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Rollers for cycling
PETE GLADDEN
Pete’s World
Published: January 24, 2022
What with the cycling off-season now in full bloom, I again find myself in the unenviable position as a coach to begin implementing indoor cycling specific workouts for my bicycling clients.
And I say unenviable because it’s not a task that readily endears me to these folks.
Most riders take to the monotony of indoor training like a child takes to a spoon full of cods liver oil.
Yet I’m always telling them - just like moms did when promoting that foul tasting fish oil - “it’s good for you.”
And one of those monotonous indoor workout tools that I’m consistently urging my cycling clients to accept, one fetid spoon-full at a time, is the roller. Why? Because it’s good for them.
So what are rollers?
The typical roller consists of a frame affixed to three drums––the rollers.
Two drums are situated at the back of the platform for the rear wheel to rest upon and one drum is situated in the front of the platform for the front wheel to rest upon.
A long, narrow belt connects the two rear rollers to the front roller such that the rear drums drive the front drum.
Now the interesting thing about rollers is that they, unlike bike wind-trainers, do not attach to the bicycle.
That’s right, rollers require the cyclist to balance the bike while riding in place on the three-drum roller system.
As one pedals, the wheels spin the drums, and boom, you’re actually riding just like usual but you stay in one spot. But let me tell ya, it takes some time and patience to learn to ride them. It’s much akin to learning to ride two-wheelers all over again.
So why do I prescribe such a potentially perilous workout tool?
Well, let me extol the virtues of roller riding.
1) My number one reason concerns how rollers help to develop good pedal stroke. Irregular, choppy pedal strokes do not apply the proper power through the full 360-degrees of the pedal stroke and so it’s very hard to stay balanced on the rollers if your pedal stroke is crappy. Regular roller use forces you to pedal in smooth, even circles - so you won’t topple over.
2) Up next is balance. Think about it, balance is super important on a bike, especially when you’re faced with dicy situations. Ever ridden dangerously close to the edge of a steep paved berm? Good balance can keep you balanced on the pavement precipice and out of the ditch - or worse. I actually had that happen on a 50 mph descent in Colorado and I credit balance for saving my life. With indoor roller work you’ll find that your outdoor on-the-bike balance really improves.
3) Along with pedal stroke and balance is the concept of learning how to hold a straight line. And let me tell you, there’s no zig-zagging on rollers. Do that and you ride yourself off into the living room wall. The roller platform is a mere 12-18 inches wide, so you absolutely have to ride in the middle. Veer a tad to much to the left or right and boom, there’s that wall. Now you might ask why riding a straight line so critical outdoors? Holding a line is critical to not veering into an automobile, a motorcycle, a pedestrian, a street sign or god forbid, another rider. I personally will not ride with riders who cannot hold a straight line - because they’re dangerous to me.
Okay, so that’s what I really like about rollers - they force you to improve your overall biking skills.
Now if you’re a roller first-timer, my advice is to begin with short sessions where you situate yourself between a door frame or corridor. In this way you can use the wall for balance assistance. I’d also recommend using flat pedals and running shoes until you gain confidence.
As I said earlier, you’re going to discover that you’re learning to ride a bike all over again those first few rides. Then once you get confidence and experience you can make the switch back to your cycling shoes and pedals.
And once you’re able to ride fully clipped-in and out of that doorframe, you can do isolated leg drills, you can ride out of the saddle and you can even ride no-handed. And that is when roller riding really becomes a fun and challenging way to train on the bike.