ROLLERS : TruTrainer VS Kreitler 3.0

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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tvelez83
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:27 pm

by tvelez83

Here is my question:

I ride a Lemond revolution trainer up to 3 hours if I have to, and I don't mind it.

I want a good set of rollers that I can train on if I don't want to be on the trainer, and that i can take to races.

Is the price difference justifiable?
-TrueTrainer: $1,200.00
-Kreitler: $550.00

Thanks in advance.

11.4
Posts: 1095
Joined: Tue May 23, 2006 4:33 am

by 11.4

First of all, TruTrainer has two versions, one with the flywheel and one without. The former gives you a superb higher-load training tool; the second is basically like a Kreitler, just much better made with a couple provisos.

If you want high-load resistance on rollers, the TruTrainer is the nicest way to go. When you want to take the rollers to races, you want a pair you can fold and you want to be able to disconnect the high-load option. So price them with those two options.

If you just want basic lower-resistance roller function, I'd still suggest you think about the basic TruTrainer rather than the Kreitler, with two cautions. What do you get with a basic TruTrainer rather than a Kreitler? The drums are positioned so the rear wheel is at the same height as the front, instead of a bit lower. The bearings are much better, as is overall precision and smoothness. The frame is much stronger. The rollers keep their adjustments really well. The drums are hard anodized so they don't leave aluminum on your tires and they are less subject to corrosion. The downsides of TruTrainers are two in my experience: First, when folded the drums are on the outside and subject to damage (on Kreitlers, the rails are on the outside). Second, if you need to change your wheel spacing frequently, it's easier to do on the Kreitlers -- that's if you have both a road and track bike with significantly different wheelbases, or if you and a team mate or training partner both use them and have very different sized bikes.

If you go with Kreitlers, you do get a choice of drum diameters. And there are two different designs, the Classic and the Kompact. I don't especially like the Classic -- the fastpins holding the sliding brackets for the front drum tend to fall out, the sliding adjustment compromises rigidity of the system, and the paint there wears anyway and collects perspiration and rust. The Kompact is actually the original design for Kreitlers, with rigid tabs sticking up from the rails, and it really works well. The only two drawbacks are if you want a really unusual extreme wheelbase and if you are using such a wheelbase, the drums collide when you are trying to fold them. But for typical road bikes and most other adult racing bikes as well, they work just fine. The Kompact also doesn't work as well with 4.5" drums -- it works best with the 3" and 2.25" drums so you have some room for them to nest.

So if you want basic 4.5" drums in a basic pair of rollers with superb rigidity and smoothness and durability, I'd go for the TruTrainer basics. If you want a different drum size or want rollers you can fold and just throw into the trunk without a blanket or cover to protect them, get the Kreitler Kompacts. If you want complete high-load capability, get the full-blown TruTrainers and pay up. They are worth it for that. Just be sure you get the option to disconnect the high-load function so you can use them just to spin up or spin down. It's a cheap option on those rollers.

You ask why I don't recommend resistance options on Kreitlers? Well, the fan is clunky and noisy. The small heavy flywheels give uneven lumpy resistance. A towel or piece of blanket under a drum works until it slips and you have an accident with it, or just have to get off the bike to adjust it. High-load on Kreitlers is frankly an afterthought. Kreitlers were made for those who wanted something for high cadence training, not for high-load resistance training. TruTrainers work the opposite way -- designed for superb high-load training but with the ability to back off the options and have rollers functioning basically like Kreitlers. Remember that trackies and others train and warm up regularly to high performance levels on rollers; it isn't like rollers are only useful with high resistance. By the time you buy a high-load pair of TruTrainers, you can buy the basic ones plus a Kurt Kinetic. For the price of a pair of blown-out TruTrainers, you can pretty much get a Wahoo Kickr -- the ultimate in power training --and a pair of used Kreitlers for high cadence work.

This is the time when riders are dumping rollers, so check Craigslist for the cities near you. I find them all over these days. If you can get a good-condition pair cheap, you still have a lot of dry powder to use on other training technology. Don't take this to discourage you from getting TruTrainers. They are a great way to ride rollers. But you might be happy with a pair of Kreitlers for roller riding and save the rest of your funds for a Wahoo Kickr. That's when it really gets fun.

by Weenie


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tvelez83
Posts: 3
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 7:27 pm

by tvelez83

Thank you. Good point

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