Trainer v. Rollers

Are you looking for pros and cons of Rollers vs. Trainers, or pros and cons just of certain brands of rollers?  You seem to have already made up your mind that a trainer is out of the question.  Without having much experience to call upon, when you are on rollers (as opposed to a trainer) you require your own balance, making it slightly more realistic.  Also, the idea of "you get what you pay for" probably stands true.  Rollers that are plastic are usually noisier, and won't hold up as well as something aluminum or otherwise.   I read an article not too long ago with some recommendations, I'll see if I can dig it up.

Victoria,

I strongly suggest you Try before you Buy.  Rollers are very difficult to get used to.  I know more than one person who's bought them only to return them or post them  on Ebay.

Roller's are great, but require a different level of commitment.

I have both and I hate the trainer!  There is no give on trainer and the bike gets uncomfortable. The rollers require committment to learn to use them.  I have a cycling coach and in the beginning I could only ride at his place, never at my own home.  As I have spent more and more time on the bike, I'm more confident in my pedal stroke and balance and now I will ride them at home.

The rollers are great for smoothing out your pedal stroke, teaching to ride a straight line and maintain balance.  I am slowly working on being able to reach from my water bottle...almost there.

While I can't do this (yet), you will be able to do one legged drills (I've seen it done) and out of the saddle work.  I also know people who can ride aero...I'm not there yet.

Go for it!

I'll chime in as an owner of rollers...several excellent points made that I agree with:

No, you won't be able to ride the rollers the first time you try them, so it's almost pointless to try them...you really just need to bite the bullet and buy them and work at it.

Yeah, beyond 40 minutes my mind gets fatigued.  I have done 1.5 hours on them...with a movie.  Yes, you can get to the point where you can watch a movie.  But it isn't 1.5 hours of constant cycling either.  During that 1.5 hours I usually need to stop to get water or stop because I fall off.  Lots of stopping.  Maybe I'm just not good enough at them yet.  I can ride in aero but I can't get water and I won't even DARE try to stand up yet.

There is also the option of buying a forkstand with your rollers...you can take the front wheel off and stabilize it in a forkstand and it basically turns your rollers into a trainer.  I am not exactly fond of how the bike feels in this configuration, but it would do the job as a trainer.

But you won't find anything better for learning to ride in a straight line and always pedaling.  I wish I could remember the brand name on mine...bought them a couple of years ago though and it was about $200.