I was reading Ti" Twar’s roller thread and due to some changes at home it looks like I am going to need to be riding at home rather than the health club I usually go to.
I have a fluid trainer that has seen better days, and not really that much fun to ride. I had some rollers years ago (like 20) and thought I might get a new set. My old ones were Minoura Mag Rollers. I was looking at the Kreitler brand. Any opinions? I was thinking of the 3" diameter. The website mention that the 3" alloy model gives good resistance similar to the 4.5" with the head fan. I would hold off on the head fan for now. The fork stand may be an option.
What other brands are worth looking at? I like the idea of a lifetime warranty and the availability of replacement parts. My road bike will seeing most of the roller use.
i was just looking at the chart on that web page yesterday and they do make a pretty good case for the 4.5 inch w/ the fan unit as being the choice with the widest application. I’d be tempted to go that route if I had the floor space
it says the 3 inch drums will require about 175 watts to turn at 20 mph, as compare to 125 for the fat ones, then at 30 mph, you are looking at 280 and 200 respectivly–adding the fan unit will give you an ungodly extra wattage, on the order of 1000. The flywheel adds about 50 watts
FWIW I have the Nashbar reduced radius set ($100, 85mm drum that is milled out of Al) Justy crusing along at 22mph according to my computer takes some work and I’m still in the middle of my 11-23 cassette.
I can’t imagine what you get out of the extra cost of the Kreitlers.
I’ve had the Kreitler Challenger rollers with the windfan for 13 years now. Never a problem with them, just change the belts every year or so. They are worth the extra money. Still silky smooth.
If you get the 4.5" rollers you really need the windfan if you want to get some good training in (vs. just spinning). I’d rather have the 4.5" with windfan than the smaller drums - windfan keeps me cooler without having to worry about additional fans (none in winter in my basement; 1 additional in summer). It does add some noise, though. I sometimes use my noise-cancellation earphones with MP3 player. But normal earphones are ok too.
I wouldn’t get the fork stand. Learn to ride without - improves form and confidence on road. If your bike is fitted correctly, you should have no problems riding on aerobars on rollers. I always ride in a doorway, though, just for safety sake.
I own Kreitlers (4.5), but if I was buying new rollers right now I’d be deciding between Inside Ride (e-motion) and TruTrainer. Comparable pricing, vastly different experience. Lots of good stuff in the archives if you do a little digging.
SportCrafters with the mag unit. Fantastic quality, lifetime warranty, and cheaper to boot. I’ve ridden Kreitlers, own SportCrafters, and am convinced that the latter is the no-brainer.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I’ll check out the links. I remember having my old ones in my apt in college. It was always funny to watch my friends try to ride them at 3am after hitting the bars.
I agree with Trukweaz…insideride.com is the only thing that has all the benefits of rollers and actually comes close to real riding. Kreitler or any other brand does not even come close. You can even do high resistance out of the saddle work.
You also have to factor in the portability of your rollers if you plan to take them to races. I agree the Inside Ride ones set up in the house are the cats whiskers, but they would be a bugger to haul too far to races. In a crowded car. Or God forbid on a plane.
…why the heck would a triathlete need to take rollers to a race…we can warm up on our bikes on the ACTUAL road (god forbid that someone were to break down and actually ride their bike to a race instead of driving and contributing to the traffic crisis prevalent at most events…)…or by running or swimming. I’ve seen people warming up on rollers before races, and understand the attraction from a road racing context, but from a tri context, its pretty well pointless.
talking about myself!!!