Just got a bike roller today, and this is a FANTASTIC workout! Now, after my usual MUni or other outdoor rides, I can spin at home whenever I feel like a quick workout. I got some SERIOUS RPMs going, and you DON’T want to fall at this speed! Unicycles I ride on the roller in this video: KH 700c, Schlumpf 26er in high gear, and the fastest by far, my KH 36er, and I was hitting nearly 20 mph!
Warning: DO NOT try this at high speeds without supporting yourself at the top, or you risk SERIOUS injury! And even with holding on at the top, you STILL must keep the wheel straight and centered on the rollers, and that is not easy, and at high speeds. One mistake could cause the wheel to suddenly shoot off the rollers! But one thing is for sure. THIS IS EXHILARATING!
You my good sir are insane. Both in terms of talent and for trying that. My rollers kick my butt enough for putting in an hour on them with the TT bike, I’d not dare think anyone should unicycle on them.
I ride almost daily, on the trail or wherever, for a good hour or two, but that still leaves most of the day remaining, where I find myself sitting for hours, either at work tuning pianos, or at home sitting on my recliner, watching TV or working on a video. Now I can get up and spin every hour or so to negate the ill effects of prolonged sitting.
I’ve been suggesting rollers for a long time. I started working out on rollers on unicycles in 2006. A cold room and a box fan blowing high speed will help you keep from getting over heated. Interval training routines help keep it intense and aid in fighting boredom.
In the winter when I’m training I’ll do a warm up, pyramid up and back down, followed by a cool down which will provide a great one hour workout. Then I will dry off, put on my winter riding gear, and ride my morning commute to work.
Rollers also work great for building your ability to spin very high cadence smoothly in a controlled environment. If your power application is not smooth the unicycle will bounce right out of the rollers. Then go out and work at high cadence on the street.
If you tilt the rollers to one or the other side with shims you can practice riding camber and condition your body to deal with road camber.
Try lowering the tire pressure and/or add a fan to the drive belt to increase resistance.
And it makes you feel as though you are really travelling along. Put up a TV screen and a video of a Muni route and you’re all set for your long distance rides without leaving your house. Thrill seekers should use a video of a motorway! Cheapskates can just put up posters on the wall to look at.
For real Muni simulation the rollers should have gravel, twigs and other stuff glued on.
Even if you ride outside 5 hours every day, that still leaves most of the day. So if your job is sedentary, and/or you’re sitting at home for hours on end, this is a great way to negate the potentially deadly effects of prolonged sitting. Even endurance athletes are not immune. Please don’t misinterpret my point; in no way does this replace normal outdoor riding, and it’s not even supposed to simulate outdoor riding. What it does is keep the blood flowing, keeps you trim and healthy, is a great way to augment your normal riding, and it maintains the continuity and familiarity of spinning on a unicycle.
Nice demonstration of the interrelationships between crank length, wheel size and cadence…but unfortunately not as cute or funny as hamster-wheel videos.
Every year, in the EMM (unicycle convention in the mountains of madrid) we make competitions with unicycles on roll sprints (with tack of the speed and all the stuff)
I needed to find a way to allow for a more normal hand(s) position while on the bike roller, so I made a “Portable Uni-Spinning console”! Watch 'till the end to see materials used and why I made this. Cheers!
