Trainers vs. rollers

[88a]

I'm in the market for one or the other. I know the obvious: rollers work on form, trainers on power. But are there other benifits? Which do you guys ride, and what do you like about them?

[danielgillett]

I personally use some CycleOps Fluid Trainer - It's quite good, but hasn't got the best of adjustment.

Rollers are better, they also allow for you to get some kind of reading on your computer of your speed.

I have heard of people have accidents on roller's. A bike shop worker told a beginner cyclist to learn with rollers...She somehow disengaged from the rollers and flew forward, into the wall of her lounge!!

[Bruiser]

I've known of an experienced rider who broke his arm after riding off the side of his rollers

Uphill MTB is good for form, if you pedal in squares your back wheel will slip.

I train for power so I've got a mag trainer.

[Adri]

I have TACX rollers, I use them mainly in the winter, when it snows (cold doesn't bother me) and for revalidation purposes (as I am now revalidating from pheumonia).
Also when you want to do a thorough warmup before going out for an interval training they are OK. Also for a cooldown I use them. Coming in from heavy training with MTB and then hopping on the rollers for a 15 minute cooldown.
I have a mechanical brake on them but I rarely use it.



As you can see, the front of the bike is fastened, it beats falling off !

[Bill F]

I generally try to ride outside most of the year on my MTB however there are months here that it is just not feasible. We have two distinct seasons Winter (late October to early April) and Summer. In the early Winter I ride on rollers and then switch over to a Mag trainer in January to start building power. I like the rollers after a season of racing for recovery and to work on form. I have on occassion crashed but normally only after you become complacement while on the rollers. Many when first using rollers put them in a door frame so if you start to come off you can reach a hand out to steady yourself. With practice you can get to the point where you can ride no hands (which you can only do with a very balanced peddle stroke). You can get an excellent work out on both. When I switch over to the mag trainer I work on heavy resistence training only. Regardless of what I train on I don't watch TV. I often listen to Music that is fast so my training will follow the beat of the music. By spring I'm ready to see the end of both. I know what a pet rat in a cage with one of those running wheels must feel like.

[bikingenigma]

Roolers or Trainer? I think it depends on training goals. If you seek enhanced form and concentration, rollers are best. If you value power, simplicity, ease of use and lengthier training sessions, use a trainer. I was intrigued by rollers, but weighed the pros and cons of cost, safety and training goals and bought a high-quality fluid trainer. While I remain intrigued with using rollers some day, my training goals mean more to me than intrigue. Cheers.

[marktickner]

If anybody is interested in a totally unique and newly designed, extrememly beautiful set of rollers then please contact me.
Can't say any more as they are not released to the public yet, but there is nothing like this product on the market in the world!
It is a work of art though I can tell you, and only for riders that want the best, most beautiful product to train on.
Thanks

[keithster]

Personally I use a mag trainer, it is great for throwing the bike on and warming up or doing intervals and other exercises. I use the trainer if I don't have time to ride in the day

they are compact and easy to store, and are a good stand for the bike

I find that the mag trainers are much harder to use than real riding cause the resistance is linear.

I can never do more than an hour and a half and after a while the trainer can drive you batty, I can't do it without music.

all and all if you have a MTB, Nothing beats the opportunity to go out and ride. I've been riding outdoors on my beater (MTB) pretty well every day this year even though the ground is covered with snow and ice. I find that riding on the snow and ice really help develop form, and motivates the rider to use proper gearing as one cannot easily maintain traction on ice when climbing out of the saddle (I don't use studs). Most people think that I'm batty, (Which may be true) but riding out in the muck is great for form and is a lot more exilirating and fun specially if you have a good fall or two (I've had a few in the last couple of weeks)

[Ivan]

I am looking for a trainer too but I've heard some bad stories. Is it true that a trainer just eats away you're rear tire ? How many hours of training one can get out of a normal tire ? Elite uses elastogel to minimise this problem, any feedback on this ? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
Ivan

[keithster]

Ivan,
I would recommend a Rim drive Trainer, it mounts to the rim of your wheel so that there is no tire wear and no noise caused by tire knobs.

I don't know if rim mount is available as a fluid trainer, but mine is a Minoura mag drive. heres a photo of the rim drive, it doesn't even touch the tire

[Xterra Racer]

Yes a trainer will chew up your tire!

I have a cycleops fluid trainer. It will put a flat spot on your tire. My solution was to buy a cheap heavy tire that I switch out in the winter and use for only my trainer. If your going to ride a MTB on your trainer don't do it with regular tires, the noise will drive you crazy. Go buy a cheap wire bead slick tire and use that.

[Jan]

Continental have a special tire only for trainers. Look here:

http://www.bike-components.de/catalog/p ... ts_id=9731

[Ivan]

Buying a special tire for my trainer, hmm sounds interesting indeed. I could also buy a special rear wheel (very cheap and heavy but that doesnt mather) mounted with a heavy tire.
A rim drive trainer also sounds interesting. I'll check those two. Thanks for the ideas.