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Construction

One of the biggest decisions to be made when purchasing  set of rollers is the overall construction. Many lower priced rollers compromise on quality by offering plastic roller drums that can easily warp when placed in a hot car or are fabricated overseas to poor quality standards.   ZZZing Rollers are designed, manufactured, and inspected in the United States by people that put quality first. The quality of each roller assembly is checked after each step of the manufacturing process and culminates with a final test ride before shipment. 

ZZZing Rollers are constructed of 6061 aluminum, allowing our 8” standard model to weigh in at only 8 lbs. As compared to other rollers that weight in at as much as 41.6lbs (See figure 1). The all aluminum construction prevents warping of the drums and allows for a strong light weight design.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                    Figure 1 (Courtesy of www.fixedgearfeaver.com)

In addition to the light weight easy to carry design, we also considered safety when we designed our rollers. Many manufactures use large diameter rollers, as much as 4.5” to achieve low rolling resistance. This places the rider dangerously high above the ground.  Considering the safety of our riders, ZZZing Rollers are made with 3” diameter roller drums and incorporate a low drop off height of .75” to the rail and 4.0” to the floor. The .75” drop protects valuable rims in the event you ride off the roller drum.

                                                                                      

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Rolling Resistance

Proper rolling resistance is essential when riding rollers. The required rolling resistance is rider and use dependent. For example a rider may use rollers for spinning, sprinting, warming up, cooling down or long rides. Although ZZZing Rollers are not available with an additional resistance unit, we have found the 3” diameter roller to have the optimal resistance for most riding conditions.  Other units push the extremes by providing large diameter, high inertia rollers for spinning or by adding additional resistance units for over the top resistance.  Independent testing by www.fixedgearfever.com has shown our rollers require 150 watts of power to maintain 15 mph and 300 watts at 30 mph.  We found that by simply shifting the gears or by adjusting tire pressure, a rider can change the resistance regardless of speed.  If a rider is serous about strength training it is suggested a stationary trainer capable 600+ watts is needed for those leg busting sprints. 

 

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Training

Developing proper pedaling technique should be the main reason for purchasing a set of rollers. A rider with an improper pedal technique wastes energy with every stroke.  The most common problem seen is “thumping.” This is when a rider does not have a smooth cadence at higher rpm’s and the leg motion becomes jerky.  Riding rollers forces the cyclist to develop a smooth pedal technique. Rollers amplify the affect of “thumping” forcing the rider into a smoother technique.  This smooth technique is important anytime the rider is in the saddle under any riding condition.  Riders should focus on using the entire pedal stroke, not just the down stroke to develop smooth power.

Smooth spinning is so important that in the late 90’s the United States Cycling Federation (USCF) regulated the gearing of all junior riders to promote spinning. This smooth high cadence riding style can be seen in Lance Armstrong’s pedal stroke.  Lance is able to generate the same power output in a lower gear versus powering in a higher gear (80-85 rpm climbing, 95-110 time trialing). It should also be noted that staying in the saddle while climbing is more efficient than standing, so having a smooth cadence while climbing is very important. For the track riders, a lower gear ratio allows quicker accelerations, but with out the ability to spin the gear to its fullest the race can be lost.  

The cadence for most  riders averages 80-90 rpms but can quickly double especially during track racing were there are no gear changes to keep the cadence in the most efficient rpm range. A rider must be able to handle quick accelerations while having the ability to generate the power required to win.  Power is dependant on two factors, torque and speed.  Depending on the riders strengths, the correct combination of these two will allow for maximum performance. 

 

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