The depressing realisation that a full three months of darkness and accompanying miserable weather remains until spring has prompted us to call in still more turbo trainers and rollers for test.
The first of January’s offerings is the Galaxia roller from Tacx. The Dutch company has a strong standing in the market for static trainers, and is the choice of pro ridrers including Alberto Contador and Marianne Vos.
Their Booster turbo trainer fell under the RCUK microscope in November and we enjoyed an exclusive first ride on their prototype, rolling road Klim trainer courtesy of our friends at Cadence in Crystal Palace shortly before Christmas.
Riders seeking to spend less than the £5,000 required for the Klimtrainer will be left with a more conventional choice of turbo trainer or roller. Rollers will target your balance and coordination as well as your cardiovascular system, and can help you develop a better pedaling technique.
The Galaxia is the upscale model of two roller sets from Tacx, and boasts a “unique feature”, namely a pivot in the chassis, at the ‘rear’ end, beneath the two rollers on which the rear wheel rests, and a roller either side of the chassis at the front end,
The combination of pivot and roller allows the trainer to move forwards as the rider gets up to speed and to move backwards when slowing down. Tacx claim greater stability as a result. We’ll find out.
Tacx make similar claims for the rollers ‘conical’ drums. They’re robust-looking units that dip subtly in the middle, presumably to keep the wheel centred and the rider from flying off as the wheel slides over the edge of the drum.
The collapsible runners of the chassis work efficiently, if our initial set up is a guide. A lever at the centre of each runner, on the inside edge, clicks positively ‘in’ or ‘out’ to release the runner of lock it into place.
A replaceable drive belt on the trainer’s right hand side connects the front and rear two drums.
We’ll be putting in some indoors miles in the weeks ahead. Check back soon for a full review.
