Rollers and smart trainers

Hi there

Looking for advice from this community. I have for a while now used rollers with my wahoo bolt to do workouts (e.g. sweet spot, 20/40s, russian steps etc.). I do like rollers but I find it a bit limiting as it is difficult to hit higher watt numbers in bursts as I can’t stand to achieve this.

Does anyone have any suggestions / experience they can share. Should I consider upgrading to some smart rollers or should I move over to a smart trainer? I want to continue doing workouts (I am not interested in the Zwift racing etc.)

A friend of mine has the Wahoo smart roller and I have done a couple of sessions on it.

I rate it highly. Very good.

Previously she used a Wahoo Kickr. She still owns that, but it is sat gathering dust now, as she prefers the roller.

I am sure there are other people that prefer a smart trainer to a smart roller.

If you have nearby retailers (or bike fitter) that sell such things, go and try both and see which you prefer.

I’ve used rollers in the past doing different types of workouts as well. While they’re great for long, steady efforts like Zone 2 rides, I find doing intervals on them really difficult because my focus is split between hitting the target power and trying not to crash. One time, I got derailed while doing a high-power interval — the wheels were spinning fast and I crashed straight into the fan in front of me. I even ended up cutting one of my fingernails. After that, I switched to a smart trainer, and it made my training a lot less mentally taxing.

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