# Rollers or Wahoo Kickr?



## Rider07 (Feb 25, 2007)

Never had rollers.
Wahoo Kickr looks interesting.
If Rollers, which ones do you like?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

You can get PerformanceBike TravelTrac rollers for $100 without trying too hard for sales. I personally find them far more fun/interesting than a trainer. They're also much better for your riding technique and bike handling.


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## crit_boy (Aug 6, 2013)

Depends on what you want to do. Ignoring the $1000 difference in price. . . 

Kickr for following structured training workouts on erg mode.

Rollers for improving pedaling and handling.

I have a kickr and american classic rollers. Rollers are about 20 years old. 

Back in the day, I rode rollers more than my mag trainer. Now, I ride the kickr significantly more.


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## Opus51569 (Jul 21, 2009)

Nashbar parabolic rollers do the trick for me.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

I have rollers and a Kurt Kinetic. Rollers. They engage the mind, work on balance skills and riding a straight line, and give a realistic feel-the bike leans and pitches just like on the road. They just FEEL right.

All this "beat yourself up with power" on trainers is way overrated.

Which rollers? For a real budget, check craigslist and eBay.

Kreitler is the standard and they're a great value. Get the 3" drums as they'll provide a measure of resistance vs. the larger drums. Kinetic's Z-rollers have gotten great reviews as have the Cyclops rollers. I wouldn't get anything with plastic drums as they tend to crack.

The two Cadillac rollers out today are e-Motion and TruTrainer. I have the TruTrainer. They both have their followers. I have the TruTrainer rollers and feel spoiled. Silly smooth, quiet, and the flywheel offers a measure of resistance. Very realistic road-like feel. FYI my flywheel drum malfunctioned last week and the guys at TruTrainer sent out a new one no-questions-asked, and included a return shipping label for the bad drum. Superb customer service.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

where I live, only have to ride indoors less than a dozen times per year so didn't want to spend much...

stationary trainers looked like they would be a bore-fest, so bought an inexpensive, plain-vanilla Tacx rollers...no fans, magnets, etc.

well-made, quiet...they work. had to replace the drive band once, was cheap ($12).

learning to use them was no big deal, have never fallen...

but even while watching tv, I can only tolerate riding them for 30-40 minutes at a time.


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## pedalbiker (Nov 23, 2014)

Rollers are pointless for anything other than riding easy for long amounts of time. Or if you only have one bike and frequently switch from inside to outside and don't want to have to deal with putting it on and taking it off the trainer. There's no "pedaling efficiency" or "bike handling" gains or anything like that with rollers. That's all just old-school silliness that makes no sense when you actually think about it.

If you're actually trying to do a workout, a trainer is far more beneficial.


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## dmanthree (Aug 22, 2014)

Rider07 said:


> Never had rollers.
> Wahoo Kickr looks interesting.
> If Rollers, which ones do you like?


I've had both, and prefer the trainer. Currently riding a Kickr Snap linked to Zwift. Rollers do teach better form and balance, but do not simulate road riding, unless you ride on ice quite a bit. What I didn't like about them is that they require concentration every second you're on them, so even watching TV is a chore. Personal preference, to be sure, but I'll stick with the trainer.


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## eboos (Mar 22, 2011)

Oxtox said:


> stationary trainers looked like they would be a bore-fest


They used to be, for me anyway. I used to be bored out of my mind when riding on a trainer. I couldn't do more than a couple hours a year on one. Now with things like Zwift and being able to do the structured workouts, I had already ridden 26 hours indoor this year (approx 433 miles).


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## MerlinAma (Oct 11, 2005)

pedalbiker said:


> Rollers are pointless for anything other than riding easy for long amounts of time. Or if you only have one bike and frequently switch from inside to outside and don't want to have to deal with putting it on and taking it off the trainer. There's no "pedaling efficiency" or "bike handling" gains or anything like that with rollers. That's all just old-school silliness that makes no sense when you actually think about it.
> 
> If you're actually trying to do a workout, a trainer is far more beneficial.


My thoughts exactly. Once you know how to ride a bike (ie balance - around age 4 or 5), you don’t really need “better” balance if that even exists.


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

eboos said:


> ...I had already ridden 26 hours indoor this year (approx 433 miles).


in all of 2017, I logged a grand total of 5 hrs on the rollers.

this year, I have 1 hour so far, hope it doesn't go any higher. riding indoors is awful...


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## velodog (Sep 26, 2007)

Oxtox said:


> in all of 2017, I logged a grand total of 5 hrs on the rollers.
> 
> this year, I have 1 hour so far, hope it doesn't go any higher. *riding indoors is awful*...


I think that awful is actually too weak a word for riding indoors.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

velodog said:


> I think that awful is actually too weak a word for riding indoors.



Riding indoors beats not riding at all. By a wide margin.


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## DaveG (Feb 4, 2004)

velodog said:


> I think that awful is actually too weak a word for riding indoors.


For me, software programs like TrainerRoad, Zwift and Rouvy has been a game changer. I used to get get on the trainer, maybe put on a TdF video and some music, and grind away into I could not take it. Now I can do structured, coached workouts, ride with other people online and be treated to semi-realistic graphics. I rarely ride for more than an hour at a time, but I am almost always riding fairly hard and maximizing the time I am putting in. I am happy when spring is here but I no longer hate the trainer. Your results may vary


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## Wetworks (Aug 10, 2012)

Marc said:


> Riding indoors beats not riding at all. By a wide margin.


Yup!:thumbsup:


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## Mcfarton (May 23, 2014)

I have been using my trainer more than ever thanks to zwift and rouvy. I have even considered using the trainer year round because of the time that I can use it. I have never ridden rollers so I will say trainer.


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## Hellgate64 (Aug 7, 2017)

I use Elite Arion smart rollers. They give you the best of both worlds. You can use them dumb and spin, or use Zwift, etc.

http://www.elite-it.com/en/products/us/trainers/rollers/arion-digital-smart-b

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## RobotGuy (Mar 15, 2017)

Rollers and trainers serve different purposes, in my opinion anyway. I enjoy my 20 year old Kreitler rubber rollers, but yeah they’re not the toughest workout in the world. Great for working on cadence or just getting in some easy spinning. And who doesn’t love the dim fear of breaking one’s arse at any moment? Really engages the mind.

If I want a bit more, I pressure down a bit and hit the high gear at high cadence and it’s a good workout, but not exactly pushing big watts.

Got mine on CL for 40 bucks.


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## OldZaskar (Jul 1, 2009)

I'll pile on to pedalbiker's comments - rollers are pointless. They used to have some cache - "I prefer rollers" equated to "I'm a seasoned cyclist using a tool that is too difficult for non-cyclists and I pretend it improves ____ aspect of riding..."

I got a Kickr back in December - the winter was already shaping up to be pretty ****y. Prior to that, I HATED riding indoors. I tried everything: rear-wheel trainer, spinbike, rollers... just hated it. I'd rather ride in the dark (my club rides in the mornings before work) in the 20s, than any form of indoor riding. 

Today, about 15 guys in my club have Kickrs, and we've gone soft - the coldest we'll ride is 35 degrees... 'cause the Kickr and Swift have made indoor riding exponentially more enjoyable. Oh, it's still nowhere nearly as good as a "real world" ride, but it's just that much better than any other form of indoor riding. And, it's only going to get better - as Zwift and other companies add and improve routes/graphics, and Wahoo and other companies add and improve the devices. 

The future looks good for pretend riding ;-)


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