Turbo Trainer vs. Rollers

Cork24

Was looking on CRC. and dont know what to go for Turbo or Rollers.

I want something where it feels like i'm on the road were i can slap it onto Hill climb etc something like a Spin Bike.

macnab

I am a relative newbie but I am getting rollers. I dont like the idea of turbo trainers, they cant be good for your frame or wheels and they dont register mileage. I dont have the rollers yet but they look more natural and I read somewhere that they improve your bike control as well as fitness.

Ryder

Hi, have and use both. Rollers are great, challenging, feel like the road and when spinning do give a good workout. BUT, they wont replicate hills. If you want to do hard intervals get a turbo and a dvd player. Or ideally use both

DirkVoodoo

macnab wrote: »

I am a relative newbie but I am getting rollers. I dont like the idea of turbo trainers, they cant be good for your frame or wheels and they dont register mileage. I dont have the rollers yet but they look more natural and I read somewhere that they improve your bike control as well as fitness.

Eh, no. The forces exerted on the rear triangle due to the turbo clamping are less than the bike would be subjected to on the road. I'm sure there are cases where people have damaged frames on turbo trainers and people have taken this to mean that turbos are bad for frames. It's just like the misconception about carbon bikes being "fragile" and "delicate". Plenty of people have used carbon frames for years without any issue. If you are doing any of the following on a turbo then it might lead to problems:

- Clamp it incorrectly
- Not using a turbo specific skewer for the rear wheel and clamp
- Losing control during a maximal sprinting effort
- Riding a bike that is not suited to your weight/power

EDIT: This is from the internets and not me, but it sounds sensible and while I can't find any bike manufacturer recommendation on turbos, top coaches give them the ok.

The choice between rollers and turbo should not come down to worry about damaging your frame, because it's not something you need to worry about unless you are really careless.

I had rollers, didn't like them:

- Require a lot of concentration, which is hard to keep during more intensive sessions.
- Probably more likely to damage your bike or components than on a turbo (see attached)

Ideally you want to be like this, in which case rollers are a good idea and pretty cool. They are certainly closer to riding on the road than a turbo, but for just racking up hours and switching off, turbo wins for me. Rollers are not really hard to "get". They will improve your stability and balance on the bike which should hopefully translate into more efficient power transfer on the road:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7K4O7YTLQQ

In reality, you may end up like this, especially if you get distracted or fatigue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOIn2Zboa-I

Cork24

Dont like the whole thing Rollers have, I like to get up at 6am every morning start Cycling till about 8 go for a shower and off to work for 9,

dont want to end up in the bed room wall with the Rollers. are the turbo abit of a noise problem, was looking at the Tacx

how much of a resistance are we talking about with them?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15805

or would you say go for a better model? within a price range of 100 <= 300

DirkVoodoo

Cork24 wrote: »

Dont like the whole thing Rollers have, I like to get up at 6am every morning start Cycling till about 8 go for a shower and off to work for 9,

dont want to end up in the bed room wall with the Rollers. are the turbo abit of a noise problem, was looking at the Tacx

how much of a resistance are we talking about with them?
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=15805

They are both noisy enough, but it's more of a constant drone like a vacuum cleaner or a hairdryer, I'm sure people can sleep through them.

The resistance on a Satori is more than enough, the pros use them warming up so I wouldn't be too worried that it might not have enough for you. One of the guys (Levitronix maybe?) said the other day that the max setting was "real small ring stuff".

You can reduce the noise with a mat and a turbo specific tyre, but I have found turbos and rollers are both noisy enough to earn complaints from my family if I use them after bedtime.

I had one fall off rollers when I was distracted ("you look like you're going to fall off".....crash....."I told you so") and it was a little sore because you have further to fall (rollers sit a few inches above the ground).

levitronix

You should try do one leg spin ups on rollers haha

-Trek-

levitronix wrote: »

You should try do one leg spin ups on rollers haha

No problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wME5NTriTco

My choice between rollers or turbo ???.....i'd pick road:)
I have rollers and the most exciting part of them is watching your frame corrode from sweating

levitronix

I dont have a pony tail for a counter balance haha ... turbo is the way to go not unless you wana make youtube videos for you ve been framed

Id love to see the person would can push the level 10 setting on a tacx satori !!!!

cantalach

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

The resistance on a Satori is more than enough, the pros use them warming up so I wouldn't be too worried that it might not have enough for you. One of the guys (Levitronix maybe?) said the other day that the max setting was "real small ring stuff".

I had a Satori until I upgraded last week. I agree that it provides more than enough resistance for anyone but I don't know if I'd call it "real small ring stuff". I'm just a very average bike rider but even with a 50x19 gear selected I could turn the Satori over at 60rpm on its max resistance setting.

Raam

Cork24 wrote: »

dont want to end up in the bed room wall with the Rollers.

You won't, since you have no momentum on the rollers.

Signal_ rabbit

Cork24 wrote: »

dont want to end up in the bed room wall with the Rollers

The easiest thing to do is do it between the door frame, this way if you feel a 'wobble' coming on just steady yourself on the door frame.

Signal_ rabbit

This has also been discussed here.

penexpers

Is it possible to use rollers/turbo trainers in the back garden?

Raam

penexpers wrote: »

Is it possible to use rollers/turbo trainers in the back garden?

I won't stop you.

Cork24

Yeah I think i'm going to get the Turbo i'll like to Enjoy my Training not having to Worry about the bike from going off the rollers. just get up in the mornings.

Slap on the Ipod and spin for 2hrs... Never used them before so hoping that i work up a good Sweat something like you get from Spinning Bikes. you get a Good Nice Heart Rate going.

Redjeep!

I've got both and find the turbo is better for building power and the rollers balance.

The turbo is 'easier' if you just want to get on and zone out for an hour or so, but after a bit of practice it's possible to listen to an ipod or watch tv on the rollers.

As somebody else has mentioned, if you come of the rollers you don't fly off at 30km/hr like you'd think you just fall over. I've got my rollers set up between a workbench and a rail that I can grab. It's saved me falling of a few times.

Cork24

What i mean by flying off, is by falling over on the side into the bed room wall.

levitronix

cantalach wrote: »

I had a Satori until I upgraded last week. I agree that it provides more than enough resistance for anyone but I don't know if I'd call it "real small ring stuff". I'm just a very average bike rider but even with a 50x19 gear selected I could turn the Satori over at 60rpm on its max resistance setting.

60 rpm is long way from 90