I was given a Nashbar fluid trainer last year for x-mas. I believe I have the T3 model, or whatever was on sale around x-mas time last year for $120. Anyways, after a couple of months it started to make a sqeaking noise after 5-10 minutes of riding and an increase in speed. It has only gotten worse. I didn’t ride it at all from April to November, so I don’t have a ton of time on the thing, but I am starting to get to the point where I am fed up with being inside (exacerbated by a stress fracture preventing me from running), and this noise is pissing me off. I’ve tried pedaling my bike with the unit away from the tire, and it’s fine. I’ve also tried to spin the unit by hand, and I don’t get any noise. It never starts right away. I can get the noise to start faster if I increase my speed, but even at low speeds it will eventually appear. Once it starts, it won’t stop until the wheel stops, even at low speeds. It does however come and go, but generally speaking it is pretty constant. Does anyone have any experience with this? Please help,
Jack
Hopefully, it’s just the tire. Have you tried cleaning it? Use some isopropyl alcohol to wipe the tire down really well. Also, make sure the bike is centered and level (side to side) relative to the resistance unit. Check the quick release on your wheel, is it interfering with the supports and making the bike crooked?
Have you checked to see if it happens with a different bike?
Once it’s warmed up and making the noise event at slow speeds, does it make noise if you move it by hand?
If it’s not the tire/roller interface, then it is a problem with the trainer, and you should send it back.
wow, advice from a local tri-star, I’m honored. Congrats on making it to Hawaii.
Anyways, I can’t make the noise by hand after the noise starts. I am pretty sure that it is the tire/roller interface, I just don’t know how to fix it. I’ll try cleaning the tire. The tire isn’t centered on the unit. I would have to crank the bike into the trainer pretty hard to get it centered. I already feel like I am tightening it down too much as it is just to get it almost centered. The unit has some play side-side, but I have it all the way to one side, and I still have to really tighten the bike in. I’m not sure if it is level side to side either. I’m not 100% sure I know what you mean by this, do you mean that the tire is at a 90 deg angle to the roller?
I definitely don’t think it is sitting all that well in the trainer. I haven’t checked it with a different bike. My wife has the same trainer, and hers doesn’t make any noise, but she also doesn’t ride nearly as much as I do.
One thing I did notice was that the galvanized surface has worn off where my tire meets the roller. I suspect that this is the cause, however, I don’t know what to do about fixing it. Actually, now that I think about it, the first tire I used on the thing became black as the surface wore off onto it.
Clean the tire and the roller itself. Yes, by level, I mean at 90 degrees to the roller. Check your skewer/quick release. I assume your trainer is like most and the ‘holders’ have slots for the QR. These are designed for old-school QR’s and most newer ones don’t fit very well.
If the roller is discolored or the surface is peeling off, call Performance and see if they replace it.
I don’t have experience with that particular trainer, but with my trainers (Computrainer and CyclOps Fluid trainer) you have to change the rear q.r. to one with larger ends to get a good fit. Also, Michelin Axial Pro (now Pro Race) tires seem to work well and run quietly with no rubber deposit on the resistance roller.
Richard