Trainers

[TxDoc]

My uncle and cousin have rollers and swear by them, but how do you get on/off without killing yourself. Or do you not clip in?

It is usually not a problem after trying a few times.
I know a few friends that have a stepping stool next to the rollers to start/stop. Others who spend considerable amount of time on the rollers build platforms.
The idea is to make the rollers more 'realistic' by leveling the surface, so that you start and stop the same way you would do on the road. While, if you simply place rollers on the floor - the riding surface will be about 3-5 inches higher than the flooor (which is not what happens on a real road).
Personally, I thought that a stepping stool was aestethically unpleasing, and just used the rollers as they were for a few years, until this Summer I found time and patience to build a nice training platform around them which makes them look much nicer. It's sort of an endless pool for a bicycle, hee-hee
Several coaching studios have done the same - built platforms with 1-3 roller sets so that they can have the whole team train indoors if needed. It looks quite neat to enter a room and see 12 or 16 roller sets ready to go in the same room!

[malkin]

I just set up the rollers in the hall and touch the wall if I need to.

[tulip]

I've heard of people setting up rollers in a doorway, too. Seems like a good idea. I haven't ridden rollers in a couple of decades, but I would be willing to try them again.

[Catrin]

I wish that I could remember where I saw this, but on one website they were selling a fork mount to use with their rollers. The combination of rollers and fork mount was quite expensive - but it seems to me that it would make it rather difficult to fall over. I assume this is the purpose. I am not going to spend >$800 on rollers though

[withm]

I bought a barely used (aren't they all?) Cyclops Fluid Trainer on EBay for $100. The listing was spelled wrong so it did not show up in a search for Cyclops. Try your local Ebay, Craigs List, and even Freecycle - you never know what might pop up.

[tulip]

I wish that I could remember where I saw this, but on one website they were selling a fork mount to use with their rollers. The combination of rollers and fork mount was quite expensive - but it seems to me that it would make it rather difficult to fall over. I assume this is the purpose. I am not going to spend >$800 on rollers though

The whole purpose of rollers over trainers is that rollers improve the rider's balance and feel for the bike. A fork mount is silly for rollers; might as well just get a wind trainer. Man, they are boring, though!

[Kerry1976]

As a newbie, I'm glad to have seen this thread. I just got my bike a few weeks ago but know I will need a trainer for the winter. While a trainer is probably boring, I'd rather have the control over using it when I want, watching or listening to what I want, etc., that I can't get in a class. As a result, I actually will get more exercise with a trainer in my livingroom than I would if I had to go to a spinning class. I also already run and aquajog, too.

I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment building and the insulation is poor. Looks like fluid might be the way to go!

[colorisnt]

So you get on the bike on the rollers? Okay. I can d that. I have a great place to practice it.

I might be sold lol.

[Catrin]

The whole purpose of rollers over trainers is that rollers improve the rider's balance and feel for the bike. A fork mount is silly for rollers; might as well just get a wind trainer. Man, they are boring, though!

Good point, and I had kind of wondered about that...