Anybody have any experience with this tire? Should I just buy a cheap tire for 20 bucks instead? Looking for something to use ONLY on the trainer. Thanks.
Mike
I just use a cheap tire and I haven’t had any problems.
Yeah, I’ve got it home…it works well, seems to be wearing a lot better than normal road tires…also seems to grip the flywheel much better…my only gripe would be that it’s kind of a PITA to install…I actually had to use tire levers…something I almost never have to do…and even with the levers it was a little bit of a struggle…if you’re gonna go this route…I’d buy a cheap old rear wheel, throw a cheap cassette on it and then you can just switch wheels in and out…fwiw.
I have one on my CompuTrainer. The tire has definitely lasted longer than any other I have tried on my trainer. I agree with the other post that the tire seems to grip the trainer’s fly wheel better than a regular road tire and that it is more difficult to install. My only negative comment would be that the tire does throw off a great deal of orange rubber “dust” which seems to be an ordeal to get completely cleaned up. Overall, well worth the money.
I’m on it for about a year now. It’s been great. Rides squeek-free. I haven’t noticed any “orange-dust” problem, as another poster mentioned.
In the beginning I was putting on my standard everyday rear rim - which was a pain because it’s a bitch to mount. I quickly built up a cheapish trainer-only wheel, where it now resides permanently. Makes the transition to outdoor rides much simpler.
I would recommend it.
2nd year on it-much better than running a regular tire.i concur with the better grip/pain to put one/haven’t noticed any dust-and i have it on black rubber workout mats, so it would be noticeable.
We have two of these on two separate trainer mounted bikes. I would agree with those who say the tires are very difficult to install. As others recommend, we use another rear wheel when the bike is ridden on the road. The puzzling part to me is wear. One of the tires is great - little wear and no shredding of the tire. I thought the solution to basement clean up problems had finally been invented. However, the second was used on the same make of trainer and suffered shredding as bad as any cheap or old tire I’ve used in the past. I have no explanation for the difference.
I have used that tire for over a year on the trainer and find it to be better than some of my old worn tires that I used before going to the Hometrainer. The Hometrainer tire seems to “stick” better to the trainer and provide more resistance. And I doubt I will wear it out in 2 years time. Definitely worth the investment.
Andy
I’ve been using just old tires for years, bust last summer I noticed that the steel roller of my Tacx Flow began to wear out (where it makes contact with the tire). I especially bought the training tire for that. I also agree it has a lot more holding power, witch makes training with a lot of resistance and low frequency easier.
It’s worth the money.
Put me down as another vote for the trainer specific tyre. It is very hard to get over the rim (although my mechanic managed without levers, no way I could), I haven’t experienced any shedding of material. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned that I have experienced is that it is considerably quieter on both my Elite turbo and my CT.
edud,
Usually the excessive dust issue is a symptom of not having enough press on force between the tire and the flywheel roller.
The simplified way to check is to set your press on force and then grip the tire/wheel and while holding the flywheel try to make the tire slip by pulling on it. If it does slip, your press on force is too light and needs to be cranked up until it is most difficult or near impossible to make the tire slip.
If you set your press on force in this way, you should eliminate nearly all of this “dust”/tire wear.
If you have a computrainer, there is a procedure that one is supposed to follow every time before using the Computrainer during which one sets the press on force and then does a roll down “test” to calibrate the Computrainer for accurate watts/power measurement. If one follows this procedure and after getting the press on force set correctly to achieve accurate power measurement, one discovers how much press on force is being applied to the flywheel roller at this “correct” setting. Its nearly impossible by hand to make the tire slip against the flywheel roller!
I know there are some who don’t like to set the press on force every time they ride their trainers and so they leave the press on force set constant 24/7. Bad idea! This usually causes a flat spot on the tire that will take a some minutes to roll out when starting a ride and also causes unnecessary bearing loads on the flywheel roller assembly, not to mention the constant load applied in one position 24/7 when the press on force is not relieved after the ride. Chris King doesn’t make these bearings!
Don’t forget that a great way to ruin inexpensive headsets is to use them on a trainer where the front wheel is “locked” in one position all the time and the bearing load is not spread anywhere but that one spot. The same thing will happen to your trainer if you are too lazy to relieve the press on force between the tire and the flywheel roller when you are done riding your trainer.
Hope that helps cure most of your “dust” problem.
Thank you for the advice. I have been hand testing the tire slip but, as you surmised, not every time I ride. I will give your suggestion a try and let you know how it works out.
I admit I also could not get the tire on and had my lbs do it. They are very good and they still had some difficulty. This is not a tire I would like to have to put on in any race situation. Fortuantely I use an old wheel I don’t care about for indoor use and do not have to remount the tire every time I go from outside to indoor. This is not a tire you can ride outside.
Andy
Yeah, thanks Andy but I did know that it’s not to be used outside.
I fought hard with that tire trying to get in on my darn wheel–in the end I failed.
Thow the tire in the clothes dryer for a few moments, on low. It’ll soften up a bit…then it should go on with a minimum of elbow grease.
Do what I did – post on the classifieds that you want free used tires for your trainer. I received 8 tires, some I swear are brand new, for the cost of shipping. I estimate I’ll go through maybe 2 a winter on the trainer so I’m set for a while.
That is the most useful and creative piece of advice I have gotten on this forum…
I can only imagine the look on my wife’s face if she catches me doing it…LOL
Thanks!
I agree…I learned it here as well!!
And the first time I did it…longest two minutes of my life. I imagined opening up the dryer and seeing yellow everywhere. But it was fine. I still do it when she’s not looking though…just in case. 
These trainers where you have to manually turn a knob to set the roller on the tire are a REALLY BAD design. I have a mid range performance trainer from a few years ago with a spring loaded roller and it works great. Perfect traction every time and at the end you just latch it back. Spending $200+ on a trainer then struggling with traction or needing a special tire is BS!