Rollers Versus Trainers: 10-Km Time Trial

The primary aim of this investigation was to determine which cycling training device, Rollers or Trainers, was most effective in improving 10-km time trial. Eight male and 6 female volunteers (N = 14; age = 23.6 ± 4.6 yrs; height = 172.7 ± 9.9 cm; body mass = 68.4 ± 10.4 kg; % body fat = 16.9 ± 7.7; VO_2max = 61.0 ± 9.4 ml·kg^-1·min^-1) provided informed consent prior to participation. Participants performed a10-km time trial at baseline and were then randomly assigned into one of three groups: Rollers (R), Trainers (T), or Control (C). Participants assigned to the R or T groups attended 24 supervised workout sessions throughout an 8-wk period (F: 3 days/week; I: 65-80% HR_max; D: 40 min; M: R or T). There were no significant differences in baseline 10-km time trial between R, T, and C groups [F(2,12) = 0.34, p = .72]. There was a significant difference in 10-km time trial improvement between groups post-assessment when controlling for baseline values (F = 17.04, p <.001). R participants improved by 20.4s [t(4) = 4.86, p = .008] and T participants improved by 12.8s [t(4) = 4.57, p = .01], while there was no significant improvement for subjects in C. Participants using R and T displayed significant decrements in time with respect to the 10-km time trial. However, R had a greater improvement in 10-km time trial when compared to T.