I may be missing something but isn’t the ROLLR design driven by having to combine the functionality of rollers with smart trainer resistance. If the back end floats, do you need the front end as secure as the back end of a direct drive trainer or an old wheel on trainer? When the trainer is changing resistance in erg mode or simulating grade changes, does the front end needs to be secure? I am not suggesting their solution is optimal as it doesn’t address steering, all bike sizes or 650b wheels, but I don’t known if securing the bottom of the front wheel would be work.
I think the design could be evolved into a less expensive non-smart travel option like the Feedback Sports Omnium and a higher end option with a second generation KICKR CLIMB that is closer in functionality to the Elite Rizer
Overall, the ROLLR moves away from the smart bike trend back to bring your bike (and power meter). I wonder how many enthusiasts will be in the dedicated smart bike/dedicated trainer bike set up camp vs. switching from outdoor to indoor and vice versa with one bike. For many of us, there may be no going from
the quiet direct drive trainers and smart bikes (so we can listen to our Lasko fans). Based on @dcrainkaker’s review, the ROLLR doesn’t seem like a good fit for virtual racing.
No doubt the ROLLR may appeal to a subset of roller enthusiasts and some first time trainer users who buy the ROLLR with power meter pedals. But it does reduce the friction of having to deal with cassettes and axles on direct drive trainers.
I think there is a market for this things…
I can see a company with 3 or 4 renting the use of them since its super easy to put/remove a bike and works with every single bike out there and no need to change anything or remove anything.
Plus at races, most people will be using external PM anyways.
is the feedback omnium trainer that difficult to swap out adapters for the fork? It’s not like there’s 100s of front mount options. And the omnium is far cheaper and more portable.
Nope do not get it. I wish I could ride a roller, but I cannot. I am happy with my Kickr Core erg smat trainer. Piece of cake to put a bike on and off it.
My first impression was its a kickr core power unit, using attached to a wheel on trainer, looking like a roller, without developing any of the skills needed to ride a roller. Ummm I really do not get it.
Very niche is being polite (and I am a Time Trialist who warms up as many do - either on the road or using our turbos).
Would it work the same on rollers if you go from a 100 watt interval to a 300 watt interval or from a 0% grade or a 10%+ grade? I get that gradual resistance changes are ok on rollers and non-erg power changes work fine but was not sure if it work the same way if resistance was changing on a dime.
Yup, works fine with regular rollers. Plenty of people using the InsideRide E-motion Smart rollers, TruTrainer Smart Load, Elite Nero and older E-Motion controlled trainers for workouts and resistance loads/changes just like that.
Considering many people have managed to break a carbon rim with tyre leavers, clamping it doesn’t seem the best thing to do. And if you clamp the tyre - can you burp a tubeless tyre like that? What if you leave the whole thing set up, and the pressure drops?
“Clamping” is not my specific point of concern. I have not used one, but from the videos and related comments, the actual clamping force is not huge or excessive. That alone is unlikely to damage the wheel or rim.
My concern, and seems to parallel what Shane shared in is vid above, is the actual torque and related loading placed on the rim and wheel due to how the Rollr holds the wheel. The lower support points aren’t a direct issue, but allow the wheel a certain amount of "float. That moves on up the chain to where the top clamp holds / restrains the wheel.
As the rider undoubtedly applies forces at and thru the handlebars (green arrows), this will result in some lean of the bike and most importantly, twist at the front wheel (lower purple arrows). That wheel twist is restrained by the lower and upper clams (red X’s). This would likely apply some “unique” loads to the wheel that it is not likely to see in normal riding. I suspect that is the key issue here and what Envy and others like us are not fans of with this design.
I’ve seen people mention the many wheel restraint style bike racks as justification that this is not a problem. But those are only dealing with the wobble and forces presented by the bike mass and motion from the car. That is most likely far less than the forces that can be applied with a 150lb [68kg] or heavier rider on top, and add in the potential for large forces from heavy efforts. The two cases are quite different and I see the Rollr as one that is worth questioning.
Agree, its likely not the clamping itself, but the twisting and general movement at the clamped point. It’s like you put a spanner/wrench on your rim and start twisting and turning it - it’s not designed for that.
I don’t like the mechanism too much either. However, just 1 pandemic ago, 90% of bike manufacturers called warranty voided when you used a standard DD-turbo.
I use Kreitler rollers, with Rotor inpower cranks and a Kreitler flywheel. Easily capable of 240W in the small ring on the front, and feels very road like to me. No issues with unusual loads on the wheels or frameset.
I’m considering Wahoo Rollr as new smart trainer. Looking at different reviews, looks like it is good for steady state intervals and especially for long Z2 rides, allowing body to move more freely but not so good for out-of-saddle sprints.
Anybody with hands-on experience, please share opinions for other kinds of intervals a la floats, over/unders, on/offs, etc?
Ive yet to see one in the wild. Havnt heard of anyone with one, havnt seen one at a single race
It’s too bad wahoo and other companies dont seem to think asking athletes what they want is a good idea, as opposed to making something and then trying to pitch it. Theres a reason the Feedback Omnium is the choice of warmup trainers at every race…. Cheap and portable. This is neither…
Hey @svens I have the Rollr and love it. My wife and I swap bikes super quick and no changes for either QR or TruAxel. If the tires are around 70-80psi there’s a little bouncing but most of the TR workouts are pretty short out of the saddle work. I’ve had no issues with crazy bouncing but a little does happen. Just have to pay attention to your pedal stroke and it might be a little weird at first. I think the convenience of swapping bikes makes it worth a little bounce once in a while. Thanks!
As a Rollr user I‘d highly recommend against getting it!
There are two reasons to get a Rollr over a direct drive smart trainer:
constant swapping of bikes in and out of the trainer
using the trainer for warm ups and not willing to mess with the race set up right before a race
In all else, I’d deem it far inferior than any direct drive trainer I’ve tried.
it doesn’t have a power meter so you‘ll need your own
it clamps onto the rim, which I haven’t found to cause damage, but some rim makers have already said this would void warranty
the ERG Modus works okay on average (so if you set the power to 300W for 5 minutes, your average will be relatively close to that)… but the way to get there is really over and and under. A normal Kickr or Kickr Core has 2 watt swings, while the Rollr has 2 Zone swings
riding out of the saddle just doesn’t work well. It’s stable enough and all, but power dwindles into nothingness when I get out of the saddle. The tire slips at high torque
the bike moves around more than on any other trainer. That may be great for long endurance rides, but it’s not a realistic road feel. It feels more like riding on a treadmill than on a road.
you experience tire wear. I know there are specific Roller tires, but changing wheels or tires would completely void the point of this device in the first place
it’s huge, heavy and not easy to store
It’s not the worst device in the world, but it is a very very niche product, that I would not recommend to 98% of people.
How so? I’d think allowing (some) lateral movement is more realistic than being fixed in place. It’s exaggerated on rollers relative outdoors but people don’t ride in perfectly straight lines outdoors, either.
