Does what its supposed to, can't beat the price.

Does what its supposed to, can't beat the price.  Read Less

I'm a casual recreational rider/commuter. I have to agree with many others, that it takes about 20-30 minutes to get used to t...  Read More

I'm a casual recreational rider/commuter. I have to agree with many others, that it takes about 20-30 minutes to get used to this... After the first 5 minutes on this, I wanted to quit, but I kept at it, and after about 20 minutes or so of hanging on to the back of my car in the garage, I was able to let go... and did a 1 hour ride. In the process, I learned some important tips that I will share:1. This particular model is not sturdy at all; in fact, the bolted points are pretty flimsy, and it has a tendency to turn into a parallelogram. the frame must be a true right angled rectangle in order to be able to ride straight on it. There is no structure to keep it at a right angle, so be sure to check this before you get on (hence, the 4 stars). Once you get going, tho, it's pretty stable.2. Unlike real riding, there is no forward momentum, so there is nothing to balance the cross forces of the angular momentum of the spinning wheels. The only movement vector is side to side. Therefore, any little twitch will put you in a sideways jitter that you have to be prepared for. That's what takes the 20 minutes to learn. Seriously, once I tried to wiggle my toes in my shoe and almost fell off. If you have to adjust yourself, you must make micromovements.3. Make sure you check your tire pressure. For road tires, you need about 100 psi minimum, or the wheels will feel flat. This is because the area of contact with a roller is much small than that of a flat road, so the per sq inch pressure against your tire is much higher, allowing the roller to dig in further and deform the tire..4. You will sweat, no doubt about it. I never sweat much when I do real biking, so I didn't expect this, but after 20 minutes, I was dripping. I like the idea of having a fan in front of you, that someone else posted.5. Most of all, don't give up! I was just about to quit, when it sort of clicked... I still fell off a couple times during the hour ride, but it was no big deal. The nice thing about this vs the stationary trainers is that, while on those you're basically only working out your legs, on the rollers, you are working out your entire body. I had to use arm and core body muscles I never used before during conventional riding, just for the balance. Plus, once you get going, it's kind of fun, and I didn't even have the need to watch TV or anything. I do think that getting good at this will help me be a better rider on the road by teaching me better balance.6. It's a lot quieter than I expected. Didn't need to turn up the volume to listen to music on my phone.7. The trick to getting started is not to go too slow, but then not too fast, either. Too slow, and your wheels don't have enough angular momentum to stay upright. Too fast, and you're too sensitive to sideways movements. start with 10-12 mph and then work your way up to 20ish.8. Another trick: do not coast. In real biking, coasting gives you a chance to shift in your seat, improve your balance if your cadence is off, etc. If you coast on this machine, you will slow and stop in about 2-3 seconds, even if you're going 20 mph. If you start to tilt of feel off, you must fight the natural tendency to stop pedaling to adjust your position. So KEEP PEDALING, even if you feel like you're about to fall.9. A lot of people said not to use clip-in pedals... I disagree. I think if your foot was free to move around too much, it actually would be a distraction.10. Do not grip your handlebars. In the beginning, I found myself holding on to the handle bars for dear life and didn't even notice how much I hurt my hands. In fact, I think the rigidity of a tight hold actually caused more instability. I recommend resting your hands on the brake hoods without gripping anything and make an effort to relax your hands. Remember that you might have to shift gears, but you won't be using your brakes so just relax your fingers!So that's all I learned after my first day. It's a little hard to get used to, but if an amateur biker like me can do it, really, anyone can. It's only a matter of time. It's certainly not boring, and well worth the money.  Read Less