The past couple of winters, I’ve done my indoor training on an old road frame that is too big for me (56 and I ride a 53/54/medium frame). This was fine as I was only starting in the sport with a running background so I needed to build general bike muscle, but I think it is time to ride the tri bike full time indoors in the winter. I’m a very heavy sweater, and will go through several towels in a long (2+hr) trainer session. The road bike components are essentially un-salvageable now from the hours of sweat, so looking for any tips and tricks to keep my tri bike in better shape this winter - apart from the obvious wiping it down post ride, taking it off the trainer to clean, etc.
A couple of excellent fans can make a world of difference. You’ll be able to work a good deal harder too.
YMMV,
Hugh
I use a sweat cover on mine, and having a fan (or two) helps too.
It’s hard to tell what you’re doing wrong - no fan? heating on? Window closed? No “thong†extended above the frame? No headband? But you should not be going through several towels no matter how heavily you sweat.
I cover the important parts with cheap, store brand plastic wrap. Then use a fan (or 2) and a towel.
I have 3 fans and a ceiling fan. I turn them on progressively as I get hotter. Lasko makes a great cheap fan with a remote so you don’t have to get off the bike to turn them on or up. Each remote works on any fan, so no worries about particular remotes. I start off with one fan on low, but have all of them on high by the hour’s end. No getting off the bike to adjust anything. Works great.
2 fans-one on by head, one at my chest
towels over the front end of the bike and over the top tube–with 2 extra towels within reach to grab on my 2.5 hr 3R endurance ride on Saturday
the damage comes from the sweat hitting these areas more than any other
and wipe the bike every, every weekend with wet wipes keeping her looking sexy and clean with no sweat effect!
well-that’s what I do…
Use marine grease on all the bolts and fill the bolt faces with it. Put a rubber glove on and coat the threads of each bolt and use a Q-Tip to swap the inside bolt hole.
Use plastic Saran wrap around the headset and the fork crown.
Don’t forget the seatpost, and collar/bolt.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Lucas-Oil-14-5-oz-Marine-Grease-10320/202535871
saran wrap is a really great idea!
all the bolts on my bike are greased and I thought just keeping her clean with towels—but that is an excellent idea
she gets wrapped tomorrow-pre ride
thanks!
One big thing that helps me is wearing a full kit or shirt. When I don’t wear a top I sweat everywhere, because nothing catches it.
Fan + towel on the bars catches a good bit more.
And then to top it off, always wear a sweatband or cycling cap on the head.
That seems to keep sweat at bay for me.
some little things:
-i opted for a (cheap) carbon seatpost on my trainer bike.
-i keep my bottles on a table next to the bike, and have taped over the bottle mounts
-like the others, straight grease on the bolts (especially around the stem), including in the heads
-i run a fan even for easy rides, and even if it feels chilly at first i trust that i’ll warm up quickly
-finally, i built up my trainer bike from a new (very cheap) frame and most of an old used groupset. it will probably never ride outside. my feeling is that it’s semi-disposable, so if it were to start to rust, it wouldn’t be any great loss.
I have a small fan on my face and a larger one from the rear on my body. Still sweat a lot, though.
My solution is a SeatShield. They’re (car) seat covers for summer. One side is like a towel to be comfortable but the other side has a waterproof layer to protect your seat, unlike a towel. Once a towel is soaked, sweat will pass right through.
I drape it over the bike, with the headrest pouch covering the whole cockpit and the rest of it covering the rest of the bike, held in place with clothes pins. Not a drop of sweat will touch the top half of my bike.
Sweat can still get flung on the front derailleur and around the BB, so I made a small shield our of aluminum that bolts to the bottle bosses. It was cut it to size for my old P5 so now there’s a small gap when I use it on my new Speedmax, but it works.
I set the room to 60 degrees for an hour before I ride.
As well as using an industrial fan while riding
Then use a towel as needed which isn’t very much
There are fans and then there are blowers that actually do a better job than most any fan.
Get one of two of these. You won’t regret it.
Hugh
Didn’t know they had different names
I change my fan comment To blower
.
Didn’t know they had different names
I change my fan comment To blower
It wasn’t meant to be a snipe at your post. The vast majority of people’s trainer setups I’ve seen were way under ventilated. I actually used a precision anemometer to compare all the fans/blowers I could get my hands on. The Lasko blowers literally blew all other devices away outputting an impressive 36mph blast when set on high. Most box fans struggle to output 12mph zephyr. No wonder they don’t cool worth a darn. Plus the Lasko blowers are super quiet too.
There are fans and then there are blowers that actually do a better job than most any fan.
Get one of two of these. You won’t regret it.
I have on of these. FWIW, I find it to be very ineffective. It was okay when I was riding indoors. When I switched bike riding to garage, it doesn’t come close to being enough (Texas summer heat). My other fan is far more effective. So, personally, I would avoid the blower if you are heavy sweater.
Hugh
There are fans and then there are blowers that actually do a better job than most any fan.
Get one of two of these. You won’t regret it.
I have on of these. FWIW, I find it to be very ineffective. It was okay when I was riding indoors. When I switched bike riding to garage, it doesn’t come close to being enough (Texas summer heat). My other fan is far more effective. So, personally, I would avoid the blower if you are heavy sweater.
Hugh
Did you mount it on a stand inches from your body? I’d agree if you’re trying to use one set several feet away they won’t be that effective. For the bike I built a stand to place one very close in front, actually touching the front tire near its top and on the side raised up ~ 18" and placed as close as possible.
The Lasko blowers work amazingly well, and the lower noise is a nice benefit too.
I go with a sweat catcher over the top tube. A towel over the front wheel, the towel l’m using is over the bars and the I have three microfiber face towels to protect the bb and fd area. One is wrapped around the down tube and another around the seat tube. These catch whatever runs off the tubes. The the last one draped across the bottle cages to catch drippings. I wasn’t careful and killed my bb bearings with sweat last winter.
Didn’t know they had different names
I change my fan comment To blower
It wasn’t meant to be a snipe at your post. The vast majority of people’s trainer setups I’ve seen were way under ventilated. I actually used a precision anemometer to compare all the fans/blowers I could get my hands on. The Lasko blowers literally blew all other devices away outputting an impressive 36mph blast when set on high. Most box fans struggle to output 12mph zephyr. No wonder they don’t cool worth a darn. Plus the Lasko blowers are super quiet too.
True but velocity is only a component of convective cooling. What’s really important is air volume being moved. Doesn’t really need to go top speed.
Bottom line though I agree. Get the best fan available.