Tunnelrat81

I started a similar thread in the Road section and got " 0 " responses, boo. So here you go.

I've had the opportunity to do some spin classes on a set of Nashbar Fastrack resistance rollers and really fell in love with them. The guy I'm borrowing them from paid something like $170 or so for them some years ago. Not only have I been unable to find them anywhere for sale, new or used, but all of the other resistance rollers options are $300 and up.

What other good options are there for resistance rollers. I'm not interested in reduced radius rollers as the only added resistance, I want something that I can adjust based on the workout or warmup I'm doing. Any advice or input will be appreciated. Thank's for reading.

-Jeremy

brian416

I don't think you will find rollers with resistance for cheap. While good rollers are expensive, they will last a very long time. When you consider using them for 5-10 years it ends up not seeming as bad.

Kreitler is known for making quality rollers, and with their headwind unit, you'll have all the resistance that you need.

E-motion rollers are also another good option, I have these and they're wonderful rollers, even after 300+ hours of use they still look brand new. Since they are a floating design, you can easily stand up and even sprint on them.

Cycleops also has some rollers with resistance that are probably the least expensive at $380, but I don't know anyone that has used them.

treebound 

I really miss my rollers but they were simple non-resistance ones. I think most people these days use trainers instead of rollers.

I don't know how popular resistance rollers are but I'm thinking they are not widely used, which may be the reason for lack of responses. Watch the Nashbar customer returns section, or send a note to their customer service people.

When I had my rollers I'd use my gears to change the perceived resistance.

One or more roller companys make a wind/fan attachment that adds resistance.

My response is turning into random thoughts so I'll stop.

Carbonfiberboy 

Here ya go:
https://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._1028825_-1___
A good trainer isn't cheap, either.

I have an ancient set of Performance rollers with a fluid resistance unit. Not made anymore. I have thousands of miles on them. Resistance rollers are definitely the way to go for winter/bad weather training, IME. Out of the saddle sprints are about the only thing one can't do. Well, I shouldn't say that, I'm sure there are those who can. But those should be done outdoors, anyway. A trainer doesn't begin to properly simulate a road sprint.

You may have noticed a number of trainer-tire, etc., threads on here. Those issues are completely non-existent with rollers. Rear tire wear is about the same as or less than what one would normally see on the road. I always run my normal good road tires. There is no front tire wear, no skewer abuse. You just take your road bike, set it on the rollers, and go at it.

I would have very little use for rollers without resistance. OK for recovery, but how can you do LT or speed/power work on them?

Tunnelrat81

I did see those ones...and if I end up picking some up those will probably be high on the list due to the price. I'd almost rather not have those wierd "parabolic" roller bumpers. Just give me straight rollers with resistance, nice big rollers. I don't want the additional bounce that you'll get on reduced radius rollers from the small contact area.

I agree. I've ridden both standard and resistance, and although you can get some great technique work done on non-resistance ones, they don't mimic the resistance of real riding enough for me to be confident that my 'technique training' is really going to carry over when the effort is high on the road.

Thanks everyone for the input. After using these things for the last month or so, I can't believe more folks don't use them for winter training. I'd say my 1 hour training sessions seem to go by at least twice as fast on the rollers as compared to my trainer...and I have a very nice trainer too (KK Road machine). It's just a completely different experience.

-Jeremy

grwoolf

+1 on e-motions. They have a nice resistance unit and they are easy to get up and stand with the floating design. Nice for big efforts or just resting the butt a bit. I do all my FTP tests on them regardless of weather outside. They are expensive, but very well built and I expect they will last forever.

I've also heard good things about the Kreitlers with the headwind unit, but I don't have any first hand experience.

Tunnelrat81

A friend stopped by today and I was discussing this with him when he pointed out to me that the resistance unit on these rollers probably isn't stock...and appears to be an older Minoura Magturbo resistance unit that could have been added later. With this information, I've found some other options that should be cheaper than $300 for sure. Surely won't be as nice as the Kreitler Rollers, but should be good enough for the limited use I'll give them. Afterall, I can do my fitness training outdoors most of the time, and only use rollers for technique training.

-Jeremy