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Italian mountain biker gets creative with DIY rollers

A unique solution to staying fit in isolation

DIY rollers

As the outbreak of COVID-19 continues to impact this year’s race calendar, and change everyday life around the world, some riders are finding unique ways to stay fit.

The organizers of the Ortler Bike Marathon XCM created this unique set DIY set of rollers to keep riding during quarantine. Not everyone has rollers at home and, with the Italian government forbidding riding outside, the race directors were looking for ways to keep rolling.

The very DIY set up uses a rolling pin and two blocks of firewood – which look like they’re rubbing perilously close together – and a system of straps to maintain tension. Two doors of a cabinet, strapped together around the front wheel, keep the bike in place.

It certainly shows dedication to staying on the bike in trying times. The innovative set-up might be the end of that rolling pin, but they’re getting some KM in either way!

The Ortler Bike Marathon is an XCM starting in Italy near the country’s border with Austria and Switzerland. Organizers are currently saying they still plan to host the race, which is scheduled for July 6, 2020, on the expectations that the global health emergency will improve by that time. We’re wishing them the best of luck in trying times, and hoping that rolling pin lasts them long enough to get some good base kilometres in in the mean time.

The video of the DIY Roller set-up, posted March 15, 2020, can be watched below:

Ortler Bike Marathon DIY rollers

How long do you think this home made roller set up would last?