I'm looking at getting either the Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer or the Cycleops rollers w/resistance. What do you guys like or dislike about either. The shop owner recommends the rollers for perfecting your form on the bike. I would like to work on this part of my cycling (pelvic tilt ect..) but would also like to be able to sit up, zone out and watch TV without the fear of shooting off into the basement wall. I'm sure it would not be quite that dramatic but I have never been on rollers so I don't know what to expect. Thanks

I have both. I use the trainer for warming up at races, but the rollers for everything else. Yes, you can zone out with a trainer, but that's because they are so danged boring. You can do everything on rollers that you can do on a trainer but for full-on out of the saddle stomps and sprints.
Learning curve on rollers is a week or two. If you slip off, you won't go forward, but you will fall over sideways. Doorways are good to start. You also will develop a sensitivity and skills that the trainer not only won't develop but will deaden.

Doorways are good to start. You also will develop a sensitivity and skills that the trainer not only won't develop but will deaden.
Thanks Bill, I will look into them more. From shear lack of knowledge the rollers looked intimidating.

I use the trainer for warming up at races, but the rollers for everything else.

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I also use the trainer for interval workouts, since it's hard to get enough watts on the rollers, and stay stable while putting in an anaerobic effort.

(But mostly I hate riding indoors)

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I also use the trainer for interval workouts, since it's hard to get enough watts on the rollers, and stay stable while putting in an anaerobic effort.

(But mostly I hate riding indoors)
That is a concern of mine. I want to get a good workout and have the stability to sit up and rest during intervals. Neither one looks all that much fun, but I have my limits to cold weather riding and the stationary bikes at my gym blow. Decisions.......

That is a concern of mine. I want to get a good workout and have the stability to sit up and rest during intervals. Neither one looks all that much fun, but I have my limits to cold weather riding and the stationary bikes at my gym blow. Decisions.......

I have to assume that by "sitting up" you mean hands off the bars? Depending on your setup, this can be challenging with rollers. That said, the most common complaint about any indoor bike riding is that since you have no reason to get out of the saddle, numbness comes on relatively quickly. Sitting up would not help that situation :) You can certainly move your hands to the tops of the bars and pedal easy on the rollers, so that should get you the rest you desire. It's not at all clear to me why you feel the need to sit up (no hands) in order to rest.

It's not at all clear to me why you feel the need to sit up (no hands) in order to rest.
For me, on any ride, I like to sit up with hands off the the bars to stretch, move around then get back into position. It seems that the trainer would offer the stability to do that.

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I also use the trainer for interval workouts, since it's hard to get enough watts on the rollers, and stay stable while putting in an anaerobic effort.

(But mostly I hate riding indoors)
I know what you mean. In a way, it's good, though, because you can't let your technique go all to hell. You have to put out the watts and still maintain.

Sitting up and resting isn't the problem, it's keeping the bike on the rollers doing efforts that tax your coordination and concentration.

After just a few roller rides, you (or, at least, in my experience) can sit up on the rollers, ride 'em no handed, grab the remote from the table to click the DVD to the big attack of the day, or what have you.

PS, if you try to ride rollers in the rain, you just fall...

Rollers are fun for awhile and everyone should at least learn to use them, then finally go to no-handed occasionally for kicks. Of course you can add a "fork holder" with resistance added on the rear(or even a folded up towel under the rear rollers or resistance device, then change gears for different levels of resistance), that is if you are going to choose between rollers OR trainer. Then you can put out higher efforts, but a stationary is the easiest interval type workout..easier to stand on, and rest after hard intervals. It really is the pits falling off those rollers, too...the cat freaks out & stuff. My cat doesn't seem to mind walking right next to my spinning wheels on my rollers..I sometimes envision a blood-spattered mess in my living room. Of course, I would most any day rather ride in rain or cold, than ride any indoor trainer..down to about 35 degrees, of course!! The time goes by SOOO much faster.

I recently got the Kreitler rollers with the fork stand and headwind fan. Definitely best of both worlds. After a couple fo rides on the rollers, you get the hang of it, though I still have to put them in a doorway so i don't crash into my coffee table. The fork stand is great when I am tired and don't feel like concentrating, or if I want more resistence without having to balance. Don't be intimidated by the rollers. I thought I was going to die the first 2 times, but I hear that is normal. By the third time I was fine.

I thought I was going to die the first 2 times, but I hear that is normal. By the third time I was fine.

Thanks, I'm still undecided, but you sharing your experience is helpful. We are not all pure grace in motion with perfect form. I may have the typical racers body but I am a total klutz...When I first started mtn biking my friends would joke that they could put me in large field with one tree in middle, then they would say, "Whatever you do, don't hit the tree", within minutes I would be running into it. Ok, so maybe they were right, (I hate them all). I'm much better now, the cedar tree scars are healed, but when I looked at those rollers I thought, "yep, I better wear a helmet."

We are not all pure grace in motion with perfect form.

This is all the more reason why you should get the rollers. With a little practice, you will really smooth out your riding style, and this will have significant benefits for you.

when I looked at those rollers I thought, "yep, I better wear a helmet."


You definitely don't have to be a graceful rider to get used to rollers. I rode my bike pretty frequently about 10 years ago just for fun and never in a group. I was by no means a serious rider. I'm trying to get back in shape and want this to be my main hobby, so I bought some rollers for the coming NY winter. It was, as everyone says, like riding on ice the first time I did it. I put it in a doorway and definitely wore a helmet the first few times. Be prepared to slip off the rollers, and don't be afraid to lean on the doorway, or even hold on to it with one hand, to stay up. Look for some threads in here on tips for riding rollers... they really work (like don't brake, don't pedal too hard, don't stare at your front weel but rather at a point on the ground a few feet ahead of you, and most importantly don't get discouraged the first few times). If you do slip off, you realize its not that big of a deal, except for the black mark your tire makes on the floor. By the third time i could stay up for about 15 minutes before i had to take a break (concentrating like that can be exhausting).

I say get the rollers... especially if you can get a resistence device and a fork stand. I like it better than a trainer.

Thanks for all the recommendations guys, I will give it all much thought.

http://www.cptips.com/stacyc.htm
My personal experience was that I had a stationary trainer for about 4+ years and spent a whopping total time of maybe 4 hours(??) on it....absolutely boring!!!
I got some Kreitler rollers and love them...increased my cadence, smoothed out my spin and overall increased my balance (which I didn't think was too bad to begin with)...
My only problem now, is that I still hate to ride indoors... I've thought about getting some E-motion rollers, which is reputed to offer more options to riding the rollers without being a semi-expert; including riding without hands...http://www.insideride.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=72&Itemid=50

I have the Emotion rollers and they are great.
Compared to my Tacx RollerTrack the Emotion rollers are 5 times easier to roll on.

Tha back and forth movement makes all the difference and the flywheel lets you coast for a few seconds.
The 2 side roller blade wheels really work
With the magnetic resistance on full and in a high gear you can stand and give it all
you can !!!!
What you see on their site is no BS I can do it all easy . and if I can ..........

This is a great set of rollers.