RooDol Compact Rollers

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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