I put my Cervelo TT bike on my trainer for the past year and half, where it pretty much stayed put - didn’t race it at all in the past 2 years, so I left the trainer tire on and the bike on the trainer. (I have a separate road bike for outdoor & group riding.)
I’m a heavy sweater, and knew about the risk of corrosion, but stupid me, didn’t notice any corrosion for the first 6 months and thought all was well. Well, things went downhill quick after those first 6 months. Bolts started rusting, levers started catching, etc. I put some makeshift plastic covering over the front brakes, but the headset was still exposed, and things got worse from there. Tried a towel over the top, but that flopped around and became very annoying on the hammering hard, and as well, didn’t catch all the sweat (I can actually soak through it.)
I finally brought it into the shop today for a major overhaul, as I knew one would be needed due to all the damage to the front of the bike (no corrosion in the BB or back - TT position has me over the front.) Sure, enough, it was pretty serious. The entire brake setup needs to be replaced, headset replaced, bearings redone, cables changed, all bolts changed, etc. Will probably cost me $300+ in parts and labor by the time I’m all done. And this is for a bike that has not seen road for 18 months!
I promised the bike tech (who shook his head sadly at the damage) that I’d be fastidious about avoiding corrosion in the future.
So for all you heavy Computrainer and bike trainer user who managed to do killer sweat-laden workouts for years on end on your trainer bike yet avoid corrosion - what’s your setup and secrets?
Wash the sweat off your bike after your workout. Sponge soapy water onto it, then hose the whole thing down. It’s a sweat composition thing; you’ve got extra corrosive sweat. Nothing other than getting that sweat off the bike will make a difference.
They sell sweat catcher things that stay in place, but i don’t know the name. Go stainless or titanium for the bolts, don’t wash the bike everytime, but do take some grease and fill in the gaps around the headset, BB etc. Use Gore cables or similar that are sealed from tip to tip. If you are going the trainer route for months wrap stuff with sara wrap.
Wash the sweat off your bike after your workout. Sponge soapy water onto it, then hose the whole thing down. It’s a sweat composition thing; you’ve got extra corrosive sweat. Nothing other than getting that sweat off the bike will make a difference.
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Will the water left on the bike also predispose to corrosion (albeit slower corrosion?) I’d have to hose my bike down nearly daily in the winter, and it would rarely get a chance to dry completely.
The entire brake setup needs to be replaced, headset replaced, bearings redone, cables changed, all bolts changed, etc. Will probably cost me $300+ in parts and labor by the time I’m all done. And this is for a bike that has not seen road for 18 months!
What part of the brakes did you damage? I just cant picture the actual caliper needing replaced. Pic?
The entire brake setup needs to be replaced, headset replaced, bearings redone, cables changed, all bolts changed, etc. Will probably cost me $300+ in parts and labor by the time I’m all done. And this is for a bike that has not seen road for 18 months!
What part of the brakes did you damage? I just cant picture the actual caliper needing replaced. Pic?
-Physiojoe
The actual spring coil was so rusted that the brake lever would not even move (!!) despite the cables being functional. It was just fused in place. Wish I could snap a pic but I just dropped my bike off at the LBS for a few days for some TLC.
I’m still waiting to hear from all you heavy Computrainer and fluid trainer users on how you avoid the corrosion problem. Theory is great and all, but I know that there are enough serious indoor users around here that someone’s got this problem beat.
You really shouldn’t wet down bearing enoughto get water or WD 40 in them. Either way if you do your pretty screwed corrosion wise, unless you take apart and relube frequently.
I plan on wrapping the front end in saran wrap once trainer season starts.
Washing the bike down after seach session seems like a real pain.
Josh
Oh crap. This is likely coming my way as well, given how much of a beating my bike has taken.
If so, I’m looking at nearly $1000 of repairs to my poor Cervelo between the fork, brakes, and tuneup. And I thought bikes were supposed to cost less than cars. =(
maybe i am not much as much of a heavy sweater as I originally thought. I have 2 26" fans going full blast while on my trainer, sometimes for 2 hours with intervals and hardly any sweat gets on my bike. Without the fans, well that’s a different story.
maybe i am not much as much of a heavy sweater as I originally thought. I have 2 26" fans going full blast while on my trainer, sometimes for 2 hours with intervals and hardly any sweat gets on my bike. Without the fans, well that’s a different story.
Spend the 50 bucks and get some fans
Do you sweat with the fans, or does the sweat get blown ‘somewhere else’? I sweat a TON - enough to fill over a cup worth of sweat in my Cycleops trainer riser block (for real - it’s gross.)
I already have one 26" fan aimed at me from the side, and it’s not doing much for sweat prevention. (Great for cooling, though.) I ride at around 21 mph for an hour continuously based on a rear wheel sensor on my Cycleops Fluid2 trainer, and 20 for 2hrs.
“I’m a heavy sweater, and knew about the risk of corrosion, but stupid me, didn’t notice any corrosion for the first 6 months and thought all was well. Well, things went downhill quick after those first 6 months.”
“I’m still waiting to hear from all you heavy Computrainer and fluid trainer users on how you avoid the corrosion problem. Theory is great and all, but I know that there are enough serious indoor users around here that someone’s got this problem beat.”
This is not brain salad surgery. You did most of the damage in the first 6 months going commando. Get some fans and change the towel every hour. Change your shirt every 40 minutes or so. Problem solved. I trashed a bike about 7 years ago. It has not been a problem since I got responsible. You cannot sweat more than I do.
Change the cables and brakes yourself. Bolts also.
Headsets and bearings I dont like to mess with myself but you could probably save yourself at least $100 in labor charges and/or find some of the parts you need on ebay.