I rode my trainer bike the other night and noticed that there seemed to be a roughness and occassional creaking while coasting. I took the rear wheel into my LBS for a look, and the mechanic said he couldn't turn my rear axle by hand -- it was locked up. It did free up after he loosened it and didn't feel particularly rough, but when a small amount of side force was applied to the axle while turning it, I could feel a dut-dut-dut-dut.... like the bearings were rolling over the dimples on a golf ball.

Would this be caused by the compression force of keeping my rear wheel locked into my CycleOps trainer during the last 2 winters? Has anyone else had this problem? I didn't think the compression was excessive, but I frequently train out of the saddle so I do make sure the wheel is held securely.

May my story of woe be a word of caution to the rest of you indoor riders....

I would think there would be more stress on your frame then the wheel. and out of the saddle on a trainer ouch. i would never put my frame on a trainer to train. if i had to do that i would get a beater frame.

It's a Trek 1000 that I got when I first got into cycling back in 2000, so I guess it qualifies as a beater. I certainly wouldn't subject my race bike to a trainer of any sort.

This is the first I've heard mention of a wheel going bad due to a trainer. It could be related to the torque you've used but I can't say for certain.

Yeah, standing while using the trainer is one of those things I won't do. I may stand for a short while and pedal lightly just to give my bum a rest from the saddle but I don't hammer. I can see the frame twist when I ride seated, which is bad enough. I have an '03 Allez Sport in my trainer now but may put an old Schwinn Continental in there this Winter. Nothing can hurt one of those bikes!!

Several of the training videos use standing intervals, so I don't worry too much about it. Standing in the trainer does help me remember to keep my arms involved (pulling on the opposing handlebar) to offset the typical rocking of the bike. If you do that then there's not a whole lot of frame twisting from the trainer.