I've been using my 2014 SC on a Kickr for 5 years now. I ride the trainer 5-6h a week... Never had any issues... I just have to be careful to keep the front wheel inflated otherwise it will creak under hard efforts.
I bet that frame was screwed, no way riding the trainer for two weeks will cause the dropouts to fail.

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What's your CdA?

Pics aren’t showing.

BS the kickr isn’t compatible. I’ve been riding an SC on a kickr since 2016. Along with thousands of other SC owners.

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Good to know. That was the first and only time I heard that. I can’t figure out how to get the pics to show.

Silly move by Trek and any other bike company openly refusing trainer-related warranty claims. With the rise of Zwift and other indoor training tools, more and more cyclists are using trainers these days. Trek will lose more business with people seeing that they don't back their bikes when used on trainers compared to paying out more warranty claims. "Forrest for the trees" as they say. Very short-sighted position, especially when it's public on a site like this where their target market for high end bikes is going to see their position.

One of the smaller bike companies recently announced that their warranty includes use of bikes on trainers. I can't remember which company it was, but it's smart marketing and a great way to make a customer think twice before buying a bike that does not explicitly say trainers are allowed.

I understand that it's an "uncomfortable" risk for a bike company to warranty something that they have no control over (how a trainer is mounted), but that's just normal use of a bike these days and the market will eventually reward companies that officially support trainer use.

It has to be a certain size in order to upload them here. You can always put the photos on a google photos share folder and put the link here.

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If they really do not provide a warranty for use on a trainer then they need to very explicitly state this on their website and even on the bikes themselves - otherwise there are many thousands of people out there using Trek bikes on their trainers without any warranty coverage.

This is sounding more and more like one very good reason to NOT BUY A TREK BIKE.

Thanks I got them up now. You’re right, I had to make the pics a smaller file size. The pics are attached to a reply a few posts up

Good luck w any frame warranty from trek. I had the same thing happen to me and they gave me the same offer on a new bike but no warranty. 2 year old bike. My wife just got her 2 year old trek back from repair shop w no warranty help. Her chain fell off on a outdoor ride and cracked the frame. Offered her a discount on a new bike. I now ride cervelo. Not sure what she is going to do

Ouch man. That looks bad. I have no idea how that happens. I'd keep pestering them and your LBS. If you can somehow get your LBS on your side, they can help talk/persuade Trek. Too many LBS's just take the mfg's first stance and never fight back for their customer.

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I have a first gen SC (purchased in 2010) and I have been using this on many different kinds of Trainers for almost 10 years AND NEVER HAD A PROBLEM. I have also used in an all models of the Kickr (from the first to the most recent) and I still have no issues with my SC on the Kickr.

However, I do know someone with a 2017 model (Gen 2) SC who broke her Dropout using the Wahoo.

One thing I noticed about the two generations of SCs is that the first gen (my bike) has an aluminum dropout frame triangle base (where the detacheable dropout is attached), while the second gen (2014 and newer models) have a carbon triangle frame base. I assume that the carbon base is not compatible with the trainers at all.

To Mitch@Trek, I think you should advise corporate that those dropout / base has always been the weakest point of an otherwise great bike. I hope that your new disk brake model would have a better Dropout section.

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Hey guys,

While many riders use trainers (including us here at Trek), we always suggest to exercise caution while you ride on a trainer. Whenever damage on a bike has occurred and it's brought to the attention of our team, they are specifically looking for a manufacturing defect - which we stand by our product and the customers who enjoy them every day. Unfortunately the circumstances around this inident did not call out to the team as a defect as you read above. Trainers do operate differently than riding your bike outside where it was originally intended, but we list a safety precaution about safe trainer use and clamping in our user manual which I'll link below (visit "Chapter 1 > After every ride"):

http://www.bike-manual.com/...ek/om/road/index.htm

As always, feel free to message me directly through this forum as the OP did. Sometimes I may be away or enjoying the weekend, but drop me a note anytime.

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Mitchell Mathews | Community Manager | Trek Bikes | @mitchmathewz

One way or another, be it community feedback or us speaking with our wallets.......companies will have to address this issue someday by designing products with it in mind it may be used on a trainer.

Some are choosing to do so, some are not.

I'd give the advice that companies like Trek with the SC and nicer road bikes be very careful to not bite the hands that feed if the culture is that people are increasingly going to ride bikes in the off season on trainers. Or warmup on them.

God forbid their pro teams don't warm up on a trainer before a race. Hrmmmm.

Seems like a "head in the sand" kind of thing to me.

To me, this is a design "feature" or "flaw" causing this to not be compatible. Not sure how explicit they are when you buy one of these with a disclaimer. I think it's a big enough thing these days (given the online training subscriber numbers) that there should be a big yellow sticker on the manual or dropout when you buy it "No trainer use, no warranty for damage!".

They won't really make it like a carton of Euro cigarettes though screaming the danger as they don't want people to say "eff that, not buying this".

Gotta be honest, if I was in the market for a new bike right now and know that a warranty wouldn't be honored or their design doesn't accomodate trainers..............no buy.

I agree with this. I actually just bought a new SC as my gen 1 was busted in an accident and the insurance claim covered the majority of the cost for a new one. I have it sitting on a trainer for the winter. I thought I did a fair amount of research on this exact subject before my purchase as I knew my new bike would be seeing a significant amount of time on a kickr core.

I love my SC. It's a wonderful bike and I feel like it's a lot of bike for the money (no project one). With that said, I am a bit nervous about the bike taking damage on the trainer and being SOL on a replacement. It may be an irrational fear, but I would have strongly considered going a different route had I known their stance with the SC on trainers. It's a bummer and something that will be on the back of my mind when I ride this winter.

I would just suggest using the information in the link I shared above to use the trainer safely. Roller trainers do work best with high end carbon road bikes and it's what many athletes use as well, but we understand they are not everyone's choice. In any event where a bike is damaged from a non-manufacturer defect, we have our Carbon Care program to offer a significant discount towards a replacement.

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Mitchell Mathews | Community Manager | Trek Bikes | @mitchmathewz

Hi Mitch,

Thanks for the response. I read through the information you suggested. I appreciate the suggestion about making sure to lift the bicycle straight out when removing it from the trainer to avoid tipping damage. I noticed the following language in the document:

"Only use devices that are compatible, only use the devices correctly, and do not overtighten clamping mechanisms."

I apologize if these questions were answered previously, but are wheel off trainers such as the kickr or kickr core considered compatible devices? I understand that rollers are preferred, but would using a speed concept on a wheel off trainer essentially deem any trainer related damage (droupouts, chainstays) fault of the user and not covered by the warranty? Does Trek review the damage to the bike and determine if the damage was caused by something like tipping the bike while removing it from the trainer as opposed to force being applied while riding?

I guess my concern is at what point am I venturing into uncovered territory when it comes to the frame warranty? I haven't taken the bike off the trainer since I put it on. I ensured the skewer is snug without being overly-tight. I also make sure to wipe my bike down and use towels to reduce the sweat exposure. I make sure I don't do standing sprints or rock the bike when doing intervals. What more can I do as a consumer to ensure that my bike is covered in the event of damage while riding the trainer?

I understand that I don't know the circumstances of some of these cases being reported. I also understand that the amount of frames damaged while on a trainer may be incredibly low compared to the amount of Treks being used on a trainer this winter. With that said, I just want to make sure I am covering all of my bases to make sure I would be covered in the event that there is damage to the frame.

I appreciate your presence on this forum. I think it is great that Trek has a presence here to allow us to ask questions that would otherwise go unanswered until phone calls are made due to an experienced problem.

Just to clarify, using a trainer won't void your warranty, but it could damage your bike. That being said, trainers are made to be compatible with our bikes and bikes in general. In the event of damage, our warranty team would review the bike to determine if it is a manufacturing defect or not - which is why we always suggest submitting a claim and just be honest with us for what happened.

From what you're describing, you are doing things right and that is a safe way to care for your bike if you are using a trainer. I would continue to do what you're currently doing, but monitor the bike and your riding if continuing use on a wheel off trainer. On the topic of trainers, the roller trainers are a great way to give your body a great workout since you're mimicking similar body movement when on the road - you could also still pair it with programs like Zwift with a cadence and wheel speed sensor or a power meter (this is what I currently do for my Zwift setup).

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Mitchell Mathews | Community Manager | Trek Bikes | @mitchmathewz

The warranty coverage is so bad with trek is cheaper to find a frame on FB or Ebay honestly.

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