Is it me or is it actually harder to balance on a roller vs on road?
I can ride on the road with one-hand or no hands with little trouble… but its a lot less stable when doing the same on a roller.
Does anyone have a good explanation to why its harder to ride on a roller than road?
I dropped out of physics and went business, but I’m pretty sure it is because of momentum. You are moving forward on the road and moving nowhere on the rollers. That’s why being good at rollers makes you a bad ass. Because you defy physics.
^ What he said. Plus, it’s a really narrow road in roller-world.
When was the last time you rode no-handed on a road half the width of a sidewalk?
It is definitely harder to ride on rollers than on the road.
Its because you do not get the feedback (visual,physical) on rollers that you do on the road. Its why e motion rollers work well
**Does anyone have a good explanation to why its harder to ride on a roller than road? **
Not sure what you mean by “harder”?
Riding classic rollers, looks really hard to the uninitiated, but is in reality not that hard. If you don’t have good pedaling form and technique, what they call “souplesse”, then it can be challenging - but if you keep working at it, riding the rollers will greatly help the pedaling form and your souplesse.
Generally, many triathletes, with respect, don’t have great pedaling form - this is from a combination of factors. Not enough time on the bike. Pushing too big gears, too early in their overall development as riders. Too much time on the trainer. Not good positioning on a tri-bike and too much time riding a tri-bike etc . . .
See above riding on rolling is much harder than riding on the road but worth it. I find because I do it so infrequently the focus and concentration needed is the most stressfull part. My son was happy to ride the roller with no hands but not me.
I ride the classic sort of rollers for all of my indoor training. Sportcrafters with the OverDrive drum. Yes it is harder than pedaling down the road… the first couple of times on them it was like riding a bike on a sheet of ice. I questioned it greatly and my wife “wanted someone in the house” when I was riding those “things”. I’ve come a long ways since then.
I can ride no hands, aero, the works but it is harder than on the road. The road has a lot more real estate for one. Floor level also can affect you pulling to one side or the other… my basement floor has a slight grade and I wondered why my bike always wanted to pull one way until I slapped a level on my rollers. A little block of wood solved that issue.
Rollers can be a great workout if you get a set with built in resistance… the one I use have a drum that provides a progressive resistance. You also get he benefit or working on balance, bike handling, smooth pedaling, etc.