First look: Inside Ride's new rollers

Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on October 3rd, 2005 at 12:38 pm

[Disclosure: I have worked as a web and marketing consultant for this company for over a year. I'm not getting paid to post this, I'm posting it because they're local and their new product is really cool.]

Inside Ride is based just over the hill from Portland in North Plains. They first gained notoriety in the bike business for their Super Trainer Bicycle Treadmill. Now, they've just released photos of their new rollers. For the uninitiated, rollers are a piece of equipment that allow cyclists to ride their bikes in place, atop three cylindrical drums that "roll" under their tires. Cyclists use them to warm-up before races, improve riding technique and stay in shape during winter months. Rollers have been around forever, but they've always been difficult to ride because perfect balance must be maintained at all times. Riding out of the saddle, sprints, and other serious efforts were never feasible...until now.

The magic behind these new rollers are in the bumpers in front and back of the unit and the little bumper wheels on either side of the front drum. They allow you to move fore and aft and side to side without bouncing off. I haven't ridden them yet myself, but I hear they're super easy to ride even for complete newbies (and that's saying a lot if you've ever tried to ride old-style rollers). If you want to give them a try, come out to the Cross Crusade race this Saturday for a demo.