Rollers

Raam

There's a lot of talk about turbo trainers, but does anyone use rollers?
I've been considering investing in a set, so if anyone has any experience of them, I'd love to hear it.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=31106

niceonetom

i thought about getting these - but i bottled it and took the safe option of a turbo. i was intrigued by the fact that they have a track bike on it... is this significant does anyone know?

Raam

Just remembered about this thread
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055423214

Harrybelafonte

niceonetom wrote: »

i thought about getting these - but i bottled it and took the safe option of a turbo. i was intrigued by the fact that they have a track bike on it... is this significant does anyone know?

Track cyclists use them to warm up as far as I know. Presume cos of space shortage in velodromes and time wait between different events

I still think we should hold our own Rollapoluza here. Does well in England!

Raam

Well, I've just ordered a set, assuming the CRC payment page actually does something. It's been hanging for a few minutes now.

Caroline_ie

Last time I saw one being used was at the Track grand prix by cyclists using it between races.

TinyExplosions

niceonetom wrote: »

i thought about getting these - but i bottled it and took the safe option of a turbo. i was intrigued by the fact that they have a track bike on it... is this significant does anyone know?

Chicken! Shoulda go for it... Raam, can I try yours sometime before taking the plunge

I also second the idea of a rollapalooza -we can really find out the fastest boardsie that way!

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Raam, can I try yours sometime before taking the plunge

Sure thing

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

Sure thing

Deadly... whenever I do, make sure you have the camera ready to capture my falling off moment for whenever anyone puts up a rollers thread!

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Deadly... whenever I do, make sure you have the camera ready to capture my falling off moment for whenever anyone puts up a rollers thread!

It will be the stuff legends are made of.

DirkVoodoo

Yeah, legends of the fall.....

I'll let myself out.

TinyExplosions

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Yeah, legends of the fall.....

I'll let myself out.

Can we get a ban on DirkVoodo for a week or so.... for the sake of sanity!

DirkVoodoo

That might be a good thing.

Junior

I've a set of Rollers here man, I've been using them again with a few weeks now, stick on the ipod and away you go, getting on and off the bike up on them is a bit of an art form, but when I was cycling at underage level I was using rollers a lot, so I'm kind of used to them..

Raam

They have arrived.

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

They have arrived.

Get ldb to video your first attempt on them... we could have potential YouTube stardom!

Raam

TinyExplosions wrote: »

Get ldb to video your first attempt on them... we could have potential YouTube stardom!

I'll take a few beers first too

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

I'll take a few beers first too

Good plan! Or try to drink a beer after getting onto the rollers... perfect!

blorg

Do rollers wear out your tyre like a trainer? Is it possible to keep heart rate up without ridiculous cadences (depends on the gear?) Is it like flat ground with no wind (roughly?)

Raam

blorg wrote: »

Do rollers wear out your tyre like a trainer? Is it possible to keep heart rate up without ridiculous cadences (depends on the gear?) Is it like flat ground with no wind (roughly?)

I would expect less wear since the rear wheel will not be put under as much resistance. May aim is to use it to improve form.

Raam

Well, no major mishaps. In fact, no mishaps at all
I was a bit wobbly at first and I had to hold on to the counter top beside me. Then I realised that was what was making me wobbly, so I took the leap of faith and went for two hands on the bar. I can remember learning how to ride a bike as a kid, and I think I felt the same joy this evening as I did back then, as I got to grips with it! It's a nice feeling spinning away. You really need to concentrate to keep your balance. Having two hands near the center of the bar gives you much more confidence than holding on to something beside you with one hand. I felt my core muscles really kicking in to keep me stable. They will probably be sore in the morning as I did about 25 minutes on it. It doesn't roll as free as I thought, as some resistance is there due to a rubber band. This means that you can crank it into the big gears and go for it if you want.

I'm happy with the purchase.

P

Diarmuid

Can you regulate the resistance?

Raam

Diarmuid wrote: »

Can you regulate the resistance?

Nope, but there are ones that can be regulated. I went for the cheapest option.

Gavin

Noisey?

Raam

Verb wrote: »

Noisey?

Not too bad, but not quiet either. I had the radio at a regular level and I couldn't really hear it even though it was right in front of me.

Chips Lovell

Raam wrote: »

Well, no major mishaps.

Pics or it didn't happen.

Raam

Taken with a dodgy camera phone. A buddy took a vid, but he hasn't sent it on yet.

DirkVoodoo

What are they like in terms of balance? Do you have to build up speed slowly and not rock the bike or can you be more aggressive and pop out of the saddle a bit?

Also, what size is that allez, you look very big on it?

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

What are they like in terms of balance? Do you have to build up speed slowly and not rock the bike or can you be more aggressive and pop out of the saddle a bit?

Also, what size is that allez, you look very big on it?

You can build speed up. I haven't tried out of the saddle yet. I wouldn't feel confident rocking the bike yet. I was just trying not to fall off