To roll on rollers or?

[Tangled Tango]

I have the opportunity to purchase a set of rollers for a steal. My question is; how benificial is it to train on rollers? Obviously I´m talking about off season training. I live in a region that has a lot of rain through the winter, so I´m basically off the bike and in the gym. Any replies will be much appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DarkWarrior]

From my limited experience with rollers, they are beneficial for developing your aerobic base, learning to pedal fluidly at various cadences and improving your bike handling skills. But, if you plan to do serious interval training, I would suggest a fluid trainer.

 

[orbeas]

rollers

Rollers are as hard to ride as you want to make them.
just becarefull on what tyres you use as the super gripy ones make it hard to pedal, I use the cheapest Vittoria tubs and they are not a problem.
try keeping pedal revs at 90 -100 rpm and just move up the gears, you should be able to ride 53 x 16 at these revs at around 25mph for a good workout, watching TV/videos helps stopping you getting bored.
increase the speed gradually in 5 minute increases and then a 10 minute cool down.

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

I like rollers for an easy workout, more like active rest. It is much easier to use a resistance trainer for a hard workout where you are putting out a lot of power.

LeMond Revolution...

 

[brianf7]

Fluid trainer is better something that will measure Watts. a lot of people train on the wind trainer 2-3 times a week to get high end Vo2 max sessions in controled conditions . you cant get that on the road with traffic interfearence.

Short high end intervals as high as you can get them every 2-3 mins seems to help especialy in crits. get watts up to 800-1000 and hold as long as you can.

 

[usedtobefast]

I have the opportunity to purchase a set of rollers for a steal. My question is; how benificial is it to train on rollers? Obviously I´m talking about off season training. I live in a region that has a lot of rain through the winter, so I´m basically off the bike and in the gym. Any replies will be much appreciated.

Thanks

get them. i have used Tacx Speedbreaker's for years and they are good for all around training. you can actually ride your bike,as opposed to being clamped in to some kind of trainer. your handling skills will improve as well.
set up a good fan and a mirror so you can watch yourself. also helps to have
any kind of view to keep the boredom away.

 

[42x16ss]

Go for the rollers! As mentioned earlier they are great for improving your pedaling and balance. The other upside is your frame doesn't flex like it can on a wind trainer.

Rollers do feel different to the road so start slowly with short intervals in a fairly big gear (about 53 x 17) somewhere you can support yourself. A doorway is ideal for this, but a shelf about shoulder height is good too.

As you get more confidence on the rollers you can try all sorts of things like taking your hand off the bars, pedaling with one foot (great for smoothing out your pedal stroke) and riding with the bike sitting backwards on the rollers (this makes the bike much less stable).

IMHO rollers are one of the most under rated training aids ever.

 

[ElChingon]

Agreed, get the rollers!

You can do some killer workouts, not only improves leg speed which is what you want for all aspects of cycling but your control on the bike. You'll be riding in a straight line when everyone else is zig-zagging like a snake on the road. You will eventually get good enough to do sprints on them, talk about control, you'll be rock solid!

 

[veganrob]

Rollers. Absolutely. I have no problem doing intervals, seated sprints, whatever. I have the TruTrainer rollers, they are the BEST.
Rear wheel trainers are just godawful boring.

 

[TourLeTour]

I say get them. I inherited a set many years ago, and spent several hours trying to ride on them. Never really got very far, but I see that as my failure. Now I have a great home trainer (a Tacx Fortius, that links up to my computer and lets me race against my past efforts or other people on line) but I am still looking at getting another set of rollers just for the bike control and fluidity that I hope they would give. Having said that, I admire these ideas hugely:

As you get more confidence on the rollers you can try all sorts of things like taking your hand off the bars, pedaling with one foot (great for smoothing out your pedal stroke) and riding with the bike sitting backwards on the rollers (this makes the bike much less stable).

but they sound like a quick way to land in hospital to me!

 

[42x16ss]

This is tricky stuff to do! It was a couple of weeks before I was confident enough to use my water bottle and a couple of months before I could use no hands for more than a second or two. It is amazing how much it improves your day to day riding in little ways.

After a full pre season prep of using rollers you should be confident enough to do a good 30 minute interval workout and hit cadences that you never thought were possible. When you can do things like bunny hop off the rollers, stand up on the pedals or hit 200 rpm+ you finish your roller sessions with a smile too.

 

[TourLeTour]

This is tricky stuff to do! It was a couple of weeks before I was confident enough to use my water bottle and a couple of months before I could use no hands for more than a second or two. It is amazing how much it improves your day to day riding in little ways.

After a full pre season prep of using rollers you should be confident enough to do a good 30 minute interval workout and hit cadences that you never thought were possible. When you can do things like bunny hop off the rollers, stand up on the pedals or hit 200 rpm+ you finish your roller sessions with a smile too.

I feel a little bit inadequate... But I have to say racing in Germany now I think there are a fair few in the bunches who do have that level of control. Right, I am getting me some rollers.

 

[Tangled Tango]

Thanks a lot for all the input. I figured I´d get them, but wanted to bounce it off the forum first. I do hate my rear wheel stationary trainer..........don´t like the pressure it puts on my bike. So rollers it is. Thanks again all!