As a Brit who has been in the States for 20 plus years, I still have trouble typing “tire” and not “tyre”… anyway, I digress…
I don’t have a wheel/tire dedicated to use on the trainer and use my usual training wheel on my roadie when on the trainer (I don’t tend to use my tri bike on the trainer). The rear tire is showing signs of flattening. My newbie type question is a pretty simple one… what’s the issue? Is it simply wear and tear and cost, or is it going to significantly affect handling and performance on the road? I’m very much a MOP type of cyclist.
Worth getting a dedicated wheel/tire for the trainer? I tend to ride outside all year round and use the trainer only in cases of severe weather or when my schedule dictates an after dark session. I don’t like the idea of constantly changing back and forth.
As a Brit who has been in the States for 20 plus years, I still have trouble typing “tire” and not “tyre”… anyway, I digress…
I don’t have a wheel/tire dedicated to use on the trainer and use my usual training wheel on my roadie when on the trainer (I don’t tend to use my tri bike on the trainer). The rear tire is showing signs of flattening. My newbie type question is a pretty simple one… what’s the issue? Is it simply wear and tear and cost, or is it going to significantly affect handling and performance on the road? I’m very much a MOP type of cyclist.
Worth getting a dedicated wheel/tire for the trainer? I tend to ride outside all year round and use the trainer only in cases of severe weather or when my schedule dictates an after dark session. I don’t like the idea of constantly changing back and forth.
Thanks.
Part of the reason that people get wear on the trainer is that the tire slips - that’s similar to skidding on the road and very destructive to the tread.
It’s important to set up the bike on the trainer with enough pressure from the roller to the tire that the tire will not slip. Then not much more than that, which can cause excessive casing flex. I think too many people set up the trainer with the tire not pushing hard enough against the roller, so they get a lot of wear. Then loosen things up, which increases wear even more.
I think jt10000 is right. I have been using the same tire and only using my tri bike on the trainer and no issues. I think I have 1000 trainer miles and close to 4000 on my tire and never had issues with it. Definitely need replacing now but i think you should be fine if you have the right pressure on the tire. I have different racing wheels which I don’t use on my trainer.
OK. I can see the wear issue, and believe that I set my trainer up correctly (no slipping).
Does some “flattening” of the tire significatly slow performance on the road or make it more likely to take a spill? Again remembering that I don’t race on my roadie and a few seconds here and there isn’t going to impact a slow middle aged guy like me.
OK. I can see the wear issue, and believe that I set my trainer up correctly (no slipping).
Does some “flattening” of the tire significatly slow performance on the road or make it more likely to take a spill? Again remembering that I don’t race on my roadie and a few seconds here and there isn’t going to impact a slow middle aged guy like me.
Its slightly more pricey if you get a dedicated wheel, tire, and cassette for the trainer, but I think you’ll be glad you did, especially if you log alot of miles on the trainer (I’m glad I did). Changing back and forth started to become a real inconvenience.
Also, the conti hometrainer is great. Quiet and smooth.
I just use a worn tire that I wouldn’t use on the road anymore for my trainer tire. No extra money to spend, and then you aren’t ruining the tires you use on the road.
Continental makes a tire specifically for indoor trainers. It’s supposed to “resist” the heat build up generated by the roller mechanism when in contact with the tire. I have no experience with it. I completely agree with an earlier post about setting the mechanism to make the correct pressure contact with the tire when in use; there should be no slippage. I always relieve the contact after a ride. A dedicated wheel/tire/cassette is nice (it’s what I have) but not entirely necessary. When I built my dedicated trainer wheel, I ended up using a tubular rim because it was cheap. I ride it with a cheap tubular tire and have had no excessive wear issues. At the very least, I would invest in a tire for trainer use only; trainer specific tire or just a plain ole tire - up to you.
My wife and I both have the yellow Conti trainer tires, and mine has easily 3,000 miles on it. Easily. With zero issues. Agree with posts on setup, but also agree with post that says put one on a cheap wheel with a cheap cassette. Don’t all triathletes have flash wheels on their bikes, which yields an extra rear wheel to dedicate to the trainer? So for $60 for the tire, and about $40 for the cassette, it’s long-term happiness.
Its slightly more pricey if you get a dedicated wheel, tire, and cassette for the trainer, but I think you’ll be glad you did, especially if you log alot of miles on the trainer (I’m glad I did). Changing back and forth started to become a real inconvenience.
Also, the conti hometrainer is great. Quiet and smooth.
X infinity!!! You can get a cheap Forte wheel at performance, a tiagra cassette and a trainer tire for about $200 total. We have them for our bikes and it really saves on the cassette wear and tire destruction. In fact, we don’t even bother with trainer tires, we just save out old tires we take off our bikes, they last pretty long on a trainer before we wear through the tread.
Does some “flattening” of the tire significatly slow performance on the road or make it more likely to take a spill? Again remembering that I don’t race on my roadie and a few seconds here and there isn’t going to impact a slow middle aged guy like me.Rear tires square off outdoors or indoors. I’ve never noticed any effect on handling. If anything, a worn tire will be faster although slightly more prone to flats.