mzweili
Guru
they are less expensive and help maintaining your balance skills. For performance training your are better with a Kickr.
Cruzbike on indoor rollers.
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hoyden
Well-Known Member
I like the roller over a stationary trainer because it requires you to actually ride the bike. There's no mindless pedaling, at least not for more than the few seconds it takes to fall off.
ReklinedRider
Zen MBB Master
Thanks all for the perspectives
ratz
Wielder of the Rubber Mallet
Balance and finesse; the workout is good for long steady aerobic stuff. Crash Mattress not included.
LarryOz
Cruzeum Curator & Sigma Wrangler
The biggest advantage I see in the rollers is the acute balance you develop.
It is quite amazing actually. I can remember it was extremely hard to learn to ride them at first (Just like my Cruzbike), but eventually I could it with no hands on my DF - Still working on that on my Vendetta.
I ride my Silvio on rollers with the double rollers at the front . I have never tried to ride with the single roller at the front.
I just put my rollers in a gap in the garage between the wall and the car. The narrower the gap the better as your peripheral vision keeps you in the centre of the rollers.
I also use a mirror on the wall in front of the bike to watch the front tire.
Riding the rollers teaches you to ride a straight line.
I do not have a platform , but do not find falling off a problem. I just put an arm on the wall or the car.
I just put my rollers in a gap in the garage between the wall and the car. The narrower the gap the better as your peripheral vision keeps you in the centre of the rollers.
I also use a mirror on the wall in front of the bike to watch the front tire.
Riding the rollers teaches you to ride a straight line.
I do not have a platform , but do not find falling off a problem. I just put an arm on the wall or the car.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
Along with riding in Winter. Before rollers I stopped riding with the onset of cold, and the first rides of the new year were greatly foreshortened by my lost stamina.
I found I didn't need to see the font tire if I could align the BB with reference points a few feet in front. In my case the DVDs below the TV screen framed my safe space. Keep it to the right of the six seasons of "Corner Gas" and to the left of Ken Burns "Civil War".
I appreciate the perspectives this thread has highlighted. I have yet to ride Silvio on rollers but unless we get a huge dollop of global warming soon MN will succumb to cold air invasion from the Canadian prairies. After all the barb wire between here and the Arctic Circle can only forestall the cold for so long. I have a few more things to think about and look out for as time runs out on outdoor riding and my date with the rollers looms large.
mzweili
Guru
That's exacly what I'm used too.
But I will try it with the front wheel no the single roller just to see how it feels.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
I just finished 10 miles riding Silvio 30 on rollers using configuration (a) with an average speed of 7.9mph. I tried (b) but it didn't feel as stable. I am happy to say I can master this combination. It'll take some time to build up my reflexes. I started out the first 5 miles with my right elbow steadying me against my vertical support. Eventually I was able to ride on the rollers for a brief few seconds that gradually extended to occasional 20-30 second spurts.
My front wheel slipped off about 10 times but I was able to catch myself and didn't fall over until about mile 8. I slipped off and the next thing I knew I was on the floor with the bike and the roller frame on top of me. That's never happened before. Not hurt but it took me about half a minute to figure out how to untangle myself.
My next task is to build a frame that will prevent the front wheel from sliding off to the floor and to prevent the bike from rolling backwards off the frame. That rolling backwards is very annoying.
There's room for improvement as I have discovered there always is when riding Silvio and now I have an official first data point.
My front wheel slipped off about 10 times but I was able to catch myself and didn't fall over until about mile 8. I slipped off and the next thing I knew I was on the floor with the bike and the roller frame on top of me. That's never happened before. Not hurt but it took me about half a minute to figure out how to untangle myself.
My next task is to build a frame that will prevent the front wheel from sliding off to the floor and to prevent the bike from rolling backwards off the frame. That rolling backwards is very annoying.
There's room for improvement as I have discovered there always is when riding Silvio and now I have an official first data point.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
One more bit of trivia; rollers are a much more strenuous ride. My Polar heart rate monitor recorded an average 125bpm and 676 calories. That works out to about 67.6 cal/mile, whereas on the street the average is 30-38. My ride quality, average speed * 10 / bpm was 0.63 where my street value is 1.2.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
Update after 127 miles on rollers.
First off, a big thank you to Larry for suggesting the frame. The frame pretty much eliminates the problem of falling off. When a wheel slips off the bike stops and it's a non-issue. The only time I've fallen since the frame was when I tried to ride clipped in on the third day. The front wheel slipped off and I was not able to unclip my left foot fast enough and down I went. I may eventually clip in again but for now I am riding with platform pedals.
Here is the frame and bike
I found through trial and error that the front roller needs to be almost right under the axle. I originally had it about 2" further to the left. When pedaling the bike rocks slightly forward and backwards at certain pedal cadences. All my bikes have exhibited this tendency but I thought the Q-rings made it more pronounced. In any case once cadence gets sufficiently fast the rocking diminishes. One artifact of the rocking with the left roller 2" further to the left was when the bike rocked backwards the rear wheel would momentarily disengage from the rear front roller and I could feel it through the front wheel as wheel slip. With the front axle almost right over the left roller the rear wheel stays engaged with both rollers.
Here's the view from the cab. I never see the front wheel but so long as I keep the boom centered in the screen and my legs aren't hitting the orange snow pole on the left, and my right elbow isn't hitting the support on the right then I am on the rollers. I use a floor fan for cooling that can be turned on and off through a remote control.
My performance has improved from my initial 10 mile avg 7.9 mph to 12 miles with avg 10.0 mph. There's still plenty of room for improvement. I am riding in the little Q-ring chain ring. On the road that ring has a maximum speed of just short of 20 mph.
First off, a big thank you to Larry for suggesting the frame. The frame pretty much eliminates the problem of falling off. When a wheel slips off the bike stops and it's a non-issue. The only time I've fallen since the frame was when I tried to ride clipped in on the third day. The front wheel slipped off and I was not able to unclip my left foot fast enough and down I went. I may eventually clip in again but for now I am riding with platform pedals.
Here is the frame and bike
I found through trial and error that the front roller needs to be almost right under the axle. I originally had it about 2" further to the left. When pedaling the bike rocks slightly forward and backwards at certain pedal cadences. All my bikes have exhibited this tendency but I thought the Q-rings made it more pronounced. In any case once cadence gets sufficiently fast the rocking diminishes. One artifact of the rocking with the left roller 2" further to the left was when the bike rocked backwards the rear wheel would momentarily disengage from the rear front roller and I could feel it through the front wheel as wheel slip. With the front axle almost right over the left roller the rear wheel stays engaged with both rollers.
Here's the view from the cab. I never see the front wheel but so long as I keep the boom centered in the screen and my legs aren't hitting the orange snow pole on the left, and my right elbow isn't hitting the support on the right then I am on the rollers. I use a floor fan for cooling that can be turned on and off through a remote control.
My performance has improved from my initial 10 mile avg 7.9 mph to 12 miles with avg 10.0 mph. There's still plenty of room for improvement. I am riding in the little Q-ring chain ring. On the road that ring has a maximum speed of just short of 20 mph.
RojoRacing
Donut Powered Wise-guy
I have these rollers and they are great at eliminating any forward to back rocking. They are also nice when jumping out of the saddle for a hard sprint. The little wheels on the side work good to remind you of the edges while still keeping to rolling. I bought them like 6 years ago and they probably only have about 15hrs on them, I have a hard to time riding inside at all.
http://www.insideride.com/
http://www.insideride.com/
hoyden
Well-Known Member
Well that's very clever. I will have to make a run to Axeman to see if I can find some suitable rollers and little wheels to add to my setup.
hoyden
Well-Known Member
This morning I went to ride and noticed the front tire was low on air and upon pumping it up and riding I immediately noticed the tire had an out of round thump and several lumps in the sidewall. Upon taking the tire off I could see that the inner rubber was worn through over about a foot of inner circumference and had severed the layers of cords. The tire had an armadillo skin tire liner. I wonder if riding on rollers puts more stress on the tire or if the tire simply failed prematurely. The Kenda West tire had 1,251 miles. I went out to the garage and rescued my original Panaracer tires and put one on the front. Wow, what a difference in ride. My average speed jumped from 10.1 mph to 11.1 mph and with an all-out effort I can ride 13.5 mph. Some of that difference is due to inflation pressure; 120 psi for the Panaracer vs 85 for the K-West. In any case I plan to leave the Panaracer on the front because I do like the ride and there's less chance of flattening on rollers vs on the street.
ReklinedRider
Zen MBB Master
Sunny with a high of 63deg F tomorrow. Come on down!
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Sunny and a high of 30 C (86 F) tomorrow!!! Come on OVER and Under!
Zzzorse
Zen MBB Master
Just $3000 Canadian for the flight from Québec to Adelaide per adult. One way, because he won't want to go back north.
super slim
Zen MBB Master
Try flying the Safest airline in the world - Qantas - AND it is half the price at approx $2,500 AU or CAD return, or $1,500 one way, from Adelaide to Vancouver, as I have done it twice in 6 years! AND a bike box 1.4*0.88*0.3 m does not cost anything extra for luggage!
