I finally found some time to fabricate my free motion rollers… the parts have been sitting in the garage since the first of the year.
Why? because I wanted to change up the way I ride inside. Aluminum channel to contain the mess, my Kreitler rollers mounted in 1/4″ aluminum plate. Skateboard wheels. Bungie cords. They work well enough. I’m getting some vibration I didn’t notice on the original Kreitler frame – I might have a hop in a wheel – or the bit of flex I’m getting with the 1/4″ aluminum plate is throwing everything out of alignment just so. I might rework the inner carriage to remove the flex – and I need to find a stronger 12″ bungie – while sprinting this afternoon I managed to bottom out the forward and rear travel.
The sensation is quite nice – the rollers slide for and aft in the aluminum track as you apply power, stand, or shift gears. No more of that awkward body weight shifting to keep the bike from jumping off the frame. Ride (nearly) naturally – stand up, sprint, mash, spin high RPMs… so far its all worked.
Would love to see a list of parts you used to build this up. What size rollers did you use? What was the total cost? Any pictures of the build?
Cheers!
no pics of the build. used my kreitler 3″(?) rollers – took them out of their frame and built the new one. 2 1/2″ x 1/4″ aluminum plate for the center carriage (should have used 2 1/2″ x 2 1/2″ x 1/4″ angle), 2 1/2″ U channel for the outer. about 8″ on each end for movement. 4 skateboard wheels + bearings + misc bolts and washers, used some wood for the end caps to keep the track the correct distance apart and to mount the bungies. going to add some bearings to keep the whole system in line – as it tends to drift left or right and then the skateboard wheel rubs on the interior of the U channel.
~$140 + rollers