You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Some rollers came up locally for sale at a decent price - £65, (bike, not hair!) so I bought them.
Never used them before, and thought it's got to be easy.
It isnt.
Any tips on staying in a straight line, and upright?
And, it seems far harder to pedal than I was expecting, starting in the front small ring/large rear, it seemed pretty difficult.
Any tips?
Wheelie bin each side at first.
I still managed to fall off once otb over one of the bins though.
From zero to hero in 2 days.
Cheers!
I.
...far harder ..... in the front small ring/large rear
Make sure your tyres are nice and hard, like really hard, and the rollers are spaced correctly for the front wheel. Try and pick something in front of you and keep your eyeline on that. Smooth peddling techniques make things easier too. You can try alongside a work top or in a doorway for some to hold onto. Steady core helps as well.
+1 for starting off in a doorway.
n the front small ring/large rear
Nope.
You need to be as big a gear as possible to get the wheels spinning, try top gear first and shift down to increase your cadence once you get going.
I tried worktops, doorways, etc and TBH it's a waste of time. Stick with flat pedals to begin with and just go for it. Getting going and stopping isn't difficult, just give the pedal one big kick to get it spinning and away you go.
Look straight ahead at something at eye level. Glance down occasionally to check you're still; vaguely central on the rollers, but otherwise, just get used to looking at a spot on the wall till you get used to it. And do not try and use ZWIFT, you will end up drifting off in the corners!
Swap to SPD's once your comfortable. But make sure they're clean and not worn. A stuck cleat will hurt and you kinda have to re-learn clipping out by actually deliberately rotating as you cant just jerk your foot.
It's not as easy as it looks, but it's nowhere near as hard as some people make it out to be.
I share your pain, I asked the same question not that long ago.
https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/rollers-i-need-help/
This is what works for me.
1) start in the big chain ring and just change the rear gears
2) make sure the rollers are set up properly. I had to move the front roller to get the best set up for me.
3) don't look down. I put a bracket up for my phone and I watch YouTube. Starring forward and concentrating on one point helps a lot.
4) start with something solid to hold onto like a kitchen work top etc.
5) keep at it, it doesn't take long.
6) don't worry about falling off. In my experience you just leave a skid mark and there's a bit of burning rubber smell but I don't fall over.
Not much help but as a teen / twenty something 30 years ago I used to train on rollers and have regular club roller races in winter.
Got to be able to sprint out of the saddle on my track bike, double toe strapped in.
Although I did have tyre marks going up my wardrobe door and onto the ceiling. Bouncing off full chat on a 100"+ fixed gear can burn holes in your mums carpet 😳
The centre of the front roller should be a fraction in front of the front axle. Absolutely never behind it!
Use a high gear but keep the cadence steady and smooth. Rollers are not the place to have a choppy pedalling style.
Set up something in front of you to look at. Having a small light on the bars gives you a spot to focus on when shining onto the opposite wall (note: a tiny single LED job or even a laser pointer, not a bloody great MaxxD!)
Do it next to a wall and have a stool or stepladder next to you to put your foot onto.
Any tips?
most has been said already, set the front roller in front of the front wheel axle, set the rollers up next to a wall, or kitchen bench, something near by that you can reach out to and steady yourself. Larger gears work better than spinny ones. Look up focus on a point in the middle distance and try to relax. The goal is steady, even, and smooth pedalling. Lots of folk put a video on, but try not to watch POV mountain bike stuff, otherwise you'll soon find yourself turning into non-existent corners...
It's a good work out
Just like riding across ice,relax,keep things smooth,NSM (No Sudden Movements) 🙂
Still laughing at 40mpg's post 🙂
If you aren't using a fixed gear then you won't go flying forwards if you come off the rollers. There isn't enough momentum in your wheels. Literally nothing happens, you don't go anywhere.
Thanks all, tips noted. I got it up to around 2 minutes before falling off.
I think it shows my awful pedalling style. And it's far harder to pedal than I expected, it's like I'm going uphill all the time. Probably a good training tool, but not an easy one.
0. if just starting out, starting in either a doorway or against wall will help. I'd also use flats for your fist few sessions
1. Place a small step next to the rollers.
2. Front roller centre should be no more than 15mm in front of the bikes front axle centre and no less than 5mm.
3. Set the bike into a medium/high gear and bob it on the rollers
4. Lift the non step side pedal to ready position and mount the bike, keeping the brakes on.
5. Load the non-step side pedal with your weight.
6. Lift your step side foot as you fully load the other and release the brakes.
7. DO NOT STOP PEDALLING.