Knobbies on a roller?

the noise will bug you for sure, might shake your fillings loose from the vibration as well. Slicks are pretty cheap and worth the investment.

Knobbies are fine....

but you have to glue a bunch of rocks, sticks and dirt to the rollers.

I am joking, of course, but I HAVE seen it done before.

I personally just use an old road bike on my rollers, save tires and drivetrains.

I've used my knobbies on a trainer (though not rollers) and found that the vibrations are pretty nasty. I picked up a cheap slick and it does soooo much better.

Myself, I'd wait until fall, pick up some end of season slicks and just ride on the dirt until I have to go to the rollers.

Thanks for the replies everyone! If the vibration is similar to what i get w/ my mag trainer, then it'll be fine. But with rollers there's more vibration from the front wheel.

Well, it's good to know that it IS possible to use knobbies... just might be annoying. I'll probably pick up some slicks if it is a major problem. I mainly ride on the streets anyway...

John

Ok, i got my Kreitler rollers yesterday and tried 'em out for the first time. (1st time on rollers in almost 20 yrs!)

The sound w/ nobbies is a little noisy, but no more noisy that on my old Mag trainer. I thought the addition of the friction of the front wheel would make the noise unbearable, but it really didn't add much, if any, noise.

The vibration from the knobbies was very very little. A very smooth ride, actually. I'll be able to watch TV by just increasing the volume a little. I think i'll stick w/ the knobbies for now... In fact, my bike is getting old and is not well maintained (meaning it makes all sorts of sounds when riding on the road). The loudish noise when on the rollers masks those sounds nicely!

John

It used to really piss off the neighbors when I lived in an apartment and rode the rollers with the mtb. get some slicks on a spare set of wheels. you'll be happier in the long run.