Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
As the title says, what is better - a turbo trainer or rollers? What are the pros and cons of each?
Turbo Trainer or Rollers
- Thread starter Joey Shabadoo
- Start date
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Roadrider48
Voice of the people
- Location
- Londonistan
I can't get on with either, damn boring!
So I just go out and ride, whatever the weather.
So I just go out and ride, whatever the weather.
zizou
Veteran
A turbo is better for targetted intervals particularly if you want to just concentrate on turning your legs and squeezing the last few drops of power out! The downside though is that they can be dull.
Rollers are more involving and riding them will help your pedal stroke / souplesse and also your overall bike handling because you need to keep your core steady and not bounce about wasting energy. They are however not as good as a turbo for focused efforts plus there is a bit of a learning curve just to stay upright on them.
Rollers are more involving and riding them will help your pedal stroke / souplesse and also your overall bike handling because you need to keep your core steady and not bounce about wasting energy. They are however not as good as a turbo for focused efforts plus there is a bit of a learning curve just to stay upright on them.
U
User169
Guest
Decide what you want a trainer for. As zizou says, they do different things.
Even in the biggest gear, it can be difficult to get your heart rate up on rollers.
Even in the biggest gear, it can be difficult to get your heart rate up on rollers.
OP
OP
Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
A factor for me is ease of use. The rollers seem to involve less hassle whilst turbo trainers need skewers (?) and possibly specific tyres because of heat build up causing wear. I'd say I want to use them more for toning and keeping my legs moving than serious fitness reasons.
T.M.H.N.E.T
Rainbows aren't just for world champions
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Search? This isn't covered at least once a day from Sept-April
OP
OP
Joey Shabadoo
My pronouns are "He", "Him" and "buggerlugs"
Oh I beg your pudding
Ian A
Über Member
- Location
- Leicester/Keighley
Have both. I usually have to train late evening at least one time a week all year round so makes it more interesting. Record so far is fives hours on the turbo (twice this year) training for the Alpes when I couldn't get out in the daytime. We'll count that as mental training.
JamieNUFCcoates
Regular
I would go for the turbo you can't fall off them lol
Broughtonblue
Guru
- Location
- Norfolk
Just hijacking the thread a bit, any body use an exercise bike?
vickster
Legendary Member
Yes, I have a York one, space hungry but done many '000s on kms on it in front of the TV, when injured and in winter. I have a York C202
This also gets asked quite often if you search. A spin bike is closer to the bike position etc
Ian A
Über Member
- Location
- Leicester/Keighley
I use the ones at the gym at work and do a spin class more weeks than not at work too. All effort in the legs and heart/lungs.
Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
I have both and IME rollers are crap (generally speaking, there are exceptions) for anything other than warming up etc, they simply don't offer enough resistance .
People say rollers improve bike handling and your pedal stroke, well, maybe they do, but you'd have to be pretty damn bad for it to be a motivating factor, and if that was the case, you would be one of these people who fall off and struggle for a few hours and then lose interest. As for improving your pedal stroke, I have seen no evidence either way, but I'd argue it has pretty much no bearing on the casual cyclists performance or enjoyment so would give more thought to something more important like not splashing yourself at a urinal!
Buy a turbo.
People say rollers improve bike handling and your pedal stroke, well, maybe they do, but you'd have to be pretty damn bad for it to be a motivating factor, and if that was the case, you would be one of these people who fall off and struggle for a few hours and then lose interest. As for improving your pedal stroke, I have seen no evidence either way, but I'd argue it has pretty much no bearing on the casual cyclists performance or enjoyment so would give more thought to something more important like not splashing yourself at a urinal!
Buy a turbo.
