QUESTION: I plan on selling my road bike but before I do can a tri bike actually work on rollers?
BACKGROUND: I bought a set of 3" Kreitler rollers last year and eventually managed to stay on them for over 90 minutes riding my Cervelo S2. Once I got the hang of it I had a blast and found it was a refreshing change from a stationary trainer. I had tried using my Cervelo P3 on the rollers but it was closer to mechanical bull riding than cycling. I had bought the P3 new and was fit for it at my LBS when I bought it. I also noticed that S2 rides of two hours or more got really tough as any wavering in my concentration put me on the floor. I have a Kurt Kinetic trainer but my wife rides it. We are both going to be training for the Muskoka IM this winter and she would rather ride a rabid Rottweiler than the rollers. I don’t want to spend the cash for another Kurt trainer.
SOLUTION: I was hoping to use my P3 on the Kreitlers this winter with a fork stand to extend the hours I can ride on the rollers and make up the resistance by adding a headwind fan. Has anyone tried that combination and did it work for you? I would love to just use the tri bike on the rollers but it seems impossible (for me) to stay on it for long rides.
You’ll be fine. I have used both, started with tri bike, used road bike last winter, piece of cake! Keep your eyes up!
I’ve put lots of time in with my P2 on rollers. Once you get the balancing down, I don’t understand what difference time makes (well to boredom, yes; to balancing, no). That said, watching a quick-moving sport on tv while on the rollers (= hockey), now that’s a challenge.
ive never ridden on rollers, are they less boring? more effective?
I use my trainer for intense workouts or longer workouts, but have used my rollers for up to 1.5 hours straight on my tri bike. I will stay in the aero position for 30-45 min, sit up for a few minutes, then go back to aero. definitely doable, but it takes a little getting used to getting into and out of aerobars. I would recommend to use next to a wall or in door frame the first few times until you have it down (just like you probably did when using rollers for the first time on a road bike). Once you can comfortably do this, I don’t see any difference of a tri bike or road bike on rollers.
I tried my tri bike on the rollers last winter for the first time, a bit difficult but didn’t take too long to get down into aero. Definitely have to pay attention though and not look around the room I found.
I wonder if you needed to adjust the front roller when you switched bikes from the road to the tri/tt bike. Any bike can be made to feel super squirrelly on rollers if the front wheel and front roller are not in harmony. David K
Less boring/ more effective? Definitely more effective to smooth your cadence out and maintain a straight line which works well for the road sessions later on. Rollers were a welcome change to switch back and forth from a trainer just due to the fact I had to really concentrate to maintain balance so the time flew by quicker on rollers. My problem was I found that after the hour or so, if my concentration wavered or I started getting too much into the Sufferfest video I had on, I’d lose it fast. I couldn’t just hang my head and churn out the long endurance sessions of two hours or more. That said the comment about adjusting the front roller may just do the trick I’d forgotten that and it did take me a while to get the length right for the road bike. Thanks for the replies.
Hmm, less boring? In the beginning I had to focus more on what I was doing, that’s for sure. I can zone out (watch tv) on my stationary trainer so maybe that’s less boring. I feel like what I get out of the rollers is an intense workout of the small balancing core muscles. Oh, and a good sense for a nice, even pedal stroke. Mashing the pedals when on rollers leads to my bike lurching - so for me I feel like the rollers made me pay more attention to technique. However, once I got the hang of these things I could put the tv back on. I put the rollers away due to an injury and had not graduated up to being able to watch ice hockey while on them. But other tv programs with less movement were ok.
As for effectiveness - my rollers don’t have any tension, so I get a lower power workout out of them vs what I can do with my fixed trainer and higher tension setting.
For anyone that wants to try them, I’ve read the wall or door idea before but never tried that mysef. I set mine up next to the dryer. When I felt like I was losing my balance I flung my torso onto the dryer. And the other side I kept wide open with no stuff I might get hurt falling on. I also put 2x4’s under the rollers b/c it was hard to get on my bike with the bike now 4 or so inches higher off the ground. Plus the dryer served as a nice place to put the tv /stereo remote. Good luck!
As for effectiveness - my rollers don’t have any tension, so I get a lower power workout out of them vs what I can do with my fixed trainer and higher tension setting.
Same here. I now mostly use my rollers for recovery rides or for high cadence training. Although, one leg drills on the rollers are a good way to make the time go faster and a nice challenge.
I did all last winter on rollers (with magnetic resistance) on my tri bike. All sessions max 1 hour. Increased FTP from 180 to 245. I chose rollers to keep things interesting (you have to actively keep your balance) and the tri bike to keep the bike fit position.
After trying two different trainers my favorite setup is my krietler rollers. When I’m doing tempo or interval sessions I’ll use the fork stand. The next day I’ll do a recovery ride outside or take the fork stand off and just focus on holding form/balance/cadence while taking it easy on my legs.
Adding a fan won’t give you any more resistance. With the fork stand, your bike is anchored. Therefore, the wind will not push back on the bike, requiring you to need to pedal harder. Even without the fork stand, you’d need a massive typhoon fan to counteract the push of the real wheel nestled in the two rollers.
Dave Mirra uses these - pretty sweet actually. http://www.insideride.com/
Back when I used rollers (when living in the PNW), I found my tribike to be a bit more stable than my road bike. Probably due to the slight difference in wheelbase (as mentioned by someone else), which put the tri bike’s front tire in a more stable position on the roller.
If your rollers have adjustments for wheelbase, try shortening/lengthening them until you find a sweet spot. Rollers is all about having a quiet upper body, anyhow.
Sorry I wasn’t very clear on the fan that I was referring too. Its the actual killer head wind fan from kreitler that bolts onto the frame and attaches to the roller by a band. It works like the vasa swim bench fan. There is a trap door on the fan that the wider its opened the greater the resistance that is applied to the rollers via the band. Apparently it creates a ton of resistance once attached. That is how I’d incorporate the climbing intervals when I was on the rollers with a fork stand. Holy cow I know if I got out of the saddle on rollers alone doing climbs I’d lose it.
I found the track bike (fixed gear) easier, then the road bike then the tri bike. As someone mentioned, you’ll likely need to play around with the spacing of the rollers.
I have the krietlers with the headwind unit and the fork stand also riding a P2 and I think it works very well. I think you will like it. Like you I use the rollers without the stand with a road bike for shorter sessions. It keeps my balance sharp and really teaches you to ride a straight line. I’ve done 4 and 5 hour sessions on them in aero with short bathroom and bottle refill breaks. I set up an inexpensive music stand in front of the bike with my iPad and Netflix subscription it makes those long sessions pass by pretty quickly.
Adding a fan won’t give you any more resistance. With the fork stand, your bike is anchored. Therefore, the wind will not push back on the bike, requiring you to need to pedal harder. Even without the fork stand, you’d need a massive typhoon fan to counteract the push of the real wheel nestled in the two rollers.
On Kreilters headfan, the fan is connected by a belt to the rollers, so yes having the fan does increase resistance, faster you pedal the harder to spin the fan faster,
Used the insideride rollers exclusively for IM training. 5.5hrs mostly aero, no problem! Plus you get very comfy riding aero late in the ride when everyone else is sitting up.
I agree with another post that tri bike (p3) is more stable than road (rs).
Dont waste your money on the fork stand but if you do, dont tell anyone.