Every bike I’ve owned has felt uncomfortable on the trainer. I don’t understandy why? It’s a pretty instant thing. Discomfort from the get go. I have the cobb vflow max on my bike and was able to ride out today and while the seat makes the trainer somewhat tolerable it makes the road heaven.
i have that problem to. kinda makes me think that there is more to take your mind off of your butt pain when riding outside. on the trainer thats all you think about.
it’s not just my ass though, it’s bars as well. I also notice I keep a slower cadence on the trainer to.
I would assume that it has something to do with the fact you’re not getting any sort of benefit or comfort from the tires on the trainer.
how level is your entire bike set up on the trainer? I find that the bike set up for the trainer differs from the road, so I try to make sure the wheel spacing from floor to base of wheel are equal in front and back.
That means using a thin piece of wood or book. The blocks they sell are not level with your rear tire, thus making your seat, and bars unlevel a well.
i get the same thing on my trainer with insufficient set-up. make sure that your bike is level, otherwise you’ll need to tilt your saddle and handlebars slightly.
above and beyond that, i find that rollers are more comfortable than a trainer. i think the reason is that, like it or not, your body rocks at least a little bit when you pedal. on a trainer, your bike is rigid and has no leeway for movement. on rollers, though, your bike can sway back and forth, so some of your left-right rocking gets absorbed by your bike moving around a little bit on the rollers 
I would say that you have a problem.
When I get on my bikes on the trainer, they feel just fine. But, I will agree that at about 1:45 to 2 hours, the butt starts to hurt. I chalk that up to literally being stuck in the same spot for that long. Usually getting out of the saddle and varying my cadence every 5 to 10 minutes will help the pain out.
I know you said that you don’t get uncomfortale outside, but maybe you could be even better if you got comfortable inside too. Just a thought.
The ride dynamics are incomparable. Outside, the bike fills the space between you and the road. There are multiple moments that provide variability to your contact points (namely your ass and arms). On the trainer, your body must conform to the bike because it’s pinned in place. The rider also tends to change position much more frequently on the road to accomodate varying terrain. Hell, if you sit on a couch long enough your body parts start to go numb. Couch and saddle - not created equal.
On the road, your bike will sway from side to side as you pedal. Even if your tire isn’t swaying, the bike is pivoting on an axis like a metronome as you pedal. On the trainer, none of this happens, so it’s more difficult. This is why Kurt Kinetic came out with their Rock’n’Roll trainer.
Honestly try this…Lower you seat 1 cm and see how you feel.
1 ride won’t hurt anything.
jaretj
I got a tri bike about a month ago and for the first few weeks it was constantly snowing so all I could do was ride it on the trainer, in misery. When I finally got it on the road, I couldn’t believe how much better it felt, specifically the saddle.
So now when I am forced indoors, I just ride my road bike as it is much less painful on the trainer, and I prop the front wheel up a few inches which makes it more comfortable for me. As stated above, standing up for a minute or two every 5-10 minutes really helps.
I don’t have a problem right from the start on the trainer, but after 30 minutes, my perineum (sp?) starts to get sore. I compensate by doing 1 minute out of every 10 standing. Still, 2 hours on the trainer is all I can take. I do not have this problem on the road. I suspect that we move around on the saddle more swhen we’re outdoors, coast some, and stand some. I have a similar problem on the rollers.
Hmmm weird. My first guess would be to get a level out. Find something on your bike that is dead level and test is on the floor…then put it on the trainer. Could be the shock component mentioned earlier as well.
I find my trainer to be comfortable, but then again I do 80% of my riding on it. I used to find the resistance a bit different, but once I went to Fluid the change was hardly noticeable to me.
I know exactly what you mean. I love the feel and fit of both my tri and road bikes, but they both feel ‘alien’ on the trainer, like I should be tweaking the fit. I know though to leave it alone as once I get back outside they feel great.
I think a lot of it has to do with the ‘static’ state of the bike on the trainer, as others have said. Your bike is fixed and is not moving, at all, nor are you making subconscious minute adjustments and or subtle position shifts as you adapt to road conditions, changes in grade, wind etc… as you are when you ride outside. 2 hours on the trainer is almost unbearable to me, but 5-6 hours outside is not a problem.
You will never get the same feel on a trainer as the road. Even with a perfect fit, your trainer would still be uncomfortable at some point. Unless you are constantly moving around on the saddle, weighting and unweighting, you can’t simulate the road. Every time you corner, you change your distribution of weight and position on the bike. There are no corners, bumps, stop lights(or signs), or hills(extra resistance doesn’t count) on the trainer. The only way to make it marginally more comfortable would be use a less “aggressive” position on the trainer and/or raise the front wheel even up to the point of having it higher than the rear.
Note: If your bike hurts you at any point on a normal ride or any length within the scope of distance you race normally, get the bike refit.
I find my trainer to be comfortable, but then again I do 80% of my riding on it. I used to find the resistance a bit different, but once I went to Fluid the change was hardly noticeable to me.
80%? Why? I would go insane.
Roads too dangerous where I live. FL has led the nation with cyclist/auto fatalities 2 years in a row. I ride on an enclosed trail on the weekends. Having been cycling for almost 26 years and living all over FL is my worst road experience by far. Bewteen the Q-Tips and tour-ons it’s crazy.
I am the same way - trainer is not as comfortable. I feel that I work the legs harder on the road, and therefor I am putting less weight on the saddle. When I am doing hard efforts on the trainer, I never notice the saddle. I also agree with the others that you do a lot more moving around when outside.