Riva Sport Adjustable Bicycle Roller Trainers

The Riva Sport Adjustable Rollers have a stiff and sturdy frame with a decent level of resistance, making them a good choice for any race warm-up or spinning in the garage when it's too cold to go outside. There are a few basic flaws, though, which just take the shine off.

• Pros: Price, portability
• Cons: Vibration, setup guesswork

If my Strava feed is anything to go by then the majority of the cycling world has taken to the turbo to spend the winter riding around a virtual world, but in these times of smart trainers there is still a place for a set of humble rollers.

Set 'em up

As you've no doubt guessed from the pics and the name, the Riva Sports are adjustable, and will fit bikes with wheel sizes from 19in to 29.

To get the length set up, you undo the thumb screws and extract the inner frame from the outer until you get to the desired length. You then tighten the thumbscrews again, which pinch against the inner frame.

My only slight issue with this is that there are no indents or holes to line things up with, so unless you are really fastidious the front roller might not be running perfectly in line with the rear two. Not a huge issue but it can affect the tracking of the front wheel.

Once you've set up for the first time you can make a note of the measurement using the rule running along the side of the frame. Well, you can if you're on a kid's bike, but if you're setting it up for a 700C-wheeled road bike the rule would have been out of the inner frame a long time ago. Okay, it's just a case of moving the sticker, but it seems a bit of an oversight here.

Saying all that though, simplicity is the key and the Riva Sports certainly embrace that, being one of the cheapest setups you are likely to find, at just £100.

What you get is a frame made of steel box section, measuring 20 x 40mm, which creates a very stable platform no matter how hard you pedal. Obviously with the bike not being attached like a turbo, there is very little in the way of forces travelling through, but even at a very high cadence you don't find the frame flexing or bouncing.

There are six adjustable feet at the centre and corners so you can get everything level, plus the rubber feet stop the frame from sliding around on the floor.

Rubber resistance

The rubber band offers a decent level of resistance so you're not going to be in for an easy spinfest. You have to keep pedalling to keep things moving and you do get a pretty decent workout when using the gears on the bike to make things easier or tougher.

The nylon rollers run smoothly on sealed bearings, and being around 90mm in diameter there is plenty of material to sit the tyres on.

Another thing I like is the ramped up edges to keep you on the rollers should you start to drift as the radii edges allow you to flow up the edge and drop back down to the centre of the roller with just a little tweak of bodyweight.

You have a useable central section of the rollers of 260mm, so you have quite a bit of wiggle room.

My only criticism of the rollers is that even though the middle of the rollers have been finely turned on a lathe to narrow their trueness cylindrically, they don't necessarily translate that when attached to the framework.

Running a bit out of true means that at low speeds, say below 15mph, there is quite a bit of vibration through the bike. As speed increases and the rollers spin faster it is less noticeable but still there, and it's a distraction.

Portable package

All folded away, the package measures 820 x 450 x 160mm, so it'll fit in a car boot easily if you're going to use it for a pre-race warm up or you're meeting up for an indoor training session. It only weighs 9kg too, so lifting it into the car shouldn't be too much of a hardship.

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

On the whole what you are getting for your £100 is okay. It compares well with the likes of the Tacx Antares at £159.99; on first glance it looks a much more refined product but it is 60% more expensive.

The Minoura LR700 Rollers we tested are a very similar, if again more refined, setup than the Riva Sports, but at £269.99 they are way, way more expensive.

Another option, especially if the portability aspect is the most important for you, would be the Rodool Compact Rollers that I've recently reviewed. Again, they are more expensive at twice the price, but they're much lighter and easier to set up. The Rivas are better for those really high-intensity warm-ups or interval sessions, though.

With all this in mind I'd say yes, the Riva Sports are a little rough around the edges, but when you consider the price they have got a lot going for them. The main thing for me would be to see that concentricity improved on the rollers.

Verdict

Entry-level rollers at a decent price, but could do with some quality control to smooth the edges