Rollers or trainer?

[goblue]

Need your advise...Thanks.

[pdxmech13]

check the latest velonews as they did a good run down on indoor units.
A coworker loves his e-motion and rides it even in the summer if he can't get out.l

[thwart]

Had both... no contest... rollers. Require more focus and attention, though.

And e-motions rule!

[Satellite]

I also use rollers. Krietlers if you want more resistance get the fan attachment.

[Steve in SLO]

I had Kreitlers for a long time and I still think rollers are the way to go for building a smooth pedal stroke. Just focus and be careful what you're watching while you are riding them. One of my worst bike crashes ever was on the rollers watching Lemond descending the Col d'Izoard. He rocked over for a sharp left and so did I...my roomies thought it was hilarious.

[kerrycycle]

Here is a racer's perspective...for what it is worth.

What type of workouts will you be doing indoors? Rollers are great for improving bike handling and balance. They have done wonders for my handling skills. However, if you intend to do single leg drills or hard sprint intervals, I recommend a good trainer, i.e. CycleOps, Kurt Kinetic. I have had great experience with both brands.

[regularguy412]

I have to agree with the 'objective specific' suggestion.

Both rollers and trainer each have their place. As had been stated, I, too, use rollers for pedal stroke and smoothness improvements. You should try riding them right after you've completed a tough leg weight workout. It will give a whole new meaning to the term 'beginner'.

I use the trainer for the pure power / aerobic workout. I don't have to concentrate on anything but doing the interval.

I have a very old set of rollers -- no extra resistance unit, just 4 inch drums. The combination of weights, rollers and trainer during the off-season is a nice break from the mileage days when the weather gets nicer. Not only is it a break for the body, it's a break for the mind as well. I'd hate to have to choose whether I only ride rollers or trainer.

Mike in AR:beer:

[thrasher]

check the latest velonews as they did a good run down on indoor units.
A coworker loves his e-motion and rides it even in the summer if he can't get out.l


Are you talking about the newsprint magazine or an the online article?

[dsteady]

goblue,
i was doing a search on this subject just a two days ago. Check out this thread. (http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=52387&highlight=e-motion+rollers)

The second page (around post #20) has some very useful feedback from a couple of forum members here. It seems lot of people have been happy with the e-Motion and Trutrainer Rollers, and that these are a major step forward from the traditional rollers in that they allow for more varied training routines and are easier to get out of the saddle for intervals and sprint work.

I'm pretty sue I'm going to order the Trutrainers, but I have no experience of them yet so cannot give you any feedback of my own.

Anyway, check out the thread there's some good information there.

daniel

[Louis]

Neither - they all turn your brain to mush.

IMO the bigger issue is whether to even try to ride indoors. If you've already done it and can handle it, great. Otherwise you may want to take into account the possibility that the whole thing is so boring and utterly devoid of stimulation (at least for me) that there is a decent chance that you won't use either system, regardless of what you buy. I have a set or rollers that I haven't used in probably five years. Just can't handle it.

My recommendation is to see if you can borrow some to try out. If they work for you, spend your $ with confidence. If they don't you've saved yourself a needless expense.

Louis

[bironi]

Neither - they all turn your brain to mush.

IMO the bigger issue is whether to even try to ride indoors. If you've already done it and can handle it, great. Otherwise you may want to take into account the possibility that the whole thing is so boring and utterly devoid of stimulation (at least for me) that there is a decent chance that you won't use either system, regardless of what you buy. I have a set or rollers that I haven't used in probably five years. Just can't handle it.

My recommendation is to see if you can borrow some to try out. If they work for you, spend your $ with confidence. If they don't you've saved yourself a needless expense.

Louis

I agree with Louis, but I am an idiot.

[Louis]

I agree with Louis, but I am an idiot.

Gee, I wonder what that means about me :p :p :p

[A.L.Breguet]

Both.








.

[keno]

your goals are key, I think. If you are race training in accordance with a program that has power, tempo, endurance, etc. requirements, the answer will differ from if you are working out say to get or stay in shape or lose some weight.

Each device has it's virtues and limitations. I do not see how rollers, alone, would satisfy the requirements of a true training program but they are not necessary to one. (BTW, a trainer should be set up whether by its own design or with a bike computer using the rear wheel as source of speed and cadence from the cranks for training if you want to chart progress or regress.) Rollers, on the other hand, could satisfy on their own the getting or staying in shape or losing weight by themselves or the occasional day when the weather or time limits aren't cooperative.

If you expect to be working out indoors very much, as many in the colder climates will, although not necessarily happily (incidentally, I heard stories of triathletes in Hong Kong working out 3-4 hours a day on trainers), I think the trainer if the goal is racing, and if fitness is the goal, the rollers or trainers would work. If it is fitness or the occasional workout, whatever suits your tolerance fancy will be fine.

keno

[Chris]

TruTrainer (my personal choice) or emotion. They cover all of the bases.

[toaster]

I prefer rollers only because riding indoors is boring and the rollers keep me constantly aware of what I'm doing.

[Ray]

TruTrainer (my personal choice) or emotion. They cover all of the bases.
Mine too - they're enough "fun" to keep me on 'em, which is a HUGE challenge with indoor riding. I've tried traditional rollers and various trainers before and the problem is they don't feel ANYTHING like actually riding a bike. And I hated them and never stayed on them. Trutrainers and (based on what I've read) e-motions do feel like actually riding a bike. So, for me, that's enough to keep me actually using them. I've had a set of trutrainers for a month now and I've ridden more indoor miles than probably the combined total of every other device I've tried over the past ten years. Because they're tolerable to ride. I wouldn't actually call it fun, but I don't hate 'em - they're a pretty good simulation of actually riding on a fairly flat road. With something to watch or listen to, I can do 45-60 minutes on them before I start thinking I'd like to be done. With past rollers and trainers, I generally hated it after five minutes and never managed to stay on past a half hour - usually I bailed after 10-15 minutes. But the main point was that I disliked them enough that I'd usually find an excuse not to get on 'em in the first place.

If you have a highly specific training program that requires traditional rollers and/or a trainer, and you're disciplined enough to actually USE them, they might be better training tools (I don't know if they are, but I can't say they're not). But if you just want to do something that only turns your brain partially to mush and isn't a thoroughly horrible experience, give one of the new types of rollers a try. I can't recommend one over the other. I'm real happy with the trutrainers, but plenty of folks who have the e-motions seems similarly happy with those. But either seems like a big leap forward relative to what's been out there before.

And priced to match! :cool:

-Ray

[terrytnt]

This is a typical question for this time of year. Until last year, I had resigned myself to stationary trainers (Cycle-Ops) with very good results (10+ years). However last year I did my research (much like you're doing) and landed on my first-ever rollers - TruTrainers (was my Christmas present). The experience has been incredible! Sad to say, I've not used my stationary trainer since. The TruTrainers are the best rollers on the market (validated by many) and I've personally worked up from 45 to 75 minutes (~30 miles) when I ride. Great for the winter months and during the season when I simply can't get out or get home from work too late.

I had a some experience with Krietlers before I purchased the TruTrainer, and the biggest difference (aside from the resistance-which TT provides) was the sensitivity to movement on the TT. On the Krietlers I could stand, sprint, and quite literally ride without hands and the bike didn't deviate. With the TT, they are much more sensitive to your body's weight distribution and will move side to side if you are not properly balanced (which is a very good thing in teaching you stability the bike particularly as you move while in a pack of riders). I've learned to move around on the bike and ride with one hand off the handle-bars but one does need to pay attention. I usually put on the news or a game and follow a routine with sets.

I love the TT rollers and would highly recommend them even given the premium price! YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!! PLus the folks at TT are wonderful to work with.

my 10 cents...

[dsteady]

. . . .I had a some experience with Krietlers before I purchased the TruTrainer, and the biggest difference (aside from the resistance-which TT provides) was the sensitivity to movement on the TT. On the Krietlers I could stand, sprint, and quite literally ride without hands and the bike didn't deviate. With the TT, they are much more sensitive to your body's weight distribution and will move side to side if you are not properly balanced (which is a very good thing in teaching you stability the bike particularly as you move while in a pack of riders). . . .
my 10 cents...

terrtnt, on a previous thread people had the exact opposite experience saying the TT rollers allowed them stand, sprint, etc and the Kreitlers were far more sensitive to balance, and limited standing, sprinting etc...

do you find the TTs harder to use than the Kreitlers?

[Chris]

My experience is this. Standing on TruTrainer rollers and going hard on them while standing is much easier than on any other set of rollers that I have ever had, including kreitlers. There is though, a different sensitivity to movement and I do think that riding without hands has a different learning curve on the trutrainer rollers.

[Ray]

I find that doing anything on the trutrainers is easier than on the rollers I'd used in the past (not Kreitlers, so I can't comment directly). Riding no-handed is not something I ever need to try again on rollers, so I haven't tried that on the trutrainers and don't plan to. But taking a hand off to get a drink or to grab a towel to wipe down is no problem. Standing up is not quite as natural as on the road, but its FAR easier to me than on any other rollers I've ever tried. I found almost no learning curve on the trutrainers after the first ride getting the confidence to stand up, coast, etc - stuff I just never considered on rollers before. In a month, I've come off of them exactly once, when going fairly hard out of the saddle - typical roller 'crash' in that the front wheel went off the side, the rear quickly followed, my opposite foot automatically clicked out, and I got a foot down way before I'd have actually fallen. No drama.

-Ray

[spiderman]

and i do not race.
...but i can't bring myself to lock woody or buzz in the stockade...
i do however ride the rollers
with some regularity.
i dropped out of spin class after one session
but the coach there really helped inspire me
to work on my weaknesses...which are many...
so,
i have worked on and feel very comfortable
with one leg drills, intervals,
aerobars and no hands on the rollers.
my favorite thing is 2 minute drills while watching
either a college basketball or college or pro football game.
2 minutes for each position on the bars...
with my highest cadence drill in the drops.
(sometimes i can only get to 100 revolutions
or so with the one leg drill)
i usually go to the aerobars during each commercial break
because it requires a bit more concentration!
my big yankees are parabolic
3 inch wooden rollers in the center
and spin like a dream.
(too tall,
they still go to you in my will!)
oh, and i ride tubular slicks at about 110 psi.
with my freewheel 17 tooth rear and the 53 ring up front...
...seems perfect for me... :)
obtw,
i have a set of kreitlers, too.
...everything is easier on those
at least to me...
a friend is borrowing them for a trial right now.
next thing you know,
he will be after my big yankees!

[goblue]

another example of why this is such a great forum. I'm leaning toward the rollers...I equate using a trainer to rowing on an ergo...and counting the seconds until I was done with the workput. I have concluded from your replies that rollers are sufficiently different from the trainer to give them a shot. Now I just need to find a good deal on either the T-Trainers or E-motion rollers. Though I get the impression the T-Trainers might be the best option.

[Skrawny]

I use Kreitler rollers.
The trainer, while able to give more resistance, was intolerably boring.
Nevertheless, I can't do rollers for more than an hour.

I just put a show on TV, and ride intervals timed with the commercials.

Cheers.
-s

[11.4]

another example of why this is such a great forum. I'm leaning toward the rollers...I equate using a trainer to rowing on an ergo...and counting the seconds until I was done with the workput. I have concluded from your replies that rollers are sufficiently different from the trainer to give them a shot. Now I just need to find a good deal on either the T-Trainers or E-motion rollers. Though I get the impression the T-Trainers might be the best option.

Don't tell anyone I told you, but I believe that if you tell them you saw them on Fixed Gear Fever (www.fixedgearfever.com, the top track racing website) and that you are USAC, you get a 10% discount plus free shipping, or something like that. Note that TruTrainer has two models, though the website isn't obvious about it -- the "Traveler" omits the flywheel but gets the price down to beat a Kreitler Alloy by a few dollars, and the quality is much better. The premium version is much more expensive, much heavier, but has the flywheel and resistance - if you want to do power training it's a bit better, though if you want to develop your pedaling style the "Traveler" does just fine for a lot less. The quality is identical between the two models and you can later upgrade a Traveler to the premium model if you so choose.

Obviously, I'm a big fan. Once you're acclimated to rollers, you don't need the stuff on e-Motions and they can actually trip you and create a worse crash if you really screw up. And if you're wondering about sprinting out of the saddle, you simply learn to do it in a straight line with good pedal action and you'll stay right in the middle of any rollers. Why go for a design that encourages bad form?

[goblue]

*

[TAW]

Both.
.

I agree, they both serve a purpose.

[thwart]

Why go for a design that encourages bad form?I would disagree that the e-motions encourage bad form. You can usually get away with doing something stupid, yes... but they let you know when you're doing it right.
they can actually trip you and create a worse crash if you really screw upI've never come close to a significant event/crash while riding them. And I am a world class klutz.

Do a Google search on both the e-motions and the tru-trainer for more opinions and reviews. They both have their strengths.

Since purchasing a set I've more than doubled my average time on the rollers (over last year). And I want to go out to the garage and use 'em.

That is the central issue... do you get the time and miles in... or not?

[paczki]

Computrainer with ergvideos. I look forward to riding it, and I can do over two hours without being bored at all. Spinscan is great for working on the pedal stroke. I like rollers, but no comparison.

[terrytnt]

Ditto on 11.4's remarks... he and others were most helpful when I was deciding on which rollers to purchase.

Here's a thought, call the folks at TT and Krietlers to hear there thoughts... I was totally sold on TTs and know I've made the correct choice. Just for the record, I recently purchased Krietlers (3") for my son (much less costlier), the quality, weight and comfort (not to mention resistance of the TTs doesn't is a hugely different.

my 11 cents...

[CarbonCycles]

Don't tell anyone I told you, but I believe that if you tell them you saw them on Fixed Gear Fever (www.fixedgearfever.com, the top track racing website) and that you are USAC, you get a 10% discount plus free shipping, or something like that. Note that TruTrainer has two models, though the website isn't obvious about it -- the "Traveler" omits the flywheel but gets the price down to beat a Kreitler Alloy by a few dollars, and the quality is much better. The premium version is much more expensive, much heavier, but has the flywheel and resistance - if you want to do power training it's a bit better, though if you want to develop your pedaling style the "Traveler" does just fine for a lot less. The quality is identical between the two models and you can later upgrade a Traveler to the premium model if you so choose.

Obviously, I'm a big fan. Once you're acclimated to rollers, you don't need the stuff on e-Motions and they can actually trip you and create a worse crash if you really screw up. And if you're wondering about sprinting out of the saddle, you simply learn to do it in a straight line with good pedal action and you'll stay right in the middle of any rollers. Why go for a design that encourages bad form?

Do you by chance have TruTrainer's contact information? I'm trying to order a set and take advantage of the free shipping. TIA

[Chris]

Do you by chance have TruTrainer's contact information? I'm trying to order a set and take advantage of the free shipping. TIA

When I ordered mine, you do the order online with paypal and then you note in the comments section about the shipping discount. I got charged the full amount and then they refunded the shipping right away.

[Peter P.]

Scroll down to the bottom of the review for free shipping details.

http://www.fixedgearfever.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=4


-Another happy TruTrainer user!