Rollers which utilize a floating frame (like some Elite models and the e-motion rollers) in my experience, have more “road feel” than totally static rollers like Kreitler or such. But it’s quite subjective, and ultimately ‘there’s no replacement for pavement’.
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I’m using heaviest wheels, tyres and tubes with rollers to increase inertia and it works. Mavic Aksium, Decathlon cheapest tubes and Michelin Pro4 Endurance 28C tyres and I have extra 1kg flywheel 
Thanks for the great feedback everyone…much appreciated and very helpful!!
I’ve been riding the Elite Emotion rollers in its middle resistance setting for the last year and a half. TR SSBHV I and II and Zwift rides/races. You can’t dance on the pedals and sprint all out, but seated sprints are no problem up to 800+ watts.
Last winter I was forced into using my KK trainer while travelling for a few days and I didn’t like it at all, even though I had used it for the previous 10 years. I wouldn’t want to go back to a fixed trainer.
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Awesome. All great stuff. I went ahead and purchased a pair of QM’s I found on sale. Excited to learn them and be able to incorporate them into my training…all in due time! I’ll be wearing a helmet to start Thanks for the feedback and good tips!! Happy rolling.
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People worry about “crashing” but even if you do come off, nothing really happens, because there’s basically no momentum in the system, just a couple light wheels spinning.
Have fun!
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I have been riding rollers a while and have always been slightly worried about what would happen if i came off.
Your post makes a lot of sense - I think i always assumed that i’d go zooming off into a wall but now realise after actually thinking about it that wouldn’t be the case. Happy days.
Right, your mass will just about halt the bike in an instant, so the fast… race into the front wall won’t happen. But you can still crash if you don’t get unclipped in time.
I recommend starting in a hallway or a doorway at first. That way you have support on both sides, until you get your basic balance. It takes about an hour or two to get some level of comfort.
Use a tall gear and get the wheels rolling quick for more stability in the beginning as well too.
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Crashing is real, your wheels stop and if you don’t get clipped out in time its like learning to ride clipless all over again. In my experience it’s only happened once or twice while I’ve gone off the rollers at least 10 to 20 times over the years.
To add to the op, i don’t use elite motion but do 100% of my indoor rides on rollers. This includes short power build and xco specialty. Judging by the what workout you did today thread i am hitting my power targets about as good as can be expected and keep the display at 2 second smoothing. It definitely takes some practice though.
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I’ve crashed on the rollers once. I had a wall on my right side and a bike on a KK trainer on the left side. Normally, if I tipped to my right side, I could lean against the wall or grab the top tube of the bike on the trainer to my left. Once, after a seated sprint on Zwift, I lost my balance and started falling to the left. 
I missed the grab of the top tube of the bike on the trainer and knocked it over as I fell on top of it. 
I wound up with a big bruise on my hip. Since then I replaced the bike on the trainer with a treadmill. So make sure you have something solid beside you 
that will support your weight if you lose balance.
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The one time I came close to crashing, I clipped my pedal on the stepstool that I keep beside the rollers because I can’t get on/off them without the stepstool. I had the stepstool in a slightly different place, apparently, and I drifted too far to the right, clipping my pedal. I was able to unclip fast enough so that I didn’t fully crash, but yes, crashing in terms of falling down is a real possibility. Definitely agree with @mcneese.chad’s suggestion about starting in a hallway or doorway so you can lean on either side, and get the wheels rolling quickly. Also, RELAX!!! It’s hard to do, but I’ve found that if you let go of the death grip, let the wheels float a bit, you’ll be totally fine.
I can’t move around on the rollers as well as I can on a trainer, so I usually have to take breaks every 30min or so. My rollers don’t have resistance, so I just do cadence drills and easy spins on them. I use the TR “free ride” workouts for those because it makes me look up at the computer so I can watch the metrics, rather than staring down at the garmin.
Quick question for you roller users.
Are you using your regular road wheels and tyres or random cheap training wheels with turbo tyres on them?
Regular wheels and tires in my case. (Road bike with Conti Gators)
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I’m even using my cyclocross/gravel tires. They’re basically slicks. Treadwear is comparable to normal riding on pavement.
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I use the regular bike equipment but I switch out the front wheel for a lower cost wheel because I hit the bumpers at the sides of the front roller once in a while and it scuffs the rim a little if I hit it too hard. If I was more careful I could keep the C24’s on.
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I’m metering power with pedals, and use special heaviest setup of tyres, wheels and even tubes for increasing inertia and resistance. 800W is reachable and sustainable with tis special setup.
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I use my regular training wheels and tires. The aluminum drums don’t seem to cause much wear on the tires. I was using Michelin Power All Season tires. They carry a lot of extra resistance on the road and rollers. They worked will on the rollers but the extra resistance was killing me while keeping with my training partners on the road. I finally had to switch to Specialized tires.
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Great thread, I do some of my TR workouts on rollers but looking to get something to have at work for 2 workouts a week. Looking at the “smart” rollers, does anyone have any experience on these? Do they work in ERG? How is powermatch? I wouldn’t be looking to do sprints but more SS stuff and endurance rides. Thanks
Personally, I don’t see the need for Smart rollers. I have rollers with two levels of additional resistance beyond free wheeling and I can do everything I need by shifting gears while remaining in the middle resistance level.
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My Elite Real e-Motion rollers are ‘smart’ rollers and are controlled by TrainerRoad. I like 'em just fine and have zero issues with the integration.
I have Kreitlers for dumbed down portability, or those times when I feel like I need to work on even more core strength and stability. Compared to the Elite rollers, Kreitlers feel like cycling on ice.
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