ecades ago roller racing was a staple of
club life during the winter. Many clubs
owned their own rigs consisting of two,
three or four sets of heavy drum rollers attached
by a cable to the big clock at the back measuring
the riders’ effort. This is one of the popular
Barelli rigs, which were British-made, despite
the Italian-sounding name. The common
measure was 440 yards, a quarter of a mile. The
fi rst rider to propel their hand around the clock
would be the winner.
While this looks like a club affair likely to be
simply who posts the fastest time on the night
(see blackboard behind the spectators on the
right), the bigger competitions would have
been knockout affairs featuring several rounds,
running throughout the evening.
In this picture, taken in a hall in Coventry
in 1967, the three young riders sit on single-
speed Falcon bikes (made in Coventry) held up
by two club-mates — not an easy task. As the
riders hit RPMs well over 150 it’s as much of an
effort to keep the bikes on the rollers as it is to
pedal them.
Although rollers remain a common feature
of indoor training, roller racing is less common.
Rollapaluza reignited interest in recent years,
touring the country, and further afi eld, pairing
roller racing with music and drink.
Roller racing
1967
30 | December 7, 2017 | Cycling Weekly