KDTX

I have a regular trainer; I have regular rollers and I have tried a friends emotion rollers.

I find my regular performance rollers fit the bill for most everything except sprints, standing, hard intervals, etc. Out of 5 zones, I can workout the lower 4 no problem. I prefer to do my sprint workouts outside anyways. These are usually done with a specific start and finish line which simulates race conditions. I also prefer the rollers to riding outside when it's really really windy. Yes, I know there is some benefit to the wind but sometimes it's no fun. I also do sufferfest videos on my rollers. I use rubber bands to attach an Ipod touch to the handlebars. Works great and the times flies.

The regular trainer only gets used at races where I know I won't be warming up on the road.

The emotions, IMHO, are great but since I already have regular rollers, didn't see the need to upgrade (or add). I feel I am not missing much by not owning them vs. regular rollers.

tanguy frame

I use McLean Rollers - bought them in 1982 and they are still running great! Put the Kreitler Headwind unit on them.
I put skateboard wheels under them (and under the headwind unit too!) so I could more smoothly change intensity, stand, etc. They make me happy, so that's all I care about. I do about 1- 3 sufferfest videos per week on them during winter/rainy season.

fstshrk

That is definitely your opinion and not a fact. There are those of us that can and do work on smoothness on e-motion rollers. The lack of motion on the e-motion is a very good indication of how smooth I am pedaling.

cycledogg

Sportcrafters with 3 inch rollers. Life time warranty with no questions asked. Best in the biz. Mostly used for technical riding to hold a tight line. Also pedal form and Balance!
Cheers,
Rick in Tennessee

Cyclist01012

The smaller the drum the harder the work out, I have used a set of Kreitler 2.25 and they will kick your ass I normally ride the 3 inch ones

ancker

I have a set of CycleOps 3" rollers. I do most of my base/tempo work on them. I spend around an hour a day on them.
I probably average around 0.80 IF. My last ride was 0.819, too lazy to look at all of my rides.

My real power work is on my KK Road Machine trainer. It's just easier to hold certain power numbers for the prescribed time on a trainer.

wheelzqc

Ok, but it's not the powertap that records lower. That's what was said in the message.

"I do Sufferfest videos for an interval workout and try to hit 0.90 IF on the Powertap (which records low for me on rollers to begin with)"

Ultraslide

I use Performance Travel Trac rollers that are about 3 years old. No resistance. I use them for all my indoor base miles rides and faster but steady tempo and TT work. I still use a trainer for harder interval work. I do prefer the dynamic feel of the rollers but I have had problem with hand numbness that I don't experience on the trainer or the road. I suspect it is because my hand position changes less, or that I distribute my weight differently.

Fox Farm

Same here for me bsektzer! Challenge rollers with the killer head wind since the early 90s.

FasterNearGirls

I hit 219rpm on my travel trac alloy rollers yesterday, while recovering and doing leg speed drills after having done a more intense ride the day before on the KK trainer. Activities below.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/265376690

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/265050971

DaveWC

Yes, it is. Consider this, the only way to comment on relative power on a bike outdoors vs. a bike on rollers/trainer is to compare the resulting power with perceived effort. You can't compare the power to your speed as speed on an indoor device can be much different than outdoors. So you ride at a given perceived effort (considering heart rate or just your estimate of effort) both indoors and outdoors and look at what the power is. Now if you were riding outdoors in 70ºF / 70% relative humidity on Monday and then rode in 105ºF / 99% humidity the next day do you think that your comparative power would be any different between the two days with the same perceived effort? I would guess that on Tuesday you'd have a really hard time hitting the same power you hit on Monday for a one hour ride. The heat & humidity would sap your strength and you'd probably bonk trying to test your FTP. The same kind of situation occurs on an indoor bike vs. outdoor. That's one of the environmental reasons that gsteinb referred to. Your internal body temp is way higher indoors for the same effort so your resulting power is less. In my case I ride indoors on platform pedals with stiff soled shoes vs. clipless pedals outdoors which will also affect the power transfer.

I didn't say my power was way less indoors on rollers but I'd guess it's about 10% less than outdoors.

Cookiemonsta

I use the Tacx galaxia. Though lately, I been going to the gym in these winter months. Ill be back on the bike as soon as we get rid of some of this snow. I dont really like exercising indoors all that much. I do jog once a week, but I hate running.

grwoolf

For me, rollers (or any training tool) are all about getting the most out of my training time and keeping me motivated to train. I'm ready to shoot myself 15 minutes into an indoor trainer session, but I enjoy the rhythm of training on the rollers (I still feel like I'm riding). I do all intervals except <1 minute stuff on rollers.

On the smoothness thing, I agree it's easier to ride "unsmooth" on e-motions (particularly out of the saddle), but the value of a smooth pedal stroke is overrated in my opinion. Give me the watts, I don't care what they look like. Opinions certainly vary on that topic.

MikeWMass

I have Nashbar rollers and an old Racermate wind trainer. I must admit, I only use either when the snow is too deep to run, because I don't enjoy exercising in the basement. I find the rollers more engaging, as you have to pay a little attention, and things like riding one legged or standing, again, requires attention. I can work harder on the trainer, but I exercise first thing in the morning (4:30) and it is hard to keep the motivation for more than 30 minutes on the trainer.

thisisbenji

I use cycleops alu. With resistance. I can do pretty much every workout except sprints on them. So they're perfect as I don't practice sprinting during the winter anyways. I do almost 100% base when it's cold out.

himespau 

I know this is a year old thread, but I'm considering rollers and am curious how you did this with the skateboard wheels. Did you rig an axle to each support?

robbyville

Do a search on Bianchi10, he has a pretty good video on how to do it, links to the forum board recently publicized.

Anyone out there have much experience with the Tacx Galaxia, which is a similar system?

Edit, never mind here it is!
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...og!?highlight=

ghoundz

Since this thread showed up, I wondered if people with Tru Trainer rollers could answer a question about the Flywheel mechanism.
Do those with Tru Trainer rollers every use the quick release mechanism to detach the flywheel and thus turn the rollers into more conventional rollers?
Asked differently, do you take advantage of being about to use the optional quick release mechanism or do you just use the Tru Trainer rollers with the flywheel engaged all of the time?

Thanks,
ghoundz

DaveWC

I did not opt for the ability to disengage the flywheel. So I have the same resistance all the time. I couldn't see a need to have zero resistance and don't miss not having that ability. I love these rollers btw, very nice. With the flywheel I still find I spend a lot of time in my highest gear but it's never easy.

himespau 

Thanks. Something to think about if I can find myself a set of rollers at a good price.

tanguy frame

Disclaimer - YMMV.
There are lots of people on thie board who may want to post the facepalm picture after reading this. To those people, I suggest you skip this post, or douse yourself with your sense of humor.

I deleted all my pix, so sad.

The rollers, and the headwind unit have rectangular hollow legs, so it was easy to fashion wooden pegs out of a 1x1 piece of lumber that fit snuggly inside the legs. I have good carpentry tools so getting the lengths even was not a problem. I used wooden shims where necessary to get a snug fit.

I drilled an axle hole into each of the pegs (6 for the rollers, 2 for the headwind unit) to accomodate a 5/8 diameter bolt.

I poked the wooden pegs into the legs of the roller with the axle holes properly oriented.

I bought off ebay a set of 10 skate board wheels and a matching set of bearings.
At the hardware store, I bough a bunch of 5/8 bolts of the proper length, and a bunch of washers, also, nuts.

I poked a bolt through the axle hole in the peg, set up some washers to engage the skateboard bearing, added the skateboard wheel. applied more washers, and then the nut. Repeat for 5 other legs.

Took two long shelves and one short one.
created an H pattern so that the rollers run on the long shelves, and they are connected in the center with the short shelf. Standard hardware for attachments.

Screwed eye hooks into the fore and aft edges of the center shelf. Got 2 old innertubes and routed them thru the eye hooks and around the roller legs to create for and aft tension. I may have used some string for the attachments to the eye hooks.

The headwind unit took some additional creativity to get everything lined up and rolling, but the same idea. I used a single axle for both feet, and stacked the axle with a wheel, 1 foot, a spacer, a center wheel, more spacers, another foot, and a third wheel. overkill, but hey -I got 3 wheels!

Let me know if that makes no sense whatsoever. I'll can take pix later if you ask for them.

By the way, I also made a removable post for leaning on:
2 2x4's screwed together, a frame unit attached to the ceiling to accomodate the post, and a slab on the floor with wedges to put the system in compression. It's removable by removing the wedges. There's a small shelf for TV remote volume control, glasses, and a water bottle. I also made a stool with a floor and a hollow interior to store my shoes, and as an aid for mounting and dismounting, since the entire system is elevated beyond my ability to straddle the frame with my feet on the floor.

This is my longest post ever! >celebration<

Wesley36

I am on Sportcrafters rollers as well. There was definitely a steep learning curve for me, but I am now comfortable riding in a variety of positions and intensities (ie in the drops, on the hoods with forearms parallel to the ground, etc), getting out of the saddle, getting my water bottle out of the cage, drinking, and replacing it, and pulling food out of my pockets to eat. I have definitely learned a lot about the finer points of balance on my bike riding the rollers - in fact, I am finding it really helpful in terms of tweaking my fit.

I just started using the progressive resistance drum on it - if you have Cycle-Ops or Sportscrafters rollers the resistance unit is contained in the rear roller, and you just swap it out. My nominal wheelspeed went from about 45-50km/h without resistance, to 25-27km/h without, at around 170 watts (a reasonable Z2 for me). Awesome, but it is like I am having to re-learn rollers. Yesterday I pulled the bottle from the cage, drank, and ended up tossing the bottle onto the floor because I was getting wobbly. It is starting to feel stable again, getting out of the saddle is no problem, but the eating and drinking thing needs work.

Wesley36

Just in case you were interested, this does not come with resistance, but you could always add resistance later if you wanted...

https://spinzonecycling.com/product/s...roller-630.htm

rankin116

Pictures would be wonderful, if you have the time.

ghoundz

Thanks for the response DaveWC.
So it sounds like you don't regret not getting this flywheel release option; good to know.

As another question, did you get the folding option on your Tru Trainer Rollers?
Did you get the optional platform?
(NOTE: I don't have enough posts to personal message.)

Thanks,
ghoundz