Ok background. I’m not ultra fast on the road but I have to ask about the roller MPH.
I’m busting my butt on the rollers and my computer says I’m barely going 14 mph? But I look at my HR and it corresponds with me working at a much faster speed.
So are rollers generally slower IE harder to go faster or is it legit speed i’m going at. I even made myself go at a 18mph pace, and it was as if I was goign 28 mph on the road.
So is the rollers, me, or what?
Do you have any resistance on your rollers or are they spinning free?
I am not super fit by any means but I can spin 53 X12 on my rollers at about 100 rpm and I can comfortably hold that for a while - an hour+. Not sure what the corresponding road speed would be for that but it would be very fast and not something that I can hold on a flat road for very long.
I don’t have a computor on the bike so can’t tell you the speed.
My speed/effort on the rollers seems slower than for a similar flat effort on the road. Not sure why.
clm
On rollers, if there is no added resistance, it should be much easier to achieve the same speed on your bikes computer when compared to the road for a very simple reason: there is no wind resistance (if you don’t count the wind resistance of your spokes cutting through the stationary air). Rollers really made me appreciate just how large of a retarding force that wind resistance is.
I am guessing you have som eresistance mechanism on there that i sslowing things down. I go 20+mph on my rollers (set at no resistance) and it i snot that hard, but I definately do not ride at that pace outdoors.
On the other hand I rode 1 day and the resistance unit was on the 1st level of resitance and I struggled at 13mph with my legs asking m eto stop.
Depends on the rollers.
My Kreitlers are easier (faster) than the road. My American Classic six drum rollers are much, much harder (slower) than the road - for example 12 mph on the six drum set feels harder than 20 mph on the road.
Besides resistance, tire pressure plays a role as well.
David K
Ok background. I’m not ultra fast on the road but I have to ask about the roller MPH.
I’m busting my butt on the rollers and my computer says I’m barely going 14 mph? But I look at my HR and it corresponds with me working at a much faster speed.
So are rollers generally slower IE harder to go faster or is it legit speed i’m going at. I even made myself go at a 18mph pace, and it was as if I was goign 28 mph on the road.
So is the rollers, me, or what?
If the resistance of the rollers is equal to the resistance you encounter on the road (wind, clothing, rolling resistance of tyre on road, etc.), then it’s you. Not likely.
Depends on the rollers.
My Kreitlers are easier (faster) than the road. My American Classic six drum rollers are much, much harder (slower) than the road - for example 12 mph on the six drum set feels harder than 20 mph on the road.
David K
Not to mention the smaller diameter rollers. 2.5" or 3" diameter as opposed to the standard 4" diameter. The smaller ones are significantly higher.
On my 4" Krietlers I can easily ride at 30+ mph and can do seated “spin ups” at close to 50mph, both of which I certainly can’t do in the real world.
Kreitlers website has a speed/power/roller size conversion chart thingy
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Does it really matter? If your heart rate is in the right zone for the workout then who cares how fast you are going. Unless you are on a computrainer which is supposed to simulate real world conditions speed on a trainer is pretty meaningless.
You are absolutely right - it does not matter. But, its nice to know it does not matter as opposed to thinking you can only average 12 mph or going around thinking you can hold 30 mph. David K
*Threadjack
Anyone have input for speeds on trainers? I’m riding a Kurt Kinetic road machine…I’m riding a 10 speed tri bike and having issues finding a gear combo to spin in the front chain ring (50) and keep it above 80 rpm’s, it just kills me (and my speed sucks).
I ride rollers in a 38x13 with a 92 - 96 cadence range. The computer reads 21-22 mph. I’m just a tad slower on the road – which I attribute to wind resistance.