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Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer
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Hello all,

I just got my bike onto my CycleOps Magnus trainer. I only have a few rides on it but I have noticed my rear tyre has a nice “shine” to it from the friction of the trainer. Will this ruin my road tyre and/or wheel or should I replace the tyre and/or wheel to save it some lifespan. They are full carbon Reynolds assaults. I do have my original Bontrager set as well and a training tyre. What is my best set up? I plan on riding 3-4 times a week on Zwift if that matters.
Also, I have my tyre pressure at 100 psi for both front and rear while training. This is what I could find online. Is this correct or should I be running them lower? Higher?

Thanks
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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100psi is fine, the tyre will wear faster on the trainer. I would use some kind of "training" tyre, e.g. continental grand sport. No issues for the wheel, but, of course you will put some "normal" wear on the bearings, freewheel and cassette
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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First of all, don't bother thinking about "trainer tyres". They're a nonsense. Just stick on an inexpensive, unwanted or worn set of normal road tyres. Something fairly slick should minimise noise. I use the stock Felt TTR tyres that came on my bike. The first one is still going strong after 18+ months of use on my trainer. I've the second one waiting when/if that eventually wears out. From that you can also deduce that tyres can last as long on trainers as they do on the road, although I'm sure the roller material, tyre pressure and tyre deformation under load all effect that. I once used a Gatorskin on my trainer and it only lasted a few hours before de-laminating. I'm guessing either it was already damaged or the breaker belt caused accelerated degeneration when deformed by the roller.

You have 3 options:
  1. use your bike in the same configuration on the trainer as you do outside: The lifespan may be shortened but it's by far the most convenient.
  2. change the rear tyre each time you use the trainer: Not very expensive but ridiculously impractical.
  3. change the rear wheel each time you use the trainer: You'll need a second wheel but it's pretty quick and easy to switch and will save your good tyres for road use where they matter.

If you have a spare wheel handy, put on a cassette and an old tyre and go with option 3. That would be my preference. Otherwise I'd probably either buy a cheap wheel or try option 1 and see how you get on. Unless the trainer is eating tyres, it might work fine. If it is eating tyres, it would make economic sense to buy a cheap wheel for option 3.

Pressure shouldn't be too important for you. I use 100psi every time on my KK Road Machine for consistency. That's less important on a smart trainer.


P.S. When I mentioned disregarding "trainer tyres" at the start, I'm refering to the tyres marketed specifically for trainers, not "training tyres" like the previous poster suuggested meaning normal inexpensive tyres.
Last edited by: Ai_1: Jan 25, 18 7:55
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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Agree with the previous posters...I ride inside and out this time of year, so swapping a tire every few rides would just be a waste of time. I use relatively inexpensive training tires anyway (usually Continental Ultra Sport- ~3k miles per tire). They will get cut from the debris on the roads quicker than the trainer will wear them out.

100psi (ish) on Cyclops Fluid 2 / Kurt Kinetic Fluid.

-Physiojoe
Instagram: @thephysiojoe
Cycling coach, Elite racer on Wooster Bikewerks p/b Wootown Bagels
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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Quinny98 wrote:
Hello all,

I just got my bike onto my CycleOps Magnus trainer. I only have a few rides on it but I have noticed my rear tyre has a nice “shine” to it from the friction of the trainer. Will this ruin my road tyre and/or wheel or should I replace the tyre and/or wheel to save it some lifespan. They are full carbon Reynolds assaults. I do have my original Bontrager set as well and a training tyre. What is my best set up? I plan on riding 3-4 times a week on Zwift if that matters.
Also, I have my tyre pressure at 100 psi for both front and rear while training. This is what I could find online. Is this correct or should I be running them lower? Higher?

Thanks

I like using a trainer specific tyre on a dedicated wheel. Trainer specific tyres are much quite on my Cycleops Fluid 2. I have it mounted to an old wheel and cassette I already had. This makes it easy to swap when it is time to ride outside. The trainer tyre does not leave little black flecks all over the place, and I do not have to worry about riding on a potentially delaminated tyre. I'm at 20k on my current Vittoria trainer tyre, and there is plenty of tread left for another 20k.

Oui, mais pas de femme toute de suite (yes, but I am not ready for a woman straight away) -Stephen Roche's reply when asked whether he was okay after collapsing at the finish in the La Plagne stage of the 1987 Tour
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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I beg to differ on trainer tires. [I've been using indoor trainers since 1981 so I have some experience ;-)]

Yes, in theory you can just use an old tire, or even whatever tire is currently on your bike. But a dedicated trainer tire is better. And a dedicated trainer wheel with a trainer tire on it is the best option.

Why you don't want to use a regular tire.
  1. Trainers put a decent amount of wear on a tire. The tire will get hot. The rubber used in a regular bike tires are not designed to handle that heat (unlike a car tire for example) but a trainer tire is designed for that. As a result, the harder rubber of a trainer tire will last way longer than a regular tire (2+ years of heavy use). If you ride your trainer a lot, you can save a ton of money with a trainer tire. Trainer tires are both cheaper and last way longer than regular tires
  2. This is a big one related to no 1. When a regular tire wears on a trainer, it will throw off little grains of rubber. This is actually worse the more "racy" a tire you use since they have softer tread. This rubber dust is supper disastrous for carpet or anything else it gets on. Think of it like powdered ink or black, sticky petroleum based talcum powder. It will stain the shit out of your carpet and if you or anyone else walks though the dust, those stains can show up anywhere in your house.
  3. Let's face it, the "old" spare tires you have laying around are most likely high end race tires. Those are the worst on the trainer in terms of wear because they are designed to be soft. (If you are going to just use a regular tire, use a Gatorskin of something similar). Of course, if you are switching out for on old tire, why not just put on a trainer tire?
  4. Trainer tires give better performance and are less likely to slip on the roller. You will get a more consistent experience with them.

I strongly suggest using a dedicated trainer wheel with a trainer tire. Use a spare wheel you already have or get the cheapest rear wheel you can find. Weight does not matter so just get anything that is round.
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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If you don't have a power meter and are using virtual power on Zwift or TrainerRoad, it is important to keep the tire pressure and tension on the roller/wheel the same ride to ride so you get consistent results. As for air pressure, what matters most is that you use the same pressure on every ride. 100 psi works well and it is easy to remember ;-)

Also use the same number of turns on your tension knob every time. Back in my virtual power days, I put a little tape on the tension tension knob to make it easier to count the turns. Screw it in until it touches the tire than X turns after that. "X" is whatever the minimum is to keep the tire from slipping.

While trainers eat tires, they are not hard on wheels. Since you have an extra wheel, put a trainer tire on that and you'll be rocking the pro set up.
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Re: Type of tyre and pressure on an indoor trainer [Quinny98] [ In reply to ]
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Your tire will be fine on the trainer, as long as you don't make it too tight. It should be just enough to make the tire not slip, and the roller shouldn't be digging too far in.
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