getting my 1st ever roller tomorrow. dont know what brand or which model to get.
Any recommendation pls? My LBS carries Minoura but i think someone here mentioned a brand that starts with a “k”?
Thanx in advance!!
i will bite “Krietler”
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Thanx. How come they have different sizes of drum cylinder? Does that have to do with different level of resistance?
I highly recommend the eMotion rollers. It’s a slightly different concept with the rollers within a frame that allows some fore/aft movement. Watch the videos at the site if you’re not familiar with them. Easier to learn than traditional rollers, feels more like real riding. Adjustable resistence. You can stand, sprint, ride no handed, etc. I’m not a big fan of indoor riding but the emotion rollers are much more tollerable for me. I got mine used a couple years ago and haven’t touched my cycleops fluid trainer since.
Smaller drums offer more resistance. You can adjust the resistance level by changing gears but with the large drums you would need the added resistance of the fan unit. Kreitlers are good. I use ones made by SportCrafters who make them for CycleOps and have owned Kreitlers before. The difference is the frame color and the drums on the SportCrafters are computer spin balanced while the CycleOps ones aren’t. Quality of the SportCrafters is very good and it is a small family run business that will take care of any problems.
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InsideRide e-motion rollers are generally highly recommended for their ride quality and much more beginner friendly fell, however they are not without their faults. I’ll try to summarize my thoughts on rollers below:
- 4.5" vs 3.0 vs 2.25: The larger the diameter of the drum, the more surface area that the tires have to impart on the drums and the more mass (typically) that drums have themselves. What this means in practical terms is that the the larger the diameter of the drum, the much easier (resistance wise) it is to ride. The absolute most flexible way you can go is to buy a set of 4.5" diameter rollers with resistance units, that way you can dial in all of the way from a nice easy ride to a pretty decent workout. 3.0" diameter rollers offer about 50% more resistance than 4.5s, so the advantage is you can get a set of 3.0’s and not need a resistance unit to get a good mix of workouts, i.e. these are a good value! 2.25" rollers are hard to ride and offer plenty of resistance right out the door, I have never ridden these nor i particularly want to.
*Pvc vs Aluminum: Say what you want about the strengths of PVC, but I sincerely believe the only advantage PVC offers over aluminum is price. If I could afford it, I’d go full aluminum drums, they offer a better ride quality and more mass, with more mass they allow you to coast slightly longer in between pedal strokes, offering a more realistic ride. Kreitler offers models that help make aluminum slightly more affordable, the Challenger rollers which are aluminum drums with PVC end caps. The billet endcap versions have more mass but are more expensive.
*Free-Motion: The InsideRide e-motion rollers are the only commercially available rollers with a free motion system. I’m not going to go into great lengths to explain it (look it up on youtube), but the free motion and other safety features offers a much more beginner friendly ride and is one of the few rollers that you can safely ride in the time trial position on without the tangible fear of riding off the side of the rollers at any moment. There are downsides to these rollers though, they are expensive, almost impossible to be found used, and more importantly you are not going anywhere with these things. Forget “bring your trainer/rollers over” winter group training sessions, unless you have a pickup truck and some patience these things are staying right where you put them. Rollers are often used by track cyclists and others to warm up before races, so mobility can be a important concern that essentially rules these out.
*TruTrainer TruTrainer is worth a special mention in that it is another premium roller that is highly regarded for the near road quality of it’s ride. It is not a free-motion roller but through massive high quality drums it is probably the only other roller besides the e-motion that is easy to get out of the saddle and attack on without tons of practice.
Ok, so after all of that, what do I recommend? I personally wanted E-motions but frankly they are just too expensive. Kreitler’s are probably the most recommended set of traditional rollers and possible to get used. I bought a set of used but very good condition Krietler 3.0 Challenger rollers for about $200 dollars. The nice thing about Kreitlers is the accessories that are available, since I have the 3.0s I didn’t feel that I needed the resistance unit (Headwind Fan) yet, but I did get a Flywheel off ebay which adds mass to the rollers and offers a feel more akin to the TruTrainer, but for about $300 instead of $800. Next, google “homemade free motion rollers” and you should be able to find a half a dozen projects to mount your existing traditional rollers on a free motion assembly. I further modified my Kreitlers in this manner, first by mounting two rollerblade wheels on the front drum as a safety feature to keep me from riding off the side, then next by building a free motion frame based off the following design:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StcY7bG1xzs
Is it the same ride quality as the E-motions? Probably not, but unlike the e-motions I can pull my rollers off, fold them up and throw them in my trunk with minimal effort, and all said and done it cost me about 400-500 less.
For your first set of rollers you should go for a nice cheap and simple tacx roller. Either you will 1) hate them after one try and give up 2) like them, but never feel comfortable enough to even reach for your water bottle 3) love them and ride them a lot. If you fall into (1), you have not lost much money. If you fall into (2), you may want to upgrade a few years to the e-motion as they are easier to ride. If you fall into (3) , you will find the tacx too easy once you are good on them. Upgrade to a set of Kreitlers at that point.
I have a set of Kreitler 2.25’s which I haved used a lot over the past few years. The resistance is not that bad.
I would highly recommend the rollers as a supplement for your winter training. The time goes by faster, your pedal stroke improves significantly, you learn to hold a line, and eventually you can learn to do stupid roller tricks (like riding through a spare tube, or no-hands single legged).
Performance Travel Tracs are pretty nice and very good for the money.
tgarson-good reviews. I have the e-motion rollers and they are great. Well built but also pretty light. Mine stay in the garage but would fit in the trunk or backseat of my car. Nothing to take apart and put back together but don’t break down like rear wheel trainers. Convenient to be able to use same tire on rollers as on the road. Expensive but well worth the $ in my opinion
I bought a pair of Alloy 3.0’’ Krietler rollers this past summer. I haven’t had any issues and am very happy with the purchase.
X2 on http://www.sportcrafters.com
Contacted them directly and bought a “blemished” set…slight bubble in the paint…but saved a good deal of $$. No issues whatsoever.
I have a pair of minouras, they’re not as nice as the kreitles or cyclops ones. And definitely go aluminum.
They look cool Going to give call on monday and get a set. Give me something to do during my down time. Think I will get fork stand as I have kids who will not let me be for 10 minutes. Which means I would crash guarenteed.
thanx everyone for their valuable pieces of advice. I appreciate it!!!
can u do an easy spin on the 3.0" drum roller?
Yup, an easy spin is no problem at all- and I’m a chic 
Just put it in a lower gear and you are all set.
+1 for Inside Ride E-Motion Rollers. No doubt, best rollers available.
videos:
1: rollers
2: indoor triathlon training when it’s cold
you can fast forward to ~1:00 for rollers
3: more roller fun
and here
Performance Travel Tracs are pretty nice and very good for the money.
Agreed.
clm
you can work out in pretty much every zone on 3" kreitlers from recovery right through to maximum efforts using your gears and there is always the flywheel or fan if you want more resistance!
The insiderides look inovative but once you have learned to ride rollers the safety features are a bit redundant and the only real benefit that I can see is being able to sprint out of the saddle in a jerky fashion!
M@TTY
Do these rollers help with pedal stroke as well. In other words since it seems as though you can ride in any position, it doesn’t seem to make the rider have to focus on smooth pedaling. Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks.