Roller question

I use the same setup I ride outside with.  Bike shoes with speedplays....but I NEVER use my rollers anywhere besides the doorway.  I don't trust myself enough yet....

You put your bike on them and pedal, balancing your bike on the rollers as you pedal.  The faster you go the easier it is to keep balanced...but the more dangerous it is if you fly off your rollers....OUCH! 

http://www.branfordbike.com/trainer/big/tr2biga.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_14201_ride-rollers-cycling.html

I know what I'd do.

Break my @ss!

Okay, I presently have a Cycleops Fluid trainer.  I hate it.  Its boring.  I'm thinking the rollers would be a lot more fun since you need to concentrate on keeping your balance and can move back and forth a little bit on the rollers.  It would be much more like really riding.

What do you folks think, should I get some rollers?

Yeah, but the real question is.....can you do wheelies on your rollers?

Yes, I am a terrible biker...

There's a cure for that, y'know....

I hesitate to ask, because I fear I know the answer...

What's the cure?

Q1:  Shoes or cleats(Jen)?  A:  Cleats.  Don't know how you'd keep your pedal stroke round in shoes.  I stay clipped into my Speedplays and it works fine.

Q2:  To get rollers or not (Karl)?  A:  Go for it!  I got them as remedial 'homework' before the local bike club would let me ride in the A-class.  I could keep up with em, I just couldn't ride a straight line so they were scared of being with me in a pack!  Seriously, it helps round your pedal stroke, ride a straight line, and keeps you concentrating (for obvious reasons).

Two considerations:  1) the smaller the diameter of the roller, the more resistance you'll get without additional resistance tools.  A 2" roller will be a lot harder to ride than a 4" roller.  And the 2" roller will, due to the increased resistance / deflection, chew through tires at an amazing rate.  2) I've seen parabolic rollers but haven't seen reviews on em (they're thicker at the outside edges and thinner in the middle, helps correct any steering bobbles.

Q3:  How do you get a good resistance workout with rollers?  A:  three ways.  1) Get the smallest diameter rollers you can, 2) Ride an hour with pure rollers (minimal resistance, working on technique), then take off the front wheel and use a forkstand and just spin the rear wheel for the next couple of hours - in the highest gear.   I find that as soon as I start to fatigue and get out of round, the chances of riding through my living room go WAAY up..., and 3) most rollers sell a resistance unit (fan) that you can hook up to the rollers, which will add more resistance than you'd ever want - and blow air on you, a great thing when you're sweating in the living room.

I ride the Kreitler Dyno-Mite rollers 2" with a forkstand, and will pick up the Killer Cool Headwind fan next off-season ($130).  All told the package will set me back about $400 - may be cheaper now cause of the market's renewed interest in rollers....

Very simple cure, been around for over a century, most succinctly put by Belgian cycling great Eddy Merckx:

Ride Lots!

At the risk of hijacking this thread, I gotta ask:

Thinking of physics, when you are on the rollers and you fall off or steer off, or whatever...

My impression is that you will not go ripping off down the carpet or into the television.  After all, you are 50 kilos or more of NON-moving mass (sitting still on rollers) so even if the wheels hit the carpet, linoleum, or concrete, they'll likely screech and convert whatever rotational energy exists into heat long before any forward motion could be generated.  (This assumes that pedalling stops at this point.)

Now, let me admit that I don't have rollers, but thinking about this from a purely theoretical standpoint, I just can't jibe the physics with the idea of someone ripping off down the living room carpet from a motionless position.

Opinions?