I destroyed my bike on my trainer

Triathlon Forum
1

I never thought it was really possible to destroy a bike by riding it on my trainer and not taking care of it. I thought the worst that could happen is that I would have to replace some parts. I was wrong!

I have a 2yr old Tarmac Pro that I bought for $6,000. I rode it a lot (RAAM in 2019) and in March 2020 I bought a gravel bike to start training for the Belgium Waffle Ride and I decided to dedicate my Tarmac Pro to my Wahoo Kickr. It was right about this time Covid started so my basic routine for the last 7 months has been riding SufferFest on the trainer 5 days per week for about 1.5-2hrs each ride.

Everything was fine but I did notice a lot of salt on my bike stem and maybe even a little rust on the front tire quick release and the chain seemed to be turning a rusty color. About 2 months ago I noticed my bottom bracket was making a funny clicking noise and seemed loose but I did not think it was a big deal since I was not shifting gears because of the smart trainer.

Last week the bottom bracket seemed to be real lose and the clicking noise was louder than usual. I realized I really had a problem when the chain actually was falling off every once in a while just when I was spinning. It was at this point I decided to bring it to the HIGH END bike shop for a professional tune up and replace everything that was rusty and corroded. I expected to spend at $1000+.

The mechanic looked at my bike and said they were really going to have to take a good look at it. 1hr later he said the bike is pretty much a complete loss and they can’t do anything. The left bottom bracket was really hard to get off and was destroyed with corrosion/scraps of metal and dust. The right bracket was stuck on the frame and they can not remove without damaging the carbon on the frame. The ball bearings completed gone. Lots of other damage but they were worried about the carbon frame.

They said to maybe contact Specialized to see if they would do any warranty/trade in value like for a crashed frame. That is my only hope right now! Totally my fault for not taking care of my bike and I only blame myself for just being too lazy to take my bike to shop!! $6,000 lesson learned!

Now I have to figure out what to put on my trainer??? I don’t want to ruin my gravel bike plus I still like riding that outside and don’t want the pain of setting up on trainer so that bike is out of the question. I have an old TriBike. Do I pay for the parts/labor and convert the TriBike into a regular road bike (basically handle bars/Etc and try to get into proper road bike fitting) and put on trainer? Do I just put TriBike on trainer and not care about set up and position (Tri vs Rode)? Do I buy a cheap road bike and put on trainer? I ride an 58 inch bike, my wife’s old Trek 5500 is a 54…do I some how see if I can get the small bike fitted like a 58 into a decent position just for the trainer?

I really like riding on the trainer and doing Sufferfest. I think it has really made me into a much stronger rider so I don’t want to waste time and risk injury from being in a bad fit or working the wrong muscles on Tribike? I also still want to enjoy riding inside so i don’t want bad equipment to take away from my enjoyment/pain/suffering.

Any advice besides the obvious “next time take care of your bike idiot!”?

Thanks in advance!

2

About 2 months ago I noticed my bottom bracket was making a funny clicking noise and seemed loose but I did not think it was a big deal since I was not shifting gears because of the smart trainer.

I don’t have much advice but am interested in the answers here but one thing that sticks out to me here is the line above, do you never ride anything but erg mode? I ride erg a lot but do make an effort to use different gearing on various rides so as not to wear down one cassette ring. But beyond that, thanks to zwift, I do change gears. Not that I think this had much to contribute to a bottom bracket issue but it just sticks out to me.

3

This past year I spent a bunch more time on the trainer. I ended up buying a cheap used frame and building it up to leave on the trainer 100% of the time. As long as your contact points are good (saddle, pedals, and bars), things like groupset, weight, etc really don’t matter. In terms of frame geometry, you can be a bit more flexible as going with a super long or short stem to hit your fit numbers won’t affect handling since you’re stationary.

You can easily get something set up for <$400.

4

I’m not a bike expert, but I’ve been riding a Cervelo P2 for years on a Kickr, with tons of sweat, and the only real special care I give to it is to put on a cockpit cover which catches sweat from corroding the aerobars/headset/front brake, but does nothing to catch sweat dripping downwards onto the BB and drivetrain.

I’ve changed my BB once (about 2 yrs ago) and it was completely fine. Sure, it was heavily greased, and I did the same on the reinstall ,but that’s pretty typical for BBs.

Did the bike shop have anything to tell you about how to prevent this in the future? Failing BBs aren’t a typical failure point mentioned on ST for people who heavily use the bike trainer.

5

Thanks for the reply…only ERG mode. Di2 hasn’t been pressed/ or charged in 7 months. My bad!

6

That is what I was thinking. Just getting LBS to put on new stem and some small stuff to try to modify fit and not care about handling since it will be trainer only.

7

I will for sure ask when I pick up. Great question! Was it because of the sweat or was it because it was creaking and I waited to long to have it adjusted.

8

I will for sure ask when I pick up. Great question! Was it because of the sweat or was it because it was creaking and I waited to long to have it adjusted.

I don’t have firsthand knowledge of the most recent Spec carbon road frame BB’s, but I think yours probably has the aluminum inserts glued in from your bike shops description. Some of the Specs have straight up carbon pressfit bb shells. Either way I’m fairly certain a reputable carbon bicycle repair shop can fix this damage for you so you can salvage some of your $6k investment.

The issues you mention with this bike all sound like a result of no ongoing maintenance. Don’t ever leave a trainer bike exposed to sweat. Extra greasing helps along with fans and something like the protective sweat cover mentioned above. We’ve used trainers half the year since well before the pandemic and have found it is hard on drivetrain parts including the BB. Though not exposed to weather, indoor riding means almost constant drivetrain turnover. Cleaning and lubing your chain frequently and even repacking the bottom bracket cartridge bearings and greasing BB shield seals will keep this from happening again.

9

Triathletes wrecking bikes in trainers was a running joke when I was wrenching in bike shops back in the 90’s - that this lesson is still getting learned 30 years later blows my mind.

Can you please share pictures?

10

I found I need to be cautious with bikes on a trainer especially because I am a heavy sweater. Over the winter I found that in one trainer session I had rusty water dripping out of my bottom bracket. Next thing I knew I was learning how to replace my bb bearings.
I think eventually this might kill my road bike so these days I have a sweat catcher during trainer sessions and always wipe my bike down afterwards.

11

I never thought it was really possible to destroy a bike by riding it on my trainer and not taking care of it. I thought the worst that could happen is that I would have to replace some parts. I was wrong!

I have a 2yr old Tarmac Pro that I bought for $6,000. I rode it a lot (RAAM in 2019) and in March 2020 I bought a gravel bike to start training for the Belgium Waffle Ride and I decided to dedicate my Tarmac Pro to my Wahoo Kickr. It was right about this time Covid started so my basic routine for the last 7 months has been riding SufferFest on the trainer 5 days per week for about 1.5-2hrs each ride.

Everything was fine but I did notice a lot of salt on my bike stem and maybe even a little rust on the front tire quick release and the chain seemed to be turning a rusty color. About 2 months ago I noticed my bottom bracket was making a funny clicking noise and seemed loose but I did not think it was a big deal since I was not shifting gears because of the smart trainer.

Last week the bottom bracket seemed to be real lose and the clicking noise was louder than usual. I realized I really had a problem when the chain actually was falling off every once in a while just when I was spinning. It was at this point I decided to bring it to the HIGH END bike shop for a professional tune up and replace everything that was rusty and corroded. I expected to spend at $1000+.

The mechanic looked at my bike and said they were really going to have to take a good look at it. 1hr later he said the bike is pretty much a complete loss and they can’t do anything. The left bottom bracket was really hard to get off and was destroyed with corrosion/scraps of metal and dust. The right bracket was stuck on the frame and they can not remove without damaging the carbon on the frame. The ball bearings completed gone. Lots of other damage but they were worried about the carbon frame.

They said to maybe contact Specialized to see if they would do any warranty/trade in value like for a crashed frame. That is my only hope right now! Totally my fault for not taking care of my bike and I only blame myself for just being too lazy to take my bike to shop!! $6,000 lesson learned!

Now I have to figure out what to put on my trainer??? I don’t want to ruin my gravel bike plus I still like riding that outside and don’t want the pain of setting up on trainer so that bike is out of the question. I have an old TriBike. Do I pay for the parts/labor and convert the TriBike into a regular road bike (basically handle bars/Etc and try to get into proper road bike fitting) and put on trainer? Do I just put TriBike on trainer and not care about set up and position (Tri vs Rode)? Do I buy a cheap road bike and put on trainer? I ride an 58 inch bike, my wife’s old Trek 5500 is a 54…do I some how see if I can get the small bike fitted like a 58 into a decent position just for the trainer?

I really like riding on the trainer and doing Sufferfest. I think it has really made me into a much stronger rider so I don’t want to waste time and risk injury from being in a bad fit or working the wrong muscles on Tribike? I also still want to enjoy riding inside so i don’t want bad equipment to take away from my enjoyment/pain/suffering.

Any advice besides the obvious “next time take care of your bike idiot!”?

Thanks in advance!

Serious question.

I think something more is going on here. Is it possible the bike is a POS?

Back in the 70s and 80s I road the same bike on a trainer in a dank moldy basement in the winter for 10 years as well as racing it in the summer. Did little to no maintenance except oil the chain

In the past 2 years I’ve put well over 600 hours in the trainer on a 2015 P2 same thing only oiled the chain
And race it as well no issues

12

All you have to do is keep the sweat off of the frame and it would have been fine.

Can you post some pictures of the bottom bracket?

13

I never thought it was really possible to destroy a bike by riding it on my trainer and not taking care of it. I thought the worst that could happen is that I would have to replace some parts. I was wrong!

I have a 2yr old Tarmac Pro that I bought for $6,000. I rode it a lot (RAAM in 2019) and in March 2020 I bought a gravel bike to start training for the Belgium Waffle Ride and I decided to dedicate my Tarmac Pro to my Wahoo Kickr. It was right about this time Covid started so my basic routine for the last 7 months has been riding SufferFest on the trainer 5 days per week for about 1.5-2hrs each ride.

Everything was fine but I did notice a lot of salt on my bike stem and maybe even a little rust on the front tire quick release and the chain seemed to be turning a rusty color. About 2 months ago I noticed my bottom bracket was making a funny clicking noise and seemed loose but I did not think it was a big deal since I was not shifting gears because of the smart trainer.

Last week the bottom bracket seemed to be real lose and the clicking noise was louder than usual. I realized I really had a problem when the chain actually was falling off every once in a while just when I was spinning. It was at this point I decided to bring it to the HIGH END bike shop for a professional tune up and replace everything that was rusty and corroded. I expected to spend at $1000+.

The mechanic looked at my bike and said they were really going to have to take a good look at it. 1hr later he said the bike is pretty much a complete loss and they can’t do anything. The left bottom bracket was really hard to get off and was destroyed with corrosion/scraps of metal and dust. The right bracket was stuck on the frame and they can not remove without damaging the carbon on the frame. The ball bearings completed gone. Lots of other damage but they were worried about the carbon frame.

They said to maybe contact Specialized to see if they would do any warranty/trade in value like for a crashed frame. That is my only hope right now! Totally my fault for not taking care of my bike and I only blame myself for just being too lazy to take my bike to shop!! $6,000 lesson learned!

Now I have to figure out what to put on my trainer??? I don’t want to ruin my gravel bike plus I still like riding that outside and don’t want the pain of setting up on trainer so that bike is out of the question. I have an old TriBike. Do I pay for the parts/labor and convert the TriBike into a regular road bike (basically handle bars/Etc and try to get into proper road bike fitting) and put on trainer? Do I just put TriBike on trainer and not care about set up and position (Tri vs Rode)? Do I buy a cheap road bike and put on trainer? I ride an 58 inch bike, my wife’s old Trek 5500 is a 54…do I some how see if I can get the small bike fitted like a 58 into a decent position just for the trainer?

I really like riding on the trainer and doing Sufferfest. I think it has really made me into a much stronger rider so I don’t want to waste time and risk injury from being in a bad fit or working the wrong muscles on Tribike? I also still want to enjoy riding inside so i don’t want bad equipment to take away from my enjoyment/pain/suffering.

Any advice besides the obvious “next time take care of your bike idiot!”?

Thanks in advance!

Serious question.

I think something more is going on here. Is it possible the bike is a POS?

Back in the 70s and 80s I road the same bike on a trainer in a dank moldy basement in the winter for 10 years as well as racing it in the summer. Did little to no maintenance except oil the chain

In the past 2 years I’ve put well over 600 hours in the trainer on a 2015 P2 same thing only oiled the chain
And race it as well no issues

I tend to agree; this doesn’t seem like it could be strictly attributable to 7 months of trainer use. That’s light compared to what most on this forum probably put on their indoor trainers.

14

Hard to imagine it can’t be salvaged. Sounds like the bike is worth spending the money on to save. Definitely need to improve your maintenance habits.

15

All you have to do is keep the sweat off of the frame and it would have been fine.

This is the correct answer. Sounds like you need better cooling and more towels.

16

According to this article the sweat gets to the BB via the downtube which can be protected with the same sweat net that people use to protect their headset:

https://zwiftinsider.com/dont-let-zwifting-damage-bike/

Additional strategies that I use: 1970s style sweatbands on my head and wrists really help a lot. Powerful fan. Open windows.

In spite of this I did have my aluminum seatpost seize inside the carbon frame of my bike, so I can attest that sweat corrosion is real! I was lucky to find a bike shop that was able to get it out, and it is now well-greased.

17

According to this article the sweat gets to the BB via the downtube which can be protected with the same sweat net that people use to protect their headset:

https://zwiftinsider.com/...wifting-damage-bike/

Additional strategies that I use: 1970s style sweatbands on my head and wrists really help a lot. Powerful fan. Open windows.

In spite of this I did have my aluminum seatpost seize inside the carbon frame of my bike, so I can attest that sweat corrosion is real! I was lucky to find a bike shop that was able to get it out, and it is now well-greased.

+1

As a heavy sweater, I have a bike “bra” as well as a towel covering the stem/tops. I ride in a long sleeve base layer and gloves to spread out the sweat (vs it dripping), and have two fans running (one for the torso, one on the legs).

I’m using my old roadie from '04. No need to expose the “good” bike to all that corrosion potential…plus I have a couple 9s cassettes I need to use up ;P.

18

All you have to do is keep the sweat off of the frame and it would have been fine.

This is the correct answer. Sounds like you need better cooling and more towels.

This isn’t as trivial as it seems. I’ve been doing this long enough that I’ve found that even if you wipe down all the sweat on your headset and especially front brake, even if one drop gets in the moving parts, it can corrode and seize the part permanently if it’s not moved for a long time. It might look all fine from the outside, but then you try and turn the steerer tube, or pull the brake and it’s all locked up.

I killed both those pieces even with regular towel use AND a bike ‘thong’ which apparently doesn’t do enough coverage for a TT bike. I since got a much better aero-specific cover and put extra coverings over the FB, and that’s worked fine for years. I still check it regularly though, making sure all the parts move, by riding it outdoors every 2-5 weeks.

19

Thanks to the OP & the rest of y’all - this is proving to be a valuable thread.

How do you just do ERG mode? Just un-click “controllable” when you log in?

20

Sounds are warnings something is wrong.

Sorry about your bike. It sounds doubtful to me that your bike is a total loss. I would like to check it out if you send it to me. PM me.

I think the proper lesson learned for maintenance is a rinse of the salty sweat that is creating the corrosion after hearing your story.