout if you're not just working on technique. Haven't used the Kreitler's but aside from possibly being slightly more quiet (mine aren't that noisy, but still cause a low "buzz" at speed), there aren't any features I feel I'm missing.

If I were to 'upgrade' my rollers, it would be to get the floating rollers by E-Motion with side bumpers for the safety features, but they cost 5x as much.

I love my Kreitlers with Killer Headwind so hard, that probably half of my 2011 miles are done on them, (and I live just North of San Diego.) That ratio will admittedly go down once the days get longer and I have more daylight after work.
The fan is just a little too loud to hear the TV clearly, but it's pretty sweet to generate your own cooling air. The harder you go, the more wind you get. And you can control the resistance by opening or closing the fan's intake aperture.
http://www.calamarichris.com/images/...pyvspy-445.jpg

My only other experience with rollers was a pair of plastic Performance cheapies that truly are miserable to ride. They've developed just a slight wobble that make them an excellent trainer tool for Paris-Roubaix. I keep them in my truck to warm up before events, but alas no one has yet mustered the courage to steal them.

Chris, what kind of shoes are those? They look badass.

Smaller rollers = more resistance. The 4.5" rollers are not going to give you enough reistance without and added resistance unit.

Sidi Ergo IIs in the red vernice. (My childhood hero was Bozo the Clown.) They still look pretty good for shoes that are almost 3 years old, but I just got a spare pair, and then another white pair of the 50th Anniversary shoe. I'm the Imelda Marcos of cycling:

http://www.roadbikeaction.com/imagef...Ver_RedVer.jpg http://www.bicyclehero.com/media/cat..._limited_1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_BSmEJ0I2JF...600/peewee.gif

pay attention.

Sportcrafter 3.5 inch rollers are great. Plenty of resistance, quiet, and fantastic service.

The new metric for rollers seem to be trutrainer or e-motion rollers but at ~$800, they are a little pricey. You can add a free motion base and magnetic resistance to $85 nashbar/performance aluminum rollers for <$50. The rollers are smooth and nicely machined...but probably not to the level of the $800 rollers.

I also have the Sportcrafter 3.5 inch rollers and would recommend them. They are smooth and quiet, and the quality of manufacture is high.

+1. I have the cheapo ones from Performance, if you shop sales and use a coupon you can get a set for just a bit over 100 bucks. Of course those e-motion ones are sexy as hell but no way I am paying 800 bucks for rollers that I am going to only use about 15 times/year.

Get the travel-trac ones. Maybe even a used set on scambay or CL if you are really a bargain hunter.

Love my trutrainers. Very quiet, smooth natural resistance (internal flywheel), super fit and finish. Probably a tad over-engineered but I like that sort of thing.

That's a pretty extensive list, sir!