What does everyone use as a trainer tire?
I have been debating about getting a solid tire to use as a trainer tire, but unsure how well it would work.
Continental Hometrainer tire here. Have used it on my bike since 2013 and I do 99% of my riding indoors. It’s showing zero signs of wear.
What does everyone use as a trainer tire?
I have been debating about getting a solid tire to use as a trainer tire, but unsure how well it would work.
I used to use some random worn tubular. More recently a Vittoria training tire (for quiet - though I’m not sure I believe it works better.
What would be the purpose of a solid tire?
I’m currently using the Felt TTR tyre that came as stock on my Felt IA 2 over years ago. When that wears out, if I’m still using a wheel-on trainer, I will move on to the second Felt tyre. Prior to that I had used a trainer specific wheel which I was VERY unimpressed with. It was noisier (squeaky) and less grippy than a standard road tyre.
A solid tyre makes no sense at all. Do you often puncture on your trainer???
A supple tyre improves your chances of maintaining good grip and low noise. But mostly, use whatever you have lying around. And if you are using virtual power, be consistent. If you have a powermeter/smart trainer - who cares.
It makes far more sense to retire a worn tyre from road use and use it on your trainer than buying anything specific which in my opinion is inferior anyway.
Main reason for solid tire is I have seen them cheaper.
I agree to the idea of using an old road tire, but when all the riding I do is indoors, I am going to run into the no longer having a used road tire before too long.
I might give the continental home trainer tire mentioned above a try, price doesn’t seem bad.
Main reason for solid tire is I have seen them cheaper.
I agree to the idea of using an old road tire, but when all the riding I do is indoors, I am going to run into the no longer having a used road tire before too long.
I might give the continental home trainer tire mentioned above a try, price doesn’t seem bad.
Well, I’ve been using the same Felt TTR tyre on mine for about the last 2 years. That’s using a KK Road Machine for about 3hrs/wk when I’m also riding outside and perhaps double that in winter. My training is based on an FTP around 285W. That tyre is still in good shape and may well last another year or more if I’m still using a wheel on trainer at that point. If you’ve even a single old tyre lying around, you’re covered for a long while.
Having said that, when I first got the trainer I used a heavily worn Gatorskin Hardshell (awful tyre!) for a few sessions and it appeared to delaminate! I don’t know if that was because of the rather rigid and yucky construction or just because it was already almost dead. (Yucky is a technical term, honest). If you want to keep it cheap, I’d sooner go with a low cost road tyre like an Ultra sport or Grand Prix or something similar from Vittoria or whomever, rather than a solid tyre or trainer tyre. The one benefit of a solid tyre is that the weight will give you a bit more wheel inertia which may be desirable.
I have used the Conti and Tacx trainer tires - just buy whichever one is cheaper. They both do a great job.
I have also used old road tires but they don’t stand up to heat cycling as well and I’ve had them fail more often. I do probably 90% of my training on the trainer so they get a lot of use.
I use a Schwalbe Insider which I paid £15 for. 5+ years of heavy use and no signs of wear, slippage or other issues. I haven’t use enough other tires to tell if its quieter but I doubt you would get any where as much use out of any of the standard road tires in that price bracket.
It may be worth noting the Insider tire was a real pain to mount so I wouldn’t want to be taking it on and off regularly. Trainer tires work best if you have a dedicated trainer wheel that you can just leave with the trainer. If you are using multiple bikes with different wheelsets you need to rotate through the trainer the situation becomes a real hassle. This is why DC Rainmaker among others has stated he doesn’t use trainer tires.
While I dont have a dedicated trainer wheel, I think a trainer tire would still be worth it if the cost/benefit is there, and I think it is.
Last time I rode on the road was before my daughter was born (she is almost 15 months now).
Since she was born I have made the decision to only ride on closed roads (in races). And I am far from the fitness level I need/want to be before entering a race again.
I made this decision based on 2 main factors.
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Safety, too many idiots around me paying more attention to their phones then driving their car.
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Time. Put it simply, to get somewhere where I can ride and be reasonably safe and have good road, I have a 20 min drive each way. Them you gotta factor in loading the car up, prepping bottles, getting started and ending. My hr long rides turn into almost 2 (and I can only do that when someone is here to watch our daughter). Conversely, I can go upstairs, hop on the trainer, be done in just about an hour and do it all while she naps.
One bike has a green Kurt Kinetic trainer tire on it, there other has a yellow CycleOps trainer tire on it. Each sees about 200 hours of use a season, and both just finished their 4th season with no issues. For the $35 I spent for each I don’t see a reason to go looking for something else.
BTW, they are installed on Mavic CXP22 rims with that came on the bikes new and hang in the training room with not in use, so they never see weather or sun.
Looking at the other responses here, it looks like the specific tyres, trainer, roller compression, etc, etc may all be factors since we seem to have very different experiences!
My trainer is a KK Road Machine so the tyre runs on an alluminium roller. Many trainers use elastomer rollers which may change things.
my setup:
previously had a cycleops fluid pro 2 and now a Magnus.
Gatorskin, I paid $30-40 for one and the last one I used on my trainer for over 3 years
I also bought a new Shimano aliminum wheel on Amazon for about $85 or so.
For me a dedicated trainer tire is worth the cost many times over for the time and convenience
Gatorskin, I paid $30-40 for one and the last one I used on my trainer for over 3 years
I also bought a new Shimano aliminum wheel on Amazon for about $85 or so.
For me a dedicated trainer tire is worth the cost many times over for the time and convenience
I use a dedicated tyre on a dedicated wheel. It’s a road tyre but not because it’s ever used on the road!