rick@rochester.UUCP (07/16/83)
I consider rollers a must for a serious/semi-serious racer, at least for those living in hostile climes. They are good conditioning and help smooth out your stroke. My experience has been that the two most useful enhancements to rollers are: [1] A fan, particularly if it's run off of the rollers. [2] Something to occupy the mind. Rollers get pretty boring otherwise. My favorite is to run headphone connections and then listen to an album side at a stretch. Rollering with someone else is good, too. For those who can't imagine sitting in the basement working away and going nowhere, or who aren't as serious, how about cross country skiing as an alternative? It's good to see that this group finally exists. rick floyd uucp: (seismo | allegra)!rochester!rick arpa: rick@rochester
cfv@packet.UUCP (07/19/83)
Another alternative to rollers or cross country skiing is to ice skate.
Speed skating is the preferred form, but any serious skating is really
good on the muscles and tones them in pretty much the same way.
--
>From the dungeons of the Warlock:
Chuck Von Rospach
ucbvax!amd70!packet!cfv
(chuqui@mit-mc) <- obsolete!rh@mit-eddie.UUCP (Randy Haskins) (07/22/83)
XC skiing is probably one of the best exercise sports around (up there with swimming for total body endurence, and it probably builds more total body strength.) A couple of years ago, in one of the (real, not bogus) superstars competition, a guy named Kevin Swiggert (who was a skier) beat everyone pretty handily. I like it because it's sort of like jogging without the bouncing (which is what I always hated about running). -- Randwulf (Randy Haskins) genrad!mit-eddie!rh or... rh@mit-ee (via mit-mc)
martin@auvax.UUCP (Don Martin) (02/09/84)
I recently read that someone indicated the main reason for rollers was not exercise but to improve your riding style. I agree that your riding style will definitely improve (you fall off a lot if it doesn't). And in addition, you can improve your cadence drastically seeing as you have a constant force to push against. I disagree with anyone saying that rollers are not for exercise! I don't know many people (actually I don't know any) who can ride rollers at over 100 RPM for 20 minutes to half an hour and not work up a sweat. Although you do not get the resistance to your pedalling that you get by using a turbo trainer or plain old exercise bike, you can still get a good exercise session. Talking about the turbo trainer and other similar devices, I tryed one a couple of months ago and took an immediate dislike to them for two reasons. Firstly, you loose all `feel' for riding. Riding rollers gives you the advantage of still feeling like your are in control of your bike. Secondly, if any pressure is put on the handle bars while getting on or off it seems that it would be pretty easy to bend your forks. I don't know about you but I don't particularly want to screw up my bike. To get the best workout, I ride my rollers for 20 minutes to half an hour and follow that up with a further 10 to 15 minute workout on a stationary exercise bike with the resistance torqued up. Cheers & keep on rolling Don Martin (auvax!martin) Athabasca University
mats@dual.UUCP (Mats Wichmann) (02/12/84)
:
: I have to admit that I, too, find the turbo trainers distasteful.
I mostly use my rollers for riding style - after a couple of
days of roller work, you will find your balance and feel for your
bike drastically improved. The secondary benefit is work on
your cadence. The excercise benefit is not too high - you are
not riding with enough resistance to really get a workout. Think
about it - don't you spend most of your time in the highest possible
gear, pedalling away at a high cadence? Sure you will work up a sweat;
when you are out riding your bike, the air flow keeps you cool
and dry for much longer. A workout with half an hour or so on
the rollers, followed by a similar period on the excercise bike
is really the only way to get reasonable work in if you can't
get out.
Mats Wichmann
Dual Systems
{ucbvax,amd70,ihnp4,cbosgd,decwrl,fortune}!dual!matsthielges@uiuccsb.UUCP (02/15/84)
#R:auvax:-31400:uiuccsb:16200003:000:191 uiuccsb!thielges Feb 14 15:21:00 1984 If you want more resistance on rollers, make "fan blades" in your spokes with pieces of duct tape. Don't over do it though, or you'll blow yourself right off the rollers. Bart Thielges
jeff@dual.UUCP (Jeff Houston) (02/22/84)
A set up with rollers that drive a fan for cooling has been
on the market for a number of years, available from the Palo
Alto Bicycle Shop in Palo Alto, Calif. This shop specializes
in the Avocet product line. The roller package can have fans,
speedometer, and odometer attached for those who wish these
extras. Price of just the rollers was around $100 the last
time I checked (late 1983), more dollars have to be plunked
down for each of the other items. If interested I can post
the address and phone # of this Bike Shop, they may also
advertise in some of the more popular biking mags too, so
it might be worth checking in those for more info.
Jeff Houston
Dual Systems Corp.
{ucbvax,ihnp4,cbosgd,amd70,zehntel}!dual!jeff