[CR]de re wood rollers.

(Example: Bike Shops:R.E.W. Reynolds)

Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 15:25:31 -0500
From: "HM & SS Sachs" <sachs@erols.com>
To: Classic Rendezvous <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>, hetchinspete1@yahoo.com, kanford@comcast.net
Subject: [CR]de re wood rollers.

Well, I started thinking about the discussion of wooden rollers, and that led me to thinking more broadly about materials for rollers, and I came out with yet another reminder of why engineers aren't allowed to make marketing decisions (I didn't train as an engineer, but have worked as one and am told I act like one -- by friends, even).

I've used plastic (pipe), aluminum, and sheet steel rollers, and maybe even wood. That I can't remember suggests either that I'm a totally insensitive clod, or senile, or that the material doesn't matter a whole bunch. How could the material matter?

1) Noise level. My sheet-metal rollers with sheet-metal ends by ATD (Artisan Tool and Die) are pretty noisy. I'd expect materials that damp sound better (aluminum, plastic) to be quieter.

2) Inertia. try to keep going at the same speed, allow those who (horrors) ride with FW to coast. Just means more mass closer to a larger diameter rim. I ride fixed when I ride rollers, so it doesn't matter to me. And I doubt there is a whole lot of difference until you get to the old 12" diameter compettion rollers.

3) "Feel." I'm enough of a heretic to bet that the tires and air pressure make 10x the difference of roller materials.

4) Looks. Ah! that's it. Where there ain't much difference, marketers are great at drawing distinctions based on secondary properties. :-)

harvey sachs
mcLean VA
yeah, it's snowing. pretty hard.