I have been using inside rides for about 8 years. I love them. I use with a powertap wheel and lately use Zwift a lot. At 175 pounds with no added resistance, it gives me about 550 watts, so not great for sprints but good for anything else. Mine has a manual mag resistance unit, but you have to stop and dismount to change it, so I never use it.

I have owned smart trainers, but go back to the rollers. They are super easy to ride, my 15 year old daughter shares them with me, she had zero issues learning

I have used both a Kickr and Inside Rides lately. I am looking to get back on a Kickr (need a new one as my very old first gen does not do thru-axles) because I just don't like doing workouts on the rollers. I can get up to VO2 watts pretty "easily" (about 4-4.5 watts/kg) but it takes a fair amount of cadence to do so and they are much louder than a Kickr. My rollers have no resistance unit.

ETA - I have done 1200w + sprints on the Kickr in the past with no issues. I would never attempt that type of sprint on the rollers.

I've had E-Motion Rollers for many, many years and was part of their early release of their load generators. I have upgraded to their current release and can report it has worked flawlessly. I prefer riding on rollers over a fixed trainer, the benefits have been well documented. The addition of the load generator has transformed the riding experience to that of a full smart trainer.

Because of a shoulder injury, I have had to get their fork stand, and can report that it supplements the roller experience, and with their new design, allows for 'steering' of the bike, and can be incorporated into Zwift's new on-line steering routine.

i give it a 10/10

db

I'm not looking to get back on a fixed trainer. I had a KK rock & roll, I know new trainer have their share of advantages (no more tire slip, controllable, super quiet...). I am also considering the smart aspect of it. Fixed training is not an option at this time. I know they have their share of advantages (sprint, don't have to worry about passing out pushing; or getting trowed off during hard intervals), but I prefer the rollers.

My question is:
I have a fixed roller, should I switch to a e-motion?

The inside ride rollers are significantly better than regular rollers.

If you switch, you will not be disappointed. Just consider the smart resistance option.

Let me know your thoughts on Elite Nero. I am interested in those. I much prefer riding rollers than trainers. I don't need to maximize bike fitness indoors anyway. I have swim and run to focus on plus I am XC skiing again, so indoor bike is just to get ready to ride outdoors, not for optimized bike fitness....I'll get that on the road. What do you know about erg mode on the Elite Nero.

Since I bought the E-Motion, 100% of my indoors training has been on it. (Disclaimer, I don't train on a TT bike).
I have the model with servo-resistance remote control (dumb version).
Enough for all types of efforts. At level IV you can coast at 250-300 watts and sprint at more than 1200-1400 watts.
You have to learn to be balanced though...
Very "natural" feeling. Not comparable to other moving rollers.
Only drawback is when Zwifting with a dumb E-MOtion, I'm always late adjusting the power needed when terrain goes up.

Louis :-)

Before settling on the E-Motions, give Tru Trainer rollers serious consideration.

Hi Dev, short story: My son-in-law is racing at elite level in Europe. He owns an Elite Nero. He brings it home when he comes in the winter. He tried my E-Motion = He bought one the next week.

Louis :-)

With all due respect, the Trutrainer is fine as a rigid roller, but is not on par with motion rollers. The motion enhances the experience considerably.

I'm curious about experience with the smart resistance unit. I understand it is not very accurate, but with an external power source does it work well on something like Zwift?

thanks, and this is the exact point of my thread. I have a fixed roller and considering the motion... and looking for feedback on how better they are or worth the extra $.

I am not necessarily looking for smart, but definitely for motion!

I think you would like the motion a lot. I have used good quality fixed rollers and the motion makes it much easier to ride and to move around and stand up and sit down. You don't have to concentrate as much either.

Would heartily agree with the E-motion advice. I've got one and absolutely love the thing.
I might wish at times that it had the smart resistance, but it's not really a stress.

It's not too bad to train in an aero position either - but I notice you have to keep the cadence up a bit more to be stable (YMMV!)

I hope that I can describe the function of the smart resistance unit...

There are a few modes that it can be used in, but I use it almost exclusively in Erg Mode in Zwift and Sufferfest. I have a powertap wheel that the programs reads as a power meter. They then connect to the E-Motion as a 'controllable' device.

Erg Mode in Sufferfest works by 'assigning' what the power needs to be, the program reads the power meter and then adjusts the rollers to match the prescribed load. Simple feedback loop. Recognize that cadence is not part of this loop ! This is important because you can be 'stuck' if your cadence drops.

In Zwift, the program adjusts the load to match the grade.

There is also a Phone App that you can manually control the load on the rollers. Sometimes I'll use this feature if I just want to hop on and ride without any computer interface.

As I have said, with the Smart Resistance Feature, E-Motion is the best of all worlds for stationary riding.

I hope this helps.

db

It's toting, mine are too old to retrofit

I went to ebay and got a Elite quick motion. Looking forward to ride it.
My head wanted a Nero or insideride; but my budget didn't wanted to. I'll make the switch if I lack the smart features. The only way I can see this happening is if I can get up and do 10-20sec sprint at 700-800W. I have to sit at the moment and can hardly make such power in that position.

I made my own free-motion set-up on which I have been using my Trutrainer rollers for the past 9-10 years. It's simple to do and the reason I went this route is because the large internal flywheel on the Trutrainer creates an outstanding road-like feel.
Trutrainer now offers a "smart" option, but I have not had the opportunity to try it yet.

Or get some roller blade wheels and some bungee cords and build a frame to convert your existing rollers. Google DIY free motion rollers - there are lots of ways to it. I cobbled together a set up in a few hours and can use my old rigid rollers for standing sprints.

I have one of the first smart resistance units from inside Ride and completely agree, it is absolutely my favorite setup. I have Powertap P1 pedals and was using them with the trainer for accuracy, but the Qubo resistance unit was consistently within a few watts of the power measured by the pedals so I just took the P1's off for winter training. Highly recommend but might not be for everyone.

I am curious to know if anyone has had any experience with the floating fork stand. I saw DCR reviewed it but don't know if it would be worth it for the option to "relax" a bit on the rollers.

The lack of being aero position is definitely a deal breaker for many triathletes like myself - one of the key features of the trainer for me is being able to hold that steady aero position for long periods of time - no breaks, no stops, just like race day. Helps me a lot.

well, you CAN go in aero position on extended period on a roller. Challenging at first, but it get easier and natural over time. All the zones.

the only thing I CAN'T do on the rollers is upright sprints. I can get up in climbing position on regular rollers (not natural at all or smooth), but I can't use my upper body like outside and swing the bike left and right.

After a shoulder injury, and the associated rehab, I purchased the floating fork stand for the rollers. Ive been using it all winter as the wing gets stronger/stable. I think they are great. Only takes about 2 minutes to install, so they are easy to swap out. They are designed really well - allowing the bike to be totally rigid, but with a tightening knob allow the front fork to actually turn, and the bike to lean, like riding outside ! With a Phone clamped to the handle bars, and the new Zwift version, It will allow actual turning in Zwift !