I have done it. I can’t think of a reason not to. I’ve considered it again recently but I don’t really have an issue getting used to road v mtb position.
Same, I love their story and I love that they are from a forlorn cycling mecca of the states. Having said that…
My only hesitancy is 1. they are clearly a small shop, so i worry about longevity in this marketplace (i.e.-getting stuff fixed in a few years). 2. Their warranty page is sort of land-mines of caveats and exceptions. Which doesn’t worry me so much as makes me wonder how they stand behind their products?
With that out of the way the only thing I’m waiting for is an actual review of them from @GPLama or @dcrainmaker. I understand that power accuracy of rollers is very hard to achieve, but i want independent verification that they work well in a power match setup to my bike power meters.
Also, reading up on the giant lags in the Elite Nero’s power ramps…I wonder if this product is also only good at steady state.
I wish the bike world would get back on the rollers ‘train’. I personally think it is a much better way to train than on a fixed trainer.
Not going to happen. Rollers (and smart rollers) will remain niche. For the large majority of the market - They’re difficult to ride, they’re dangerous, and they require too much concentration. For long steady-state efforts they work pretty well… however if you have an aggressive/forward TT position, there isn’t enough control or stability.
They’re also horribly inaccurate, susceptible to heat issues, and require a spindown to 0km/h to calibrate (an insane ask on rollers, imo). So if you’re spending $ on a smart roller, you need to have your own power meter too.
I didn’t have the NERO rollers long enough to try power match, or poke and prod at them past a few initial rides.
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Must be why I prefer them. 
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You clearly don’t deserve a reply posting trolling junk like that.
For the benefit of everyone else - I believe in traditional rollers. For their purpose. That being leg speed and recovery rides. The technology in these new smart rollers, as I mentioned above, suffers from a number of technical issues resulting in a poor user experience.
I believe this forum has a policy of playing the idea, not the man. So I’ll leave it there before I too violate this policy.
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Hi Leroy_People-
I believe it’s probably appropriate for you to note that you are actually Larry of InsideRide.
See, the funny thing about the interwebs is that they’re all connected. Which also means IP addresses are logged, etc… So when someone posts as Larry from InsideRide one moment, and then a short bit later with the exact same IP address as LeRoy People, it’s kinda a giveaway.
Let me know when you’ve got a shipping label for the existing unit you sent over. I had put it aside and was waiting to do a review of any upcoming NEO-compatible flex-compatible unit you might have had (to save you costs on-reshipping it again). But it sounds like that’s not something you’re interested in. No worries, I’ve got plenty of other products to review.
Cheers,
Ray
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Back on track: I got my Feedback Over-Drive rollers today. Just un-boxed them and they look pretty nice. I’m really looking forward to spending some time on them as the weather continues to drive all of my training indoors. It’s nice having the variation between a fixed trainer and rollers (for me).
I’ll post up some thoughts as I get some time on them. 
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Very first impressions with my new Feedback Overdrive Rollers with an easy Carter this AM:
- They won’t replace my Kinetic Trainer
- The resistance is nice, these are the easiest rollers that I’ve used because of the resistance, very easy to stand up.
- They act very similarly to my Minoura Rollers in that they seem to become unstable at high RPM or high wattages; I hit 550w (barely) this AM and I would say anything above 400w would take practice or just not practical.
- Not as quiet as I hoped, but in line with my other rollers (Minoura and Kreitler)
Filed right under you get what you pay for. For $300 these are a decent option. I’ll spend more time on them and report back once I get a few SS, Threshold, and above time on them. I still want to try a higher end set of rollers like Elite’s offerings.
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Maybe this should be a different thread but,
I use Sportcraft Rollers with the Feedback Overdrive unit and Favero Pedals for a PM. I really like the setup but, I do find it tricky to do some of the workouts that require frequent, quick power changes, for example Spanish Needle-3. 15 second burst??? It takes me 15 seconds to stabilize when changing power levels that much. Also, being on rollers makes really low power segments unrealistic, I generally do 100 watts just staying upright.
How do other folks deal with this?
I cannot fathom doing spanish needle on rollers. My KK Road machine is hard enough.
Perhaps @Jonathan can do a video on such bursts on rollers.
David
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I was able to do Spanish Needle -3 recently, I use the Elite Quick Motion Rollers and a Stages left-side PM. My tips:
- Turn power smoothing way down if you haven’t already, I use 3-second.
- Use the first set to find the gear that you will use for the bursts, remember it, and then stay in that gear for the whole set, the momentum from the high power bursts will carry you several seconds into the 15 seconds rest, and then just roll that big gear over as easily as you can for the last 10 seconds or so. It might feel a a bit odd but this is better than fiddling with gears during the short breaks, which takes a lot more brain power, ‘cognitive load’ as they say.
- Use the little ‘blob’ or crosshairs (for average interval power) under your power number and think about ‘negative splitting’ each burst, try to use your initial snap to bring the blob just under target watts, then ease it up right on target over the remaining seconds. Rather than blasting the power way over to the right and then trying to control the ‘fade’ and hit the average that way.
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I haven’t done anything like Spanish Needle yet, I’m having a hard time envisioning that working for me on the Overdrives. I do like the advice from Dylan though.
I imagine I’ll use my Kinetic for burst workouts like SN.
As far as staying upright and under 100w, it’s very doable, just requires practice. I’ve used rollers for 10 years without resistance, so one u switched to these overdrives it’s pretty easy. I find standing to be easier as well. I use a Feedback repair stand as stabilizer for getting on the bike, holding an extra hand towel and a quick balance break for longer rides.
I just did Rattlesnake on rollers, what I did was find the right gear for the ‘on’ intervals, then shifted to small ring for the rests. Even at only 15 seconds rest it seemed worth it! I was also hitting it hard on the ‘1’ on the countdown to really overshoot power, then settling in as recommended by Seiler in the recent video posted about these (which he called Ronnestads I think?)
I also find it wobbly at lower power but generally have the option to put a hand on a wall while eating etc in the rest breaks.
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Yeah, I turned the power smoothing way down. Good tip about the crosshairs for the average interval Power, I’ll look for that next time.
Has anybody tried looking for “Roller Friendly” substitute workouts for workouts that aren’t necessarily “Roller Friendly” and how did that work for you?
Spanish Needles isn’t too bad if you find the gearing to hit the power target at the cadence you want but still it seems like I’m kind of fighting the setup; and I can ride at power levels down to 50 or so but it requires concentration and 80-90 is almost easier. So, when doing workouts I’m usually chasing the desired power level (especially over-unders!) and way above the power settings for recovery intervals. Mind you, its not bad enough that I’m thinking of changing over to a trainer 
.
It seems like the workouts are structured more for trainers with ERG mode, which is fine since I suspect there are more folks using trainers than rollers but I’m just wondering if folks have found ways to adjust the workouts to better fit roller setups?
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How are you liking them? I’ve been using them for over 5 years and I find they’re amazing. I bought an Elite Direto a couple years ago and very quickly sold it and reverted back to the rollers. I can go from noodling around to whatever the prescribed wattage is in about 1-2 seconds and find that they provide ample resistance. I done 1000w+ efforts and that seems to be where your gearing will stop you from putting out more. Did 845w for 20 seconds on them a couple days ago and that was no issue.
The customer service from sportcrafters is second to none. a couple year ago I had a problem with the end caps on the drums. That was at about 5am. I emailed right away and by about 10am there was a whole new set of drums on their way to me.
Can’t say enough good things about these rollers
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I’ve used Kreitlers, and Minoura rollers in the past and the Overdrives (Sport Craft licensed) are better. Just offering some resistance makes riding them quite a bit easier and I have done up to VO2 Max workouts with them. I’m reading the advice about finding the correct gear for harder efforts and I may try that. Sometimes I do prefer going back to my trainer if I’m having a hard time with a certain workout, just taking the balancing out of the equation can be helpful. But, I’m a big fan of rollers they just make the work more interesting - I want to continue to improve. No way I could hit 800w quite yet, but I’m working up to it. I may also need a 53 chain ring to do so?
The 53t ring helps for sure. I usually get in roughly the correct gear on the cog a few seconds before the interval and then crank it into the 53 as the interval starts and can usually get to the target power right away. It certainly takes practice and being able to generate a lot of force quickly certainly helps.
Stuart Alp, BSc, PharmD, R.Ph
Tel 647-210-8675
Email stuartalp@gmail.com
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Any long term reviews? Thinking about buying the same roller!
They’re good. I haven’t used them much admittedly since riding outdoors has taken over but I’m able to do up to threshold work with them no issues. I’m sure VO2 Max and high cadence would be feasible too. The resistance is predictable and the unit is stable. So far the best set of rollers I’ve owned. I still prefer the dumb trainer for the stupid hard sessions but once winter hits I’ll do I’ll my base training on these