I bike 30-60 minutes on my fuji declaration at about 25kph when on a trail, so I figured rollers would be a good option for indoor training. But honestly this feels like a replacement for leg extensions rather than outdoor riding. I can go about 5 mins and then I'm gassed. Is this how it's supposed to be?

I bought the $100 cycling dream rollers on Amazon. Front roller is slight ahead of front skewer. I'm about 200lbs. Using it on hard floors also.

Is there resistance? Are these resistance rollers?

I don't see "cycling dream" rollers. Do you mean "CyclingDeal" rollers?

https://www.amazon.com/CyclingDeal-P.../dp/B00H5GYNCI

If they are resistance rollers then perhaps resistance can be turned off or maybe they are set up incorrectly and something is rubbing or binding.

Resistance rollers aside, they should spin very freely.


-Tim-

Also, IIRC, smaller drums = more effective resistance. I got the middle-size Kreitlers and was shocked as how much work they were.

Yup, meant cycling deal, not dream.

They spin freely when not under load and I don't hear an obvious grinding noise. So I'm settling on my own fitness being the problem.

Try pumping your tires up to maximum rated pressure.


-Tim-

Certainly possible. The rides you described in the first post are short by a lot of people's standards. The other thing about rollers is there's no wind to cool you off, so you can wind up sweating a lot and getting hot faster than you would out on the road. And it's a continuous effort to keep the rollers moving, which is different from the road where you can roll without putting any power into the pedals at times.

I use a Tacx Galaxia and get really good exhausted using it with the SS for 30 minutes. No idea, why. Tyre pressure is at the limit,

Anyway, just accept that and do a nice half hour workout....

On the road, the bike has momentum. On rollers, you stop pedalling and the rollers stop almost immediately. Therefore, you have to pedal more consistently on the rollers.

On rollers, a surprising amount of effort is used keeping your balance, especially when you're new to it.

On rollers, there's no wind to cool you down.

On rollers, with no wind resistance, it is tempting to pedal at a higher cadence than usual because you have no feeling of speed.

Rollers can be fun, but they are not as exhilarating or joyful an experience as riding properly, so morale may also be an issue in how quickly you feel tired.

I've had a set of rollers for 20 years and I go through phases of using them, but it's no substitute for the real thing.