Originally Posted by
krispenhartung
I just saw someone post about these "smart" rollers on a FB racing page. The InsideRide rollers. Anyone tried them? I have the Elite Arion Digital Smart B+ rollers, which have proved to be THE most frustrating piece of training gear I have ever owned -- in light of power map calibration issues, countless emails with support, hours of reading forums and posts from other users experiencing problems, etc.
E-Motion Rollers (Smart Rollers or traditional resistance) ? Inside Ride
One feature I see that I like is that they connect to your bike power meter to maintain calibration.
Personally, I'd pass.
Think about what you want out of a set of rollers vs a mag/fluid trainer vs a spin bike.
For trackies, rollers have generally been reserved for:
- Cleaning up one's pedal stroke.
- Low resistance warm up or cool down.
The inside ride smart rollers do the opposite of those. They clean up one's pedal stroke by allowing the bike to lurch back and forth and the resistance undermines the "low resistance warm-up or cool-down."
Not to mention the added potential technical issues with such equipment.
For off-season indoor work on the track bike, I still think that a set of 4.5 inch barrel Kreitlers and a quality mag (not fluid) trainer is best. With a mag trainer, you can bury yourself in an effort and just slow down or simply stop without having to worry about balancing on the rollers.
Mag over fluid because fluid trainers are designed to have the user vary the resistance using road bike gears. One obviously cannot do that with a track bike. That's why mag is best using a handlebar mounted lever to manage resistance.