In 6 weeks this southern hemisphere winter I went from a roller noob to being able to do 20sec one-leg-no-hands tricks. After 8 weeks I was riding at least an hour M-F and comfortably doing real workouts (sufferfest vids). I love the rollers so much I can't bear to ride the stationary trainer anymore.

I highly recommend the skillz drills such as one leg, swapping hand positions, reaching for bottles in the frame, one hand off in different positions, EZ out of the saddle, over/under shoulder looks. These all teach you how to shift your weight around to maintain balance.... with very immediate feedback if you do it wrong.

I wasn't about to every try it no-hands until I saw a friend do it. That made me mad and I Iearned how in about 15 minutes. If you have the motivation, you can do it.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

I'm worried about those 15 minutes till its learned

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Cervelo R3 and Cannondale Synapse, Argon18 Electron Track Bike

I was contemplating the OP's exact question this weekend... rather than skip out on my weekend bike workouts when at the cottage I brought my rollers up there for the winter.

I am comfortable riding hoods/drops at this point (haven't tried aerobars), with just a post to one side to hang on to when getting situated and clipping in. Can very gingerly stand up for about 5 seconds at a time. Can also reach for a bottle of water on a stool with one hand but it's like defusing a bomb. Just regular plastic drum rollers, no parabolic shape or fancy bumpers to keep me from riding off the sides.

Do you just keep 'trying' to do stuff slowly until it seems to kick in (bottle in and out of cage, etc.) or is there some way to get better at riding them with purpose? The thought of trying to ride no hands, or the holy grail of taking off a jersey or long sleeve is so unrealistic at this point it may as well be KQ'ing.

your experiences sound familiar.

after my first winter riding the rollers, i was shocked at how easy it was to ride no-hands on the road. also, it does wonders for developing a smooth, round, high-cadence pedal stroke. don't worry about tricks at first, just get used to staying upright and feeling comfortable.

like a previous poster said, looking around is helpful, as is riding one-handed, grabbing a water bottle, grabbing a towel, messing with the iPod, and standing up. you'll do most of these on the road, and if you can also do them on the rollers, you'll ride that much safer.

standing up isn't a big deal (just do it smoothly and don't lean forward too much). no-hands is much more difficult (for me).

i've fallen off only twice. the first time i was screwing around, trying to ride no hands or something. the second time was near the end of a sufferfest video.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

that pretty much sums it up. hah!


I found it helpful to practice riding with one hand, first for a few seconds, then a minute at a time, alternating left and right. it helps you learn to adjust your balance. when you're comfortable with that, use the free hand to do other things.

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king of the road says you move too slow
KING OF THE ROAD SAYS YOU MOVE TOO SLOW

What's the worst that can happen? You fall over. But mostly likely, you won't. It's really not much different or more difficult that riding no hands on the road. It's mostly mental. Just let go, sit up straight, and keep up the momentum. It might be easier in a bigger gear where you're wheels are spinning faster.

If you're afraid about falling over, put a soft couch on one side and something soft (another couch on the other.

Another thing to practice is starting and clipping in without holding on to a counter or wall.

if you are deathly afraid of falling while trying to learn the skills such as bottles, jerseys on/off, no hands, etc. just throw a set of flat pedals on for 15min while you learn.
most of it is mental and simply removing the biggest element of fear, which is not being able to clip out in time if you do fall, out of the equation will make this so much faster to learn.

if you dont have a spare set kicking around just ask your LBS for the plastic dummy sets that come with most cheap bikes, i'm sure they have a load in the spare parts bin.

once you do it a few times you'll have the confidence to throw the regular pedals back on and give it a go.

Free-Motion technology definitely opens up a new world of possibilities concerning techniques that can be practiced on the rollers... one way to get used to riding rollers on any set is to start out beside a countertop or in a doorway where you can support yourself as you begin to get the hang of riding indoors.

Next, with both hands on the hoods, hover one hand over the hood for a few seconds. Replace it, and repeat. Try it with the other hand.

When you have the hang of it. Try reaching one hand out in front of you has you pedal. Do the same with the opposite hand.

Reach one arm to the side. Replace, and do the same movement with the other arm.

Reach one arm behind you, and repeat with the opposite arm.

It may look silly written out like this, but they're great, simple exercises to get anyone more comfortable on their rollers. Happy riding!

www.insideride.com

How is the Beta program going? Still on schedule for release this year?

Relevant: http://forum.slowtwitch.com/...;;page=unread#unread

Still on schedule to release this year, progess is going well!

I get comfort in knowing others have had to practice to get comfy on rollers also.

My first ride lastest a brutal 5 min. and sweat was everywhere . I thought I was gonna die.
Then worked my way up to a sloppy and difficult 30 to 45 min. ride. Not even able to reach for water without falling over. I even put down a matt to wipe out on.
Now I do 2.5 to 3.5 hours in high gear and can ride no handed for as long as I would like to. I havent used my trainer in 2 years.
You will get there. No rush, just keep at it. Practice is all it takes

Btw, the fastest way to learn is to put flat pedals on your bike and put the rollers in a very narrow doorway. The sides of the doorway keep you from falling over and you can put a foot down way before you fall over. When you no longer lean into the doorway and quit having to put your feet down all the time, you've got it.

No-hands requires you to sit way up and back. Scary getting there at first, but easy enough after a while.

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Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

When I got my rollers, I put them between the back of the couch & a wall. 10 white knuckle minutes later I mostly had the hang of it. When I was using them lots I got good enough to ride one handed & drink. Standing up & riding no handed are still on my bucket list.

Put it in really big gear to ride standing up. It helps a lot.

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----------------------------------------------------------
Zen and the Art of Triathlon. Strava Workout Log
Interviews with Chris McCormack, Helle Frederikson, Angela Naeth, and many more.
http://www.zentriathlon.com

Interesting, today was only about a third of the sweat in my first few sessions, as I'm much more relaxed. My HR in first few sessions was in high 130s, today 118.

Today, over 1 minutesone-handed, several times, a bit weaker when holding with my right hand, so need to work on that. Last ride two days ago, could only grab bottle off counter, for a quick slurp, today was able to relax and take a few sips. Still can't put bottle in frame.

I mostly work in easier gears, though I now know it's easier when in the big ring in harder gear, but I don't want it to be too easy or I won't learn.bi will use those harder gears when standing or no hands.

Next session I will try to take bottle out of frame and single leg drills.

I saw a video by the guy in Idaho who changes shirts on the rollers.

I fell in love with watching track racing, and always watch to see how they ride rollers. Today I saw a video of people who place their rollers next to each other and try to see who can knock the other off.

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Cervelo R3 and Cannondale Synapse, Argon18 Electron Track Bike

I have mine set up in my garage with a lot of space to me left, so I want to learn to dismount while on my bike. That is I want to coast to a stop, track stand, bunny hop off then ride away.

Haven't been able to do it yet, but no serious falls trying.

This is my second year on rollers. When I was in high school used to go in and out of pylons with no hands as fast as I could just to see how quickly I could do it. Today, on rollers I feel like such a knob. One hand is no issue but moving my head and my balance is challenged - standing up is a no-no.
Because of the balance issue, you really realize the effort you need to put into staying vertical. Great work out. I can now balance on my rollers for about 5--7 seconds, standing still. Think that's pretty cool.

A five second stint with no hands Is on the to-do list.