So i ride very hard on the trainer and do 99% of rides indoors. Recently my frame cracked behind the seat post ( where the frame branches out to make room for the rear wheel) due to riding on a cycle ops 300$ trainer. I push 500-600 watts for over unders and I can feel the bike creaking and straining and I know the crack was caused from these types of workouts over time. I googled for trainers, but I can’t find anything but I have heard whispers of trainers that don’t harm the frame. So I come to Slowtwitch for advice. Thank you.
You will probably have problems over time with most trainers that try to hold the frame in one place.
Maybe look at trainers like the Kurt Kinetic rock and roll trainer, it allows the back of the bike to rock side to side.
You could also consider rollers. If you need something more stable than plain rollers maybe look at some like the inside ride rollers. You can also consider their floating fork mount.
Alternately, is there any reason you need to ride a fancy frame indoors? You could get a cheap, super robust frame that will likely never break, and if it does it’ll be cheap to replace. This seems to make a lot more sense than chasing a rare, expensive trainer that may or may not preserve your fancy carbon frame during hard workouts
I’ve owned a Rock N Roll trainer. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. It can bob up and down and if it’s not on a perfectly level surface you feel like you’re constantly leaning to the side. IMO, these are your two choices:
https://www.feedbacksports.com/shop/omnium-portable-trainer/
https://veloreality.com/trainer-ii/
Pretty extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of price, I know. I’ve been eyeing a Lynx for a while. Assuming they’re reliable that seems like an ideal design for a cycle studio as you wouldn’t have to worry about tension or changing the rear skewer. Just pop off the front wheel, lock the fork on, and go.
I own an Omnium. It’s pretty great. On long indoor rides it’s noticeably more comfortable than a trainer where the rear wheel is fixed. That said, it tops out around 500 watts in something like a 53x11 90rpm so it might not be enough resistance for you.
I’ve owned a Rock N Roll trainer. Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it. It can bob up and down and if it’s not on a perfectly level surface you feel like you’re constantly leaning to the side. IMO, these are your two choices:
https://www.feedbacksports.com/...um-portable-trainer/
https://veloreality.com/trainer-ii/
Pretty extreme ends of the spectrum in terms of price, I know. I’ve been eyeing a Lynx for a while. Assuming they’re reliable that seems like an ideal design for a cycle studio as you wouldn’t have to worry about tension or changing the rear skewer. Just pop off the front wheel, lock the fork on, and go.
I own an Omnium. It’s pretty great. On long indoor rides it’s noticeably more comfortable than a trainer where the rear wheel is fixed. That said, it tops out around 500 watts in something like a 53x11 90rpm so it might not be enough resistance for you.
Curious about this Omnium trainer, could you do low rpm strength efforts on it? Say 50 rpm at 300 watts?
Not really. I mean… yes, with the right gearing you could hit that resistance at that cadence but the lack of inertia really lends this trainer to spinning between 70 and 100rpm IMO.
Not really. I mean… yes, with the right gearing you could hit that resistance at that cadence but the lack of inertia really lends this trainer to spinning between 70 and 100rpm IMO.
Yeah I thought that might be the case, thanks for that. Looks like I need to increase my budget if to the lynx if I want to move to this sort of trainer 
The cheapest/easiest option might be for you to get a Direto and a cheap bike that you just leave on the trainer at all times.
Ive currently got a kickr but its on its way out. Ive considered buying a 2nd hand frame and putting basic components on it to get it working as a trainer bike, but I really just like the idea of not having the rear wheel fixed and have a small amount of movement.
It is very nice. Something you could try are the wheel weights that S-Tac sells for their trainer. That would take care of the inertia problem. A butyl tube and a Gatorskin tire would provide a bit extra rolling resistance. 🤔 maybe I’ll give that combo a go, just thought of it now.
Thats all I ever train on, makes the race wheels feel awesome but it can be a little frustrating when your training partners ride away from you…
Curious about this Omnium trainer, could you do low rpm strength efforts on it? Say 50 rpm at 300 watts?
Minoura makes a unit very similar to the Omnium except it has an adjustable mag resistance unit. You might look around to see what the power curve ranges might be: http://www.minoura.jp/english/trainer/hybridroller/fg540.html
Curious about this Omnium trainer, could you do low rpm strength efforts on it? Say 50 rpm at 300 watts?
Minoura makes a unit very similar to the Omnium except it has an adjustable mag resistance unit. You might look around to see what the power curve ranges might be: http://www.minoura.jp/english/trainer/hybridroller/fg540.html
Thankyou!
How is the Wahoo Kickr? U remove your wheel and put the frame in with a cassette that is attached to the trainer unit. Do it rock back n forth and have some play or is it basically just a fancy bike trainer that doesn’t ruin your rubber?
How is the Wahoo Kickr? U remove your wheel and put the frame in with a cassette that is attached to the trainer unit. Do it rock back n forth and have some play or is it basically just a fancy bike trainer that doesn’t ruin your rubber?
The frame is still held fixed on the trainer so any play you feel will be flex in your frame or the trainer.
buy a wattbike or something like that
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Ive currently got a kickr but its on its way out. Ive considered buying a 2nd hand frame and putting basic components on it to get it working as a trainer bike, but I really just like the idea of not having the rear wheel fixed and have a small amount of movement.
For probably less than you can build a bike with a secondhand frame, you can order a bare bones complete road bike from bikesdirect.com and flog it to death on the trainer. Their cheapest road bikes run about $250, as long as you’re not opposed to stem mounted shifters…which might be a stretch for some.
Tacx Neo has some minor side to side play for sprinting built into it. It’s a very expensive trainer, though at around $1400 to $1500. But of the smart trainers out there, it’s probably one of the better ones.
I was also just going to recommend the Neo. I think the side-to-side play it has would be enough to keep from trashing a frame. It is pricey, but I agree that it’s one of (if not the) best smart trainers out there today.
You might want to consider building or buying one of the rocker boards that are populating the Zwift facebook page.