Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

RooDol Compact Rollers

8
£195.00

VERDICT:

8
10
A brilliant travel-friendly solution for pre-race warm-ups and training basically anywhere
Weight: 
5,150g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

What the road.cc scores mean

Good scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.

  • Exceptional
  • Excellent
  • Very Good
  • Good
  • Quite good
  • Average
  • Not so good
  • Poor
  • Bad
  • Appalling

The RooDol Compact Rollers make excellent sense for transporting to an event for a pre-race warm-up, or for those of you whose space is limited at home for indoor training. With easy setup, use and quick disassembly, the RooDols are the perfect companion for the rider who needs to train anywhere.

  • Pros: Portable, foldable, true spinning, custom bag
  • Cons: A little flexy for hard efforts

In the custom kit bag you'll find the folded plastic framework, three rollers and a traction belt, with each piece sat in its own specific pouch. The bag itself measures in at 920mm long, 230mm wide and 150mm deep, and with an overall weight of just 5.15kg it is very easy to handle.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - bag.jpg

You even get two adjustable straps too, so you can carry it as a rucksack, perfect when you're pushing your bike in one hand and carrying kit in the other.

Assembly literally takes a couple of minutes, if that. You can see the process in the pics but it's basically: unfold the frame into a U-shape, open it out to complete the rectangular framework, and then drop the rollers onto the pins – remembering to loop the rubber band around the front and middle rollers.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - unfolding 1.jpg
Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - unfolding 3.jpg

You need to apply some weight to the frame to stop it twisting and flexing to get the final roller in because of the tension on the rubber band but once located it's all good.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - rear wheel.jpg

There are five positions for the front roller to help get the centre of the wheel in line with the centre of the roller.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - roller detail 3.jpg

The rollers don't lock into place or anything, they just sit on the pins, but each one is angled in a direction that the bike's tyres and weight will keep them firmly in position.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - roller detail 2.jpg

Disassembly is simply the reverse.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

In use the RooDol is smooth to use and the rollers spin much truer than those on the Riva Sport Adjustable Rollers I've also been testing (review to come), so you don't suffer from any vibration through the bike. You don't get the rounded roller edges of the Riva, though, to stop you sliding off the edge, so it takes a little more concentration.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - with bike.jpg

From the rubber band you get a decent level of resistance for a workout or warm-up while using the bike's gears, and if you do stop pedalling the bike slows quickly.

Roodol Compact Folding Rollers - roller detail 3.jpg

Because of the nature of the frame, there is some flex which is probably why RooDol has a recommended weight limit of 125kg, inclusive of rider and bike, plus a max speed of 50kph (31mph). If you're going for it you can feel some movement, but it's not massively offputting.

The RooDol has no feet adjustment either, so you will need to make sure you find a flat and smooth area to set up shop, not always the easiest thing to do if you find yourself warming up in a gravel car park or in a field pre-time trial or road race.

> Buyer's Guide: 17 of the best indoor trainers and rollers

The USP of the RooDol is its foldability and easy transportation, so there is little on the market to compare it to. For £195 it's more expensive than the Riva Sport by 95% but the RooDol does have a very smooth ride. It's half the weight, too, but by sacrificing weight it has obviously come at the cost of stiffness.

You can get the Tacx Antares for £159.99, and again that looks to be much more stable for really hard efforts, but, as I say, the RooDol is aimed at a slightly different market.

Verdict

A brilliant travel-friendly solution for pre-race warm-ups and training basically anywhere

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Roodol Compact Rollers

Size tested: n/a

Tell us what the product is for

Rodool says (here), "RooDol® training system has revolutionized the way of understanding the indoor cycling and it is an ideal system for keeping up an optimal physical state for being able to maximize our physical capacity.

"It is the best complement for the training of circular pedaling as well as allow to perform specific training such as series of sprint, high cadence or strength pedaling which are very complicated to perform on public roads with a lot of traffic or roads are not adapted to your training.

"RooDol® with Patented System has revolutionized the concept of these types of systems. Everything came from the need of a cyclist to warm up before races 'wherever you are' and it allowed to make a training when it was necessary. Its light weight and its ability to fast assembly and disassembly is currently helping to professional cyclists and triathlon champions in their warm-ups and indoor workouts."

The Roodol rollers are ideal for warming up anywhere thanks to their easy setup and portability.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?

Roodol lists:

RooDol COMPACT pack is a training system of three cylinder for the practice of cycling. COMPACT rollers are designed to increase resistance and this provide a real sensation as well as training in the road.

RooDol COMPACT pack comprises of:

1 RooDol® structure

3 RooDol® COMPACT rollers

1 RooDol® COMPACT traction belt

1 RooDol® COMPACT bag

Rate the product for quality of construction:
 
8/10
Rate the product for performance:
 
8/10
Rate the product for durability:
 
7/10
Rate the product for weight (if applicable)
 
8/10
Rate the product for value:
 
7/10

Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose

A smooth ride feel to the rollers and very easy to assemble and disassemble.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the product

Their simplicity.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product

Some frame flex.

Did you enjoy using the product? Yes

Would you consider buying the product? Yes

Would you recommend the product to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

They're very quick to set up and put away, and the rollers offer a decent ride feel. For a race warm-up they're ideal. A good weight, well made and decent value – very good overall.

Overall rating: 8/10

About the tester

Age: 38  Height: 180cm  Weight: 76kg

I usually ride: This month's test bike  My best bike is: Kinesis Aithien

I've been riding for: 10-20 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed

As part of the tech team here at F-At Digital, senior product reviewer Stu spends the majority of his time writing in-depth reviews for road.cc, off-road.cc and ebiketips using the knowledge gained from testing over 1,500 pieces of kit (plus 100's of bikes) since starting out as a freelancer back in 2009. After first throwing his leg over a race bike back in 2000, Stu's ridden more than 170,000 miles on road, time-trial, track, and gravel bikes, and while he's put his racing days behind him, he still likes to smash the pedals rather than take things easy. With a background in design and engineering, he has an obsession with how things are developed and manufactured, has a borderline fetish for handbuilt metal frames and finds a rim braked road bike very aesthetically pleasing!

Add new comment

1 comments

Avatar
peted76 | 6 years ago
0 likes

Great idea, although I'd be concerned about the 31mph limit.. on rollers that speed limit is quite limiting.

I would like to try these out though.

Latest Comments