I have been using a Cyclops Fluid trainer, with my cabon road and tri bikes, for years, without incident. I have read articles and spoken with several lbs owners/mechanics who say it is fine. However, I have noticed a number of posts recently in which the poster comments that he/she is afraid to use his/her carbon bike on the trainer.
Why? Am I missing something? Is there a risk in putting a carbon bike on a trainer?
I can’t speak for other manufacturers, but Blue Competition has no problems with using their carbon or carbon/alum bikes in a trainer.
I was asked that question recently by an end user & I called Blue to confirm.
No harm done.
One can see the frame flex on any bike while in a trainer as the floor beneath the bike is stationary while the bike moves about. You’d see the same thing on the road if: 1. The road wasn’t always moving. 2. You could actually watch the ground for a period time beyond a glance.
If your bike did break on the trainer, consider yourself lucky it happened in the safety of you basement and not on an open road.
Most trainers attach to the rear skewer, and many come w/ a special steel skewer to use w/ the trainer (which I never do, but that’s cuz I’m lazy)
Why would the frame material have any bearing on this scenario???
And, if a CF frame “might” break from something like this, then frankly I wouldn’t feel too warm and fuzzy bombing down a hill at 50mph+ on said frame…
(so, IMHO, I think it’s either an old wives’ tale and/or paranoia)
That is what I have always been led to believe, which is why I was surprised to see a number of posts in which people have stated that they would not put a carbon frame on a trainer.
Thanks for the replies.
I believe the sweat will do more damage then the trainer…towel up.
t~
Question:
Hello, I would like to inquirer about using your carbon bikes on trainers.
Is there any possiblity of damage or breakage? Will the warranty cover
riding hard on a carbon frame on a trainer? Thanks!
Answer:
Hello Rolan
Thank you for supporting Cervelo. You have nothing to worry about with
riding our frames as hard as you can on a trainer (unless you fall off).
Don’t forget, we are Canadian and know the challenges of staying fit in the
off season too.
The warranty will include all types of riding if you qualify. Also,
trainer riding will be covered by our crash replacement policy should
anything go wrong (and you do actually fall off).
We are very sure of the quality of our bikes and stand behind them 100%
Thank you and feel free to contact me with any further questions.
Sincerely
Dave
Cervélo Customer Support
Don’t some companies say that using their bikes in a trainer (carbon or not) voids the frame warranty?
Don’t some companies say that using their bikes in a trainer (carbon or not) voids the frame warranty?
Please post the names of these companies. I would be happy not to own one of their bikes.
I wrote Cannondale about using my six13 in a trainer. They replied that there was no problem.
Seven used to or maybe still does have a disclaimer saying it voids their warranty.
Maybe it’s an urban legend?
I have heard the same thing but don’t know of an actual bike company that has a trainer exclusion policy.
No…not that I have seen…I have had 3 different Kestrels, a Zipp…no worries…
Well, based on this discussion, sent Guru an e-mail requesting their policy. Here is the reply:
Good Afternoon Joel. Thanks for the update. To be honest, we do not advocate the use of any bike on a trainer, due to the stress it creates on the bike.
Under normal use, it is not a problem, but long term use can and will affect the ride quality and performance of the bike. For that, I would advise you to use rollers, or your spare bike, should you have one, to do your trainer rides. I hope this answers your question. We are currently working on a disclaimer to be posted on the website, as well as sent to our dealers.
Regards,
Customer Service
Guru Bicycles Corp.
I emailed Kuota, and someone wrote back. However, his reply really wasn’t really clear to. Unfortunately, he never replied again after I emailed him to clarify:
Hi,
depend which trainer you’re using.
If you have free style trainer no problem, this king of trainers have into the rear lock a rubber system in order to save the rear carriage. In my opinion you can ask some infos to the trainer makers.
Have a nice day.
Maurizio Canzi mcanzi@sintema.com
Can anybody shed light on this?
I worked for Kinetic. I never heard a past or present complaint from any customer. However, Ritchey dropouts (steel bikes) can sometimes get mangled - and these dropouts are found on many, many steel frames, not just Ritchey.
Obviusly, if the trainer stand is not stable, like some early Blackburns, or modern Mags, or some ancient piece of equipment, you could easily torque your bike out of the stand and fall awquardly, bending your wheel or something. But you’d have to try pretty hard to do this AND be a pretty big klutz.