Olmo Monoroller

jim haseltine

Senior Retro Guru
A long time ago (almost half a century or so) I had an Olmo Monoroller indoor trainer. Following fashion, after a few years all my bikes had gear cables routed under the BB shell which made using the device impossible so I bought a Tacx and disposed of the Monoroller - or so I thought until one day about a year back I spotted it slotted in between a beam and the roof of my parent's garage. Things got in the way - mostly the other junk in the garage - but this week I took it down and dusted it off.
53590460092_c0d49bc587_z.jpg

53591331231_08b89fd6c9_z.jpg

Resistance provided by this felt pad
53590460032_c0553cf671_z.jpg

BB shell rests on the ribbed rubber, the alloy piece is the top of a clamp that stops it moving by holding the chainstays down - see later pic
53591331206_9e448cf482_z.jpg

Thought I'd mock up a bike to show fitting.
The black star-shaped knob forwards of the fork clamp adjusts the pressure on the felt pad
53591538898_c4f831823d_z.jpg

Fit the bike then clamp it in place
53591777175_fa572ac142_z.jpg

If it was a different bike to usual or a it had a new rear tyre you then had to loosen the roller axle bolt and adjust the roller so it pressed against the tyre
53591538893_de3b7b9fee_z.jpg

53591331021_aaf4ef916b_z.jpg

It was possible to change the resistance while riding if (like me) your arms were long enough but it was awkward as the adjuster knob is down close to where a front hub would normally be. Well, you could increase the resistance anyway - as the pad wasn't spring loaded I found it it only released if I rode fixed wheel and spun the pedals backwards for a couple of revs. The roller drum used to get spectacularly hot in use.
 
Last edited:
That is a cool piece of kit. Years ago I saw an advert in the back of Cycling Weakly for something called a Rollerturbo. A chap made them out of his shed or garage I think. I went to somewhere near to St Ives (not the Cornish one) down the A14 to have a look. I was perhaps the Mk 2 or 3 version of yours I suppose. I used it for years and really liked the action of it.
I loaned it to a mate who was looking to get fit for something. Long gone now I’m sure.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top