Trainer Tire Wear

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2007-07-17 2:37 PM

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Subject: Trainer Tire Wear
Couple of quick questions.....how much wear is put on a tire while on a trainer. More than the road itself? I have been riding on my trainer a good bit, and just wanted to make sure I was not doing any damage to it. I have it at the property PSI and keep the spinning wheel dry.

Second....the reason I have been on a trainer SOOO much is that my training plan (Olym to 1/2HIM 12 Weeks) is heart rate based. Because of the hilly area I live in, I have a hard time
keeping my HR in the correct zone while outdoor riding. I don't mind the trainer, as I get to catch up on neglected TV Shows, but how important is it to stay in the zone? I am riding two trainer rides and one outdoor long ride a week. Is that going to hurt my progress?

2007-07-17 3:09 PM
in reply to: #889660

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Subject: RE: Trainer Tire Wear
Seems trainers typically eat tires more quickly. Buy a couple cheap ones from walmart and burn them up.
2007-07-17 3:51 PM
in reply to: #889660

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Subject: RE: Trainer Tire Wear
trainers to eat tires. I would either switch them out with a cheap one or a trainer tire. I love the trainer so much I have a special trainer wheel for my bike trainer. I can go and bike with a minutes notice since its as fast as taking one wheel off and puting the next one on.

TRainer tires are much harder and are designed not to skip but they are $30.
2007-07-17 3:54 PM
in reply to: #889660

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Austin, TX
Subject: RE: Trainer Tire Wear
One issue with using road tires on a trainer is that the trainer can wear a flat spot onto your tire. Another issue is putting to much pressure on the tire from the trainer. The harder you make it the more wear it puts on the tire and then the tire naturally breaks down.
The trainer I was using was ripping through tires pretty quickly and it was driving me nuts. I went out and bought a trainer tire. You can get them at:
http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?cat=Continental%20Tyres&START...
It's on the 3rd page. It'll cost you about $20.00. It's a pain to put on so what I did is I went out and bought a used rim. I had another cassette kicking around, put that on and then added the trainer tire. It cost a bit more but it is really worth it when it comes to changing out for training rides to road rides. So now I have a set up for the trainer and one for the road.

Your second question is one I can't answer. I am not a HR guy so my knowledge with that is limited.

Best of luck.
2007-07-17 4:01 PM
in reply to: #889660

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Carlsbad, California
Subject: RE: Trainer Tire Wear

I seem to have the oposite problem for some reason.

I have the CycleOps Magneto and the metal contact wheel seems to be scuffing and pitting (Wearing) rather than the tire. (I have Conti Gatorskins) The wheel now has a very noticable groove (About 1.5 inches wide) right where th tire contacts it. I can also feel it so it is not just tarnish.

I do a mix of road and trainer work on my bike and have suspected that road grit is embedded in the tire which is causing the wear on the metal wheel.

Given the amount of wear on my trainer and the number of miles I have put on it in the last 6 months, it will be a quite while before it wears out. (Surely something else will break before then)

My tires don't seem to wear out any faster than usual in terms of distance. Not sure if this is everyone's experience though.

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