rms13

I'm currently using a Performance brand fluid trainer that I got for under $100 new and I'm happy with it for my purposes. I've never been on rollers but I'm interested in them for the core stability, skills, road feel and less wear on tires aspects compared to trainer. My question is how much of a work out can you get on rollers using simple bare bones rollers? I know the resistance will not be the same as trainer but if you are riding rollers in highest gear will it give you a reasonable work out? Do people mainly use rollers for short sessions like warming up for races or can you do a 45-60 min session?

topflightpro

It depends.

Some rollers have resistance settings, so you can get a really solid workout in. Others do not, so you can work on cadence and smooth things out, it's not a terribly difficult effort.

rms13

Thanks. I was mostly thinking about cheapest bare bones rollers that don't have resistance. I'll probably spend money on some other stuff for now

redlude97

Do you have a powermeter? If not get a smart trainer for actual workouts

TimothyH

Sportcrafter Overdrive Pro rollers have very realistic progressive resistance built into the drum. 26 MPH on the rollers feels very close to 26 MPH on the road.

They also have a free spinning "Intertia" drum.

Not cheapest bare bones though.


-Tim-

on the path

Get some cheap rollers, or borrow some if you can. In a relatively short amount of time your pedal stroke will improve, which is its own reward. With little resistance the rollers won’t build leg strength, but you already have the trainer for that.

Hermes

RChung

Here's a comparison of my Performance brand rollers and a Cycletek M1 fluid trainer, with power measured by my (calibrated) PowerTap hub. Each dot represents a 1-second reading.

rms13

Thanks. Someone with actual data haha

woodcraft

Wow, thanks.

I sometimes do GCN 1 hr workout where you run progressively higher resistance.

On rollers, it works by running through the gears, & you have higher rpms to get similar effort.

Carbonfiberboy 

Very nice! Rollers really do smooth one out. Always seemed that way to me. I've been using a cheapo set of Nashbar fluid resistance rollers for 20 years or so. Probably the best cycling equipment investment I ever made. Many thousands of miles on them.

mvnsnd

If you get aluminum rollers, you can buy rare earth magnets to add resistance like as shown in this video. I have done this with my rollers and it helps a lot.

jadocs

I went through a similar conundrum because I was bored with my stationary bike. The fact that I was bored with the stationary bike meant that I did not look forward to riding it. It felt like something I HAD to do vs. something I WANTED to do....so my body might have been in to it, but my heart was not. I wanted something that would give me the same joy as when I was out riding on the road. This meant that I needed to find a trainer that most realistically replicated riding your bike outdoors. Although rollers replicate riding your actual bike (untethered), a fixed roller does not allow your bike to move underneath you (forwards and backwards). Your bike will move when there is a sudden increase in power or when you get out of the saddle and hammer on the pedals. With a fixed roller, you have to be far more careful with technique (often to the point of artificiality) in order to not ride off the front. So the next requirement was finding a set of "FLOATING" rollers that would accommodate the natural forward and backward motion of the bicycle.

With the advent of indoor training, "smart trainers" and the likes of Zwift, FulGaz, etc... I thought the perfect solution would be a combination "Floating" and "Smart Rollers" so I could connect to the app and have it automatically control the resistance.....but do they make them? Yes but they are few and far between. The only quality set (No plastic) that I have found were from www.InsideRide.com.

I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that these rollers were THE best investment I have made. I look forward to riding the rollers as much as I do riding my bike outside because it feels exactly the same....coupled with Zwift, it's like riding in a group (I have a 73" TV I use with an Apple TV) inside the house. Does it give me a workout? Yes....it will completely smoke you if you choose a tough route or do one of the structured training plans on Zwift. You can ride in any of your HR Zones you choose. One caveat, don't expect to jump on the rollers and be off to the races. Take your time and practice, don't get impatient. Once your confidence comes, it will just click and you will be off. The learning curve will come fast if you don't give up. Once you have achieved this, you will never want to ride a stationary trainer again. Second caveat, if you are using a big screen TV and are descending fast and hit a sharp turn, it takes concentration to not lean into it....that's how real it feels.

....ok having said all of that, would I purchase cheap rollers without resistance? sure I would because like you said you get to work on your bike handling skills as well. Track riders use them routinely and they work up a good sweat.....but if you can, I highly recommend a set of smart rollers.

cycledogg

Looks like a lot of "meat" on these bare bones of yours.

kingston 

Depends on what you mean by a good workout. I have a set of the cheap nashbar rollers that I got for around a hundred bucks. I always thought they gave me a good enough workout since I just ride inside over the winter to keep from getting too fat and don't do intervals or anything like that. I just get on and spin for an hour or so while I'm watching TV. A few years ago I picked up a set of used insideRide rollers, and while they're easier to ride than the nashbar rollers, I don't notice that I get a better workout on one or the other. I suppose I could crank up the resistance and get a harder workout on the InsideRide rollers, but I don't workout that way over the winter anyway.

jadocs

kingston 

I just have the manual resistance usually set on the middle resistance setting. The workout is the same as my other rollers, I just ride in a lower gear. I don't really start hard workouts until spring when I can get outside. I focus more on strength and flexibility over the winter so just do easy zone 2 spins a few times a week.

RGMN

I use Kreitler alloy rollers with a flywheel and headwind unit. More resistance than I can push for an hour workout, or a nice easy spin if I need to work out some soreness after skiing. I usually clock about 1k on them over the winter, and have been doing so for about 7-8 years. I've only needed to replace the belts on it a few times. One of the better investments I've made.

Carbonfiberboy 

I really like having a set of resistance rollers so I can use a big gear if I want serious resistance. My old set doesn't have a lot of resistance, but I can get into Z4 at about 70 cadence in my 53 X 12. I can do any workout I want on them which is nice for rainy summer days. I don't sprint on them - no point in sprinting on indoor equipment since it doesn't translate to outdoor performance because of the lack of mass to accelerate.

BradH

I just adjust tire pressure and gearing to get the needed resistance with simple rollers. A heart rate monitor with a chest strap lets me know if I'm working hard enough.

Hermes

Krietler has a chart for their rollers showing power required at various MPH. I also have the 4.5 inch rollers and find them too easy for a workout but with their headwind fan unit attached more than adequate for any workout including stomps and max efforts.

RChung

For the 4.5" drums and the fan at 1/4 open, Crr ~ .040 and CdA ~ .063

Hermes

Mine work okay with the headwind fan and I use my PM so MPH is not relevant. I could dream about a CdA of .063. What might that be - a large rabbit.

woodcraft

I picked up a set of rollers w/ resistance last spring, partly on the championing of CFB.

The drums are narrow, requiring more attention to stay on, but also even the lightest setting is too much work for more than 20 min. or so. (my regular ones have wide, large rollers)

They are nice and portable- more designed for race warm-up I think.

I suppose that means need to HTFU....

Carbonfiberboy 

Use lower gears? On my set, a zone 1 workout is about 12.5 mph, Z2 ~17, Z4 ~22, all out ~30. Or are you riding fixed? In which case a geared bike is necessary for good roller workouts as one can't vary the terrain and a $50 Goodwill bike would work better.