Looking to put your bike to good use while staying at home? While biking in the wilderness certainly has its perks, having an at-home workout session is much more convenient. You get to decide when your workout starts and ends without relying on weather conditions to dictate your schedule. The second you feel like taking a break, you can just hop off without worrying about finding a suitable resting place.
With that said, home biking sessions don’t necessarily replace the way the open road feels but they do come very close. You don’t have to buy another separate biking contraption to be able to spin the wheels at home. In fact, you can use your standard single-geared or multiple-geared bike at home and get the exact same results, but with a little help from nifty gadgets. This is where the long-standing debate comes in – should you use bike trainers or rollers for your workout? Let’s dive into the details.
Is It Worth Getting Bike Trainers?
In a nutshell, these compact pieces of equipment are attached to the axle of your bike’s wheel, thus suspending it in the air. Most models are compatible with the back wheel only since that’s where all the magic happens. But you can still find models that are fastened to both wheels for a more natural feel. In any case, durable bicycle trainers are a welcome purchase for cycling enthusiasts.
Beginner-Friendly
With their broad structure and fixed design, these trainers are pretty stable and safe, compared to using rollers or even riding your bike outside. Truth be told, the hardest part is mounting your bike and securing it in place, anything that comes after that is a breeze. But even so, trainers have gone through massive changes over the years so that nowadays they’re compatible with virtually any bike type or size.
Easy Storage and Transport
Most modern bicycle trainers are on the lighter side, with folding parts which definitely add to the storage convenience. This means that if you’re travelling or simply want to switch to another room in your house, you can do so by packing up the equipment and setting up at a new location. If you don’t want to go through the trouble of mounting your bike on and off constantly, you can just leave it as is if you have some extra space available. In this way, you can jump in right where you left off without any interruptions.
Realistic Biking Experience
If you really want to get a taste of realistic road feel while indoors, then getting a suitable bike trainer is the answer to all of your prayers. Plus, you can adjust the level of resistance as you go so that you’re not stuck with only one mode of operation. This gives you more variety in your biking session, instantly making it a more fun and engaging workout.
Is It Worth Getting Bike Rollers?
On the other hand, bike rollers consist of three spinning cylinders that are attached to a frame. Two of those cylinders are rear-mounted, to accommodate for the back wheel as opposed to the single cylinder at the front. There’s a rubber band that connects the middle cylinder to the front one, which means that they’ll all turn as you spin your wheels.
More Affordable
Generally speaking, rollers tend to have a lower price tag when compared to bike trainers. This is partly due to the fact that there haven’t been any significant changes in the way rollers work in recent years, so you’ll be faced with an older mechanism. Whether or not that’s a good thing is still up for debate. But if you aren’t looking to break the bank and invest all of your savings into working out, you should consider getting rollers. After all, bigger doesn’t always mean better.
High Level of Engagement
Since your bike isn’t actually attached to anything, rollers are inherently more engaging, both mentally and physically. It’s up to you to keep your balance as you pedal through. This can actually improve your pedalling form so if you’re looking to upgrade your skillset, you’re on the right track. With each stroke of the pedals, you’ll feel the rollers bouncing accordingly, creating a feedback mechanism that practically forces you to improve your form if you want to stay upright.
Simple Set-Up
In contrast to trainers, setting up your rollers is the easiest challenge you’ll have to face. All you have to do is flip the rollers open and you’re all set. You won’t have to worry about whether your bike is strapped in properly or not. But because it’s not fixed to a static base, you’ll need to put extra effort into maintaining a balanced pose than with bicycle trainers. Some consider this as a welcome challenge whereas others see it as a deterrent.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, you’ll be getting a good biking workout regardless of which equipment you decide to get. Fans of a more laid-back and low-maintenance ride will appreciate the simplicity of trainers whereas hard-core biking enthusiasts will be tempted by the challenge that rollers bring. Think about where your priorities lay and what you want to focus on so that you make the right decision.
