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Just got some s/h rollers and I'm looking for some pearls of wisdom for my maiden voyage. Will be using a road bike and it's not to replace winter riding, but just remove icy commutes.
Questions mainly around set up, where's the ideal place for the front wheel to rest?
Do I need to swap tyres? (hopefully not) and first ride do's / don'ts.
Cheers
This is probably a good starter session:
I had some for a bit but couldn't get on with them. Found the intensity had to be constantly high to keep going and I couldn't sustain it for long periods like I could a turbo.
To start with, set it up in a doorway or between two dining chairs. No need to change tyres or anything.
Front hub slightly behind the front roller, normal tyres should be fine unless they're fairly treaded.
Top tips, have something to hold on too, and make sure there's a decent flat area to fall on, nothing sharp in the vicinity.
Rollers are good, but they are hard to start off with, and the more nervous you are the worse it is.
2nd attempt!!
Yes, set up in a door way.
I destroyed road tyres on the rollers, so have now fitted Schwable insiders to a spare set of wheels I can throw into the frame for roller duties.
Enjoy!
😯
[i] prawny - Member
Front hub slightly behind the front roller[/i]
I have the axis/spindle of the front wheel slightly forward of the axis of the front roller. Otherwise the front just drops to the floor.
Ideally the front roller should be exactly under the front wheel, i.e where the ground would be. Failing that, you want the roller slightly (and I mean slightly) behind the wheel.
[edit] I see Prawny says the opposite, that's STW for you 🙂
First ride next to something at a reasonable level that you can hold on to (or in a doorway). Look ahead and pedal smoothly (the rollers will teach/force you to if you don't already), correct position left-right with your hips, rather than the bars. It feels weird but you'll get used to it pretty quickly.
Don't worry about tyres, worry about alleviating the boredom and sweating massively. I used to have the garage door open for a breeze and listen to audiobooks.
[i] IHNÂ -Â Member
Don't worry about tyres[/i]
I didn't, until one Sunday after a 60 kph decent, I noticed the rear tyre I'd been using on the rollers, was seperating the tread from the carcass.
😯
Now I use roller tyres.
I prefer the slightly behind the front roller approach because when (if) you get out of the saddle the bike can ride off the front if you've set up directly on top. (plus is said so in my manual, but I didn't read that until later, obvs)
The words that came with my rollers say the front axle should be 1 inch infront of the roller.
Chin up, look forward, start mid to low down the cassette. Try to pretend you're just riding your bike. Don't look down until you're comfortable! You can turn side to side a little, think of it as though you're riding on ice.
It won't be too long before you can watch TV whilst being on them but it will be a couple of weeks.
It'll be more stable with the front axle in front of the roller, but the nearest to normal balance with it behind.
As others have said, use a doorway or chairs (doorway is better). It's fine once you get going.
I rode mine between 2 motorbikes in the garage but I guess a doorway would work. So boring, I tried riding flat out for 1 song on the radio then rest during the chat, ride, etc.......bl**dy Stairway to heaven, what are the chances.........
My list of pointers would be -
1) Between a doorway
2) Don't clip to start with wear trainers
3) Loose grip on the bars and don't try to steer
4) If 2x10 then opt for smaller front ring and mid rear on the cassette
5) If 3x10 then middle ring and mid rear on the cassette
6) Pedal smoothly like your on ice but maintain a reasonable cadence
7) Look ahead not down
8) Don't brake
Its actually much harder to pedal/go slow than it is to ride at a reasonable pace (Physics, in'it)
Took me about 10-15 mins before I was confident enough to set them up where I wanted and not next to a wall. Yeah they can be boring but still more interesting than a turbo imo.
Excellent!
Thaks alot for all the responses, I had a short go when I came in from work and after the first attempt where I veered far to much to the left and nearly fell off the second attempt was much better.
Still had to hold on to the work surface but seemed to get a good rythmn quite quickly.
One thing I did notice though, after the puncture on Friday on my way home the rear tyre seems to be deformed to the point it won't run smoothly on road or roller so that will need changing.
Thanks again, I'll post up with progress 😀