Rollers or rockerplate?

so i’m playing around with the idea of making changes to my current trainer setup and was wondering if it would be better to get a rockerplate or rollers (smart preferably).

any thoughts that the group has for this idea? I’m currently on a direct drive trainer and while it’s ok, i’m thinking that either would make it more challenging/fun on my indoor rides.

thanks in advance!

For starters, you can check out my Pro/Con list between these options from my doc:

See if that helps and I can add more info as needed.

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I vote rollers. Elite Quick Motion rollers have resistance up to ~400-450 watts, and pair nicely with TR if you are using a bike w/ a power meter (I’ve got Assioma’s). Much prefer TR workouts on rollers vs my Kickr

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I have both. (Not smart rollers)
I train on the smart trainer and the rocker plate keeps my bad hip in check with the side to side movement. I use the rollers for recovery rides, mostly in the last training block before spring. Rollers force you to keep your core tight and your cadence smooth. On my gravel bike (1x) I can’t spin all that fast so I keep my hard interval training on the smart trainer. I find the rollers are a good alternate to boring, slow recovery. With the rollers I run a speed sensor and cadence sensor so I can use virtual power. I created some of my recovery spins from TR in Zwift so I can run the rollers in Zwift for visuals.

Overall I think a rocker plate and smart Trainer is a more versatile setup. But you can usually find used rollers for $100.00 so totally worth exploring.

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I have the Nero rollers and love them. They’re my favorite way to train and I have not encountered a workout I couldn’t do. But there is one caveat:

I use them in resistance mode with my phone controlling the resistance via the TR app (I use a rigged Garmin mount attached to a MagSafe magnet so the phone is right in front of my bars.)

The erg mode is not great. I hear they’re fine on Zwift but for workouts I find the erg mode too slow to respond.

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I have nothing to add really but I thought the topic was, rollers on rockerplate, that seemed like a very bad idea.

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That joke has come up more than you’d guess :stuck_out_tongue:

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very helpful! this document is amazing!

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Glad it helped. :smiley: