Thank you for the detailed response! I think I’ll be grabbing a set soon. Especially nice comparison with the Kinetic trainer since I’m using one now. The Kreitlers are very nice but the frames get beat down quickly. I had switched to using my first set of minoura rollers for a bit but they started making crazy unbalanced noises that I can’t track down.
I keep thinking I need a wheel off smart trainer to nail sprints inside (even though I’m most interested in VO2 / anaerobic efforts) so this is giving me hope. I think low tech is the way to go for me.
I used E-Motions from 2009-2016 – they would still be around had I kept them properly cleaned. I got lazy about wiping sweat from them, and I sweat-welded a bunch of bolts and corroded the resistance control. Just really stupid.
They were great, though – I could get well over 500w on them.
I have SportCrafters with the inertia drum and like it, using their older magnetic resistance unit (still available under the cyclops branding). I have been thinking about replacing it with the overdrive drum, but not really coming up with a good rationale other than “would be nice…”
BTW, I’ve too wrestled with a SMART trainer, but decided for my capabilities and ahem, commitment, that I’m good with what I have versus spending more money for what I think would be a very incremental improvement.
Thank you. I’m more interested in how a trainer/roller makes the experience feel verus how many bells and whistles. I don’t Zwift, I use a dedicated power meter so a Smart Trainer is probably overkill for me. I’d keep my Rock ‘n’ Roll trainer for short burst efforts probably. Thanks again for the thumbs up on the product, looks like a great value.
I recently bought the Elite smart rollers. Very meh. The plastic rollers are not round. Had cycleops rollers without resistance and finally wore them out. In hindsight, I should have replaced them with the same model but with resistance unit.
The problem with smart rollers is that you still to change gears but it is hard to know when if the power change is small. Is there a way to know what the current resistance level is during a workout?
Since I’m a roller geek and your question on the Feedback piqued my interest, I did some Googling. You may find this Michiana Spoken podcast where they interview with Pete Colan from SportCrafters interesting like I did. The interview with Pete starts at 41 minutes in; everything before was lame. Sounds like SportCrafters sold the OverDrive technology to Feedback sports
I am using Elite smart rollers and really liking them so far, although they are my first rollers. Power matching to my Powertap P1 pedals works really well apart from the odd quirk which seems to be TR related with the powermatch.
@timothyh Like you, it would be good to know what the actual resistance is in ERG mode to see if you need to shift or not to get the power range. I wrote a small app to look at the ANT+ output from the rollers (FE-C) and it indicates both the resistance and if you are above or below speed. Would be nice if TR had that display …
My next mod is to retrofit my CycleOps PowerBeam Pro smart controlled resistance unit to the rollers. I want the added flywheel mass, and hope to be able to use them as “smart rollers” for Zwift
Second the TruTrainer rollers. Really nicely made and the flywheel makes them very stable. You can actually coast on TruTrainers. Resistance is also quite good, and they offer a “smart” option now, as well.
Kreitler rollers are very nicely made as well, and are available in different drum diameters (smaller == more resistance). The aluminum rollers are very smooth. The Tacx are quite reasonably priced, but not as smooth or quiet as metal drums.
Particularly in the winter, I’m on rollers a couple of times a week. It keeps my handling sharp and forces me to be balanced in the saddle. You can tell the riders who have been on a fixed trainer all winter because they can’t hold a straight line in the spring.
This is an easy one. Get a new or used E-motion roller, slap on the smart resistance unit AND the flex fork and you got two trainers in one. It’s a smart roller with full motion or it’s a rocker with full motion. Once you try it nothing else makes sense.
If you go used with the E-motions, just make sure you get a newer version that it supports the smart resistance add-on (it shows the supported versions on their website). I had a set that was about 9 years old and it wasn’t compatible with the smart resistance unit. I finally gave in and bought a completely new set of rollers with the smart resistance. The resistance works really well for zwift or just changing resistance with their app, but ERG mode isn’t great. I spent a little time w/TR support trying to get ERG working well, but I gave up pretty quick. I may revisit it since I’m struggling a bit getting the right resistance vs. cadence on V02max work.
The rollers themselves are beautifully engineered and my old ones worked like new after 9 years and thousands of hours on them. Pricey for sure, but cheaper than a nice set of wheels and I feel like I’ve gotten my $ out of them many times over.
I ordered a set of the Feedback Overdrive rollers. I’m looking forward to the change of pace; rollers with resistance high enough to hit sprints. (Hopefully).
I realized today that everything I use indoors is a design against the static nature of most trainers, I use one of three sets of rollers or my Rock n Roll.
For those like @Jonathan that focus on MTB, do you ride your MTB on the rollers? (Meaning – do you have spare wheels with slicks AND do you ride the rollers?)
