Olmo Monoroller

[jim haseltine]

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.

Resistance provided by this felt pad

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

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

Fit the bike then clamp it in place

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

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.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Never seen one of those, thanks for sharing that.

 

[ChromeChainstay]

any idea as to when these were first offered?

 

[jim haseltine]

Thinking back, I probably bought it in the late 1970s/early 1980s. I've searched the 'net a few times but so far haven't found any trace of others.

 

[Iwasgoodonce]

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.