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rollers on Zwift

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rollers on Zwift

Old 01-18-21, 10:00 PM
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gattm99
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rollers on Zwift

I've been riding a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine for Zwift for the last 4 years, works fine, but I'm kind getting kind of bored of training on this. Last year a friend gave me an old set of rollers, but I'd forgot about them. I busted them out and realized since I have a power meter now instead of getting power from Z-power I could use the rollers. I had used rollers alot 20 years ago, and I found in a few minutes I could ride cautiously. I used them 5 days in a row on Zwift for 45 minute Z2 sessions. I really loved the feeling, it was like riding an actual bike, 140 watts felt much better on the rollers. My body felt better on the rollers for awhile, but I struggled to get weight off the saddle and had had to take short breaks to rest it. The lack of resistance wasn't as big of deal as I thought it would be, as I could do 200-300 watts by spinning a big gear.

I'm strongly considering getting the Tacx Galaxia rollers, or maybe just trying to put some wheels and bungie cords on mine. Does anyone use motion rollers extensively. Is it easier to get off the saddle?
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Old 01-19-21, 07:16 AM
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Have you tried riding in a group or doing a race on Zwift with rollers? Going around corners is very disconcerting. I rolled off the edges multiple times until I just stopped using them.

I would not recommend rollers if you're planning on group rides or races. Especially races. No way to put down the necessary power with rollers without resistance, and even if you do have resistance, it's likely to cause issues when you start really pushing hard.
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Old 01-19-21, 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by rubiksoval
Have you tried riding in a group or doing a race on Zwift with rollers? Going around corners is very disconcerting. I rolled off the edges multiple times until I just stopped using them.

I would not recommend rollers if you're planning on group rides or races. Especially races. No way to put down the necessary power with rollers without resistance, and even if you do have resistance, it's likely to cause issues when you start really pushing hard.
Yeah I have two monitors and started watching videos on the second monitor because I was sticking to Z2 constant power so really Zwift was just recording and uploading the ride data. A few times I did try to keep up with groups it was OK for a bit but you're right, I think I would switch out the fluid trainer when it was time to race.
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Old 03-30-21, 07:33 PM
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I use rollers almost everyday, but I hang my bike (on it handlebars) to the stair structure. I can ride for one hour, then I have to take a rest because of pins and niddles...
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Old 04-09-21, 10:40 AM
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I don't have any problem sitting my rollers for 2 hours. I can stand by putting it into a big gear before coming up, not like climbing where one holds the power and changes positions, just a resting/stretching stand. That said, I don't stand much. I have ordinary rollers with a fluid resistance unit, maybe 500w.max. I think the resistance helps with standing, having some pedal pressure. My set gives me ~140w at 18 mph.
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Old 06-24-21, 07:33 PM
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I used to ride rollers a lot before I got my Tacx NEO, racked up many virtual miles.

Even using the highest (of only three) resistance settings it's tough to sprint at the same intensity / power as when bolted to a smart trainer. Far better for honing bike handling skills though!
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