Racing Zwift on Inside Ride Rollers

Rollers on Zwift? Why? There are a few older articles here on Zwift Insider, along with some videos on YouTube, but I wanted to chronicle my thoughts and experiences on the subject.

Getting Started

I never enjoyed riding fixed trainers. The unnatural feel of a bike that didn’t rock when you stood up annoyed me. Learning to ride rollers was a rite of passage for beginning bike racers back in the 80s, so of course I got a set. 

The problem with ordinary rollers is that they have almost no resistance. You pretty much have to be riding a big gear at a high cadence to get much over 300 watts. Which is fine for us mortals to do threshold and sub-threshold training, but not anything beyond.

Fast forward to 2021. I saw an ad for Inside Ride rollers. If you’ve never seen them, these are like regular rollers, except the entire roller assembly is mounted on a carriage, sitting on a couple of small idlers that look like skateboard wheels. The top assembly can move back and forth a few inches/cm, and is mounted with springs so it is self-centering. They also have an electric resistance unit like a regular smart trainer, along with a pair of smaller supplementary rollers to keep you from driving right off if the resistance is too high.

The price was pretty steep, over $1000 USD. But I went for it. And I am so glad I did.

Roller Tips

These rollers are amazing. For starters, they are so much easier to ride than regular rollers. Just hop on and go. You do not have to pedal perfectly smoothly. Standing up is a piece of cake, as is riding no hands, taking off your jacket, any of it. If you can do it outdoors, then you’ll have no problems doing it on these.

Of course, it’s still more stable the faster the wheels are turning. And like all rollers, if you start to wobble, the solution is to pedal faster. That is the one single tip I’d give anyone riding rollers for the first time. The last thing you want to do is slow down or stop pedaling. Once you condition yourself to spin faster, not slower, balancing is no problem. This is where the Trainer Difficulty setting in Zwift is a blessing. Without it, riding these rollers would not be practical on some of the hillier courses. I have mine set at 20% vs the default 50%. This way, even on the steeper courses, I can keep the wheels turning fast enough to keep the bike stable.

Getting on and off can be a challenge because the wheels of your bike are up on the rollers, somewhat above the floor. Most riders put their rollers next to a wall for support, and I’m no exception. I went a step further and recessed mine into a wooden subfloor platform in my basement. But you could get by with a stool, or ideally, an aerobic step platform set next to the rollers.

The Race Experience

So what is it really like to race Zwift on rollers? First, I’ll be honest – it’s the only way I’ve ever ridden Zwift. I have never tried a modern smart trainer at all, let alone one of the newer ones with all the bells and whistles such as a rocker plate and fork elevator. I can see some definite advantages to direct-drive, which I’ll touch on below. But I really hope that racing is never restricted to specific trainer models, as I’m not giving up my rollers.

Rollers inherently have some resistance from the two tires rolling on them. There is also the air resistance of spoked wheels spinning. And the belt that connects the front and rear rollers adds a bit as well. For these reasons, connecting the rollers to Zwift as your power source is going to shortchange you quite a bit compared to someone with a power meter or a direct-drive trainer. The solution is, of course, to use a pedal/crank/spider-based power meter as your power source. 

The Inside Ride rollers are nominally rated at 800w maximum. Mine are from 2021, and I believe the resistance unit is made by Elite. Outdoors, I’m still capable of hitting 1000w for a few seconds, and >800w for the duration of a sprint. Contrary to what you might see in the IR promo video, sprinting with the same torque and vigor I might have outside is too sketchy for me to pull off on the rollers at the end of a Zwift race when I’m already in oxygen debt. 

Is this a major deal-breaker for Zwift racing? Not for me. In the 50 races I have done on Zwift, I stayed in the saddle and wound up my “sprint” from a little further out than one would do outside on the road. 

I’m willing to give up the ability to sprint at over 11w/kg in order to do my training on rollers, as I feel the trade-off is worth it for me. But if you are a powerful pure sprinter who likes to really thrash out of the saddle, these rollers are probably not for you.

Accessories

I am fortunate to have space in my basement for a dedicated riding/exercise studio. I set up three large fans connected to power strips with remote control, so that I can turn them on and off without leaving the saddle. I use a large computer monitor on a desk a few feet in front of me, as a handlebar-mounted tablet would (I suspect) make riding no hands difficult. I have a wireless mouse within reach on a shelf next to me, along with a cheap tablet to run the Companion app and to control my music. I also use Zwift controllers.

These things all make the rollers experience that much better. I do not use a keyboard and don’t chat during Zwift, as on rollers, you do need to pay attention in order to avoid riding off the edge and falling over.

What About You?

I would love to hear about anyone else’s experience with rollers on Zwift, Inside Ride or not. Thanks for reading, Ride On!