Help with rear wheel for trainer.



Audiokat

New Member
Feb 15, 2016
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I'm new to cycling and I'm having some trouble understanding rims, hubs, etc.

I'm looking for an inexpensive wheel for the back of my Cannondale Synapse Disc 105.

The wheels that come stock are Maddux Rd 3.0 and appear to be 25"

The first thing I'm trying to learn is what all I need.

Do I need a wheel that has a disc on it even though I won't use brakes on the trainer?

What are other considerations?
 
What brakes you have on your bike are irrelevant for use on indoor trainers. The only possible issue is clearance of the disc and the trainer frame.

Are you sure about that 25". Looking at reviews of your bike it has 700c tyres. Could be you've got 25mm width tyres which are pretty much the standard width these days.

If you're buying a budget trainer at least invest in a fluid type trainer e.g. Kurt Kinetic or Cyleops Fluid 2. Don't buy one of the cheap and crappy magnetic trainers. The fluid types are much nice to ride on. If money is no object then last out on a Tacx Neo or Wahoo Kickr.

Have fun.
 
What are other considerations?

I've got a novel idea.

Why not just use the wheel and tire that's on the bike right now?

The other course of action you might pursue is to order a tire that is designed to take the abuse of powerful riders that sprint like Cav on their trainers and hold 350-400 Watt's like Jens for 20 minutes, thereby heating up and shredding their tires in mere weeks.

But...you're not going to do that. Are you?

Yes, you could look carefully at your tire's sidewall and order one of those over-priced trainer tires and pay a bike shop to swap it onto your rim and pay again to swap it off and return your road tire to the rim...you don't exactly sound like the DIY type yet...but I would recommend that you just put your bike on the trainer and ride it, as is, for the remaining three weeks of Winter.

Good luck.
 
What brakes you have on your bike are irrelevant for use on indoor trainers. The only possible issue is clearance of the disc and the trainer frame.

Are you sure about that 25". Looking at reviews of your bike it has 700c tyres. Could be you've got 25mm width tyres which are pretty much the standard width these days.

If you're buying a budget trainer at least invest in a fluid type trainer e.g. Kurt Kinetic or Cyleops Fluid 2. Don't buy one of the cheap and crappy magnetic trainers. The fluid types are much nice to ride on. If money is no object then last out on a Tacx Neo or Wahoo Kickr.

Have fun.


The tires are definitely 700x25. I was just measuring the rim at approx 25". Yankee/novice mistake. What does the "c" stand for?

I have a trainer already that was given to me. I'm sure it's not spectacular. I'm mainly just looking for a trainer wheel right now. So am I just looking for a 700c 135mm wheel and a 105 groudset?
 
I've got a novel idea.

Why not just use the wheel and tire that's on the bike right now?

The other course of action you might pursue is to order a tire that is designed to take the abuse of powerful riders that sprint like Cav on their trainers and hold 350-400 Watt's like Jens for 20 minutes, thereby heating up and shredding their tires in mere weeks.

But...you're not going to do that. Are you?

Yes, you could look carefully at your tire's sidewall and order one of those over-priced trainer tires and pay a bike shop to swap it onto your rim and pay again to swap it off and return your road tire to the rim...you don't exactly sound like the DIY type yet...but I would recommend that you just put your bike on the trainer and ride it, as is, for the remaining three weeks of Winter.

Good luck.

Thanks for the advise. This may be the heart of the issue. Most of my advise is coming from a few friends who ride a couple hundred miles a week. They told me I'm going to wear my tire down quick on the trainer. If that's not the case I see no point in wasting the money.

In about 30 days I'll be off of it and back outside most of the time.

As for the Diy'er comment that most of why I'm here is to get educated. Thanks again for the help.
 
Pump the tyre up to the maximum pressure printed on the side. e.g. I ride on the road at 90 PSI in the rear but pump it up to 120 PSI on the trainer. Wear isn't really an issue. That said I don't use my carbon wheels on the trainer with the race tyres on as the rubber is softer.
 
I personally would get as much out of those tires as you can, why spend money on something new when you have something that will work well for the time being.
 
What does the "c" stand for?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html

The 'c' is a holdover from an arcane European system of wheel/tire diameter and width combinations. There was an 'a', a 'b', a 'c' and a 'd' once upon a time. The other three standards have largely or completely disappeared, merged into other newer sizing systems and been replaced by the modern E.R.T.R.O. standards and I.S.O. standards.

Your rim's tire bead seat diameter is 622 MM or 24-1/2". The tire's O.D. is approximately 700 MM or 27-1/2"-27-9/16". The rim's O.D. and the tires actual fully inflated O.D. will vary slightly by manufacturer. tire size and type, etc.

If your current rear road tire is smooth or if it has a slight tread pattern of some sort it is probably just fine for a few weeks of indoor training.

Doing 30 minutes to an hour or so a day over 30 days will not wear down the tire much provided you do not try holding daily FTP/VO2 Max test sessions or do repeated sprint accelerations. Even if you do put a little heat into the tire you can go into cruise mode and cool it down...sorta like NASCAR. Don't slip the tire on the trainer's roller.

That brings up the trainer's driven roller pressure against the tire. Get your tire up to around 105 PSI or so...check the sidewall for maximum pressure. Make sure there is enough pressure on the roller to eliminate tire slippage. Grab the tire and give it a few hard jerks back and forth and try to feel the trainer slipping. No need to over-do the roller pressure, but it does have to be snug enough to keep your tire from prematurely wearing.

To much roller pressure and you'll deform the sidewall enough to cause heat buildup. You want to avoid that, also.

Nigel's advice on going near max. pressure helps keep the sidewall from being overly flattened. I usually ride my sew-ups around 110 PSI on the trainer. A very hard rear tire on a trainer will also point out a rim in need of truing, and out-of-round or cord-damaged tire, etc. Let any vibrations be a pointer to possible needed adjustments or maintenance.

Ride an easy warmup and then do 10 minutes of pretty good riding. Stop and check the tire for temperature. I may be just a little warm, but it should be nowhere near 'hot'.
 
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/rim-sizing.html

The 'c' is a holdover from an arcane European system of wheel/tire diameter and width combinations. There was an 'a', a 'b', a 'c' and a 'd' once upon a time. The other three standards have largely or completely disappeared, merged into other newer sizing systems and been replaced by the modern E.R.T.R.O. standards and I.S.O. standards.

Your rim's tire bead seat diameter is 622 MM or 24-1/2". The tire's O.D. is approximately 700 MM or 27-1/2"-27-9/16". The rim's O.D. and the tires actual fully inflated O.D. will vary slightly by manufacturer. tire size and type, etc.

If your current rear road tire is smooth or if it has a slight tread pattern of some sort it is probably just fine for a few weeks of indoor training.

Doing 30 minutes to an hour or so a day over 30 days will not wear down the tire much provided you do not try holding daily FTP/VO2 Max test sessions or do repeated sprint accelerations. Even if you do put a little heat into the tire you can go into cruise mode and cool it down...sorta like NASCAR. Don't slip the tire on the trainer's roller.

That brings up the trainer's driven roller pressure against the tire. Get your tire up to around 105 PSI or so...check the sidewall for maximum pressure. Make sure there is enough pressure on the roller to eliminate tire slippage. Grab the tire and give it a few hard jerks back and forth and try to feel the trainer slipping. No need to over-do the roller pressure, but it does have to be snug enough to keep your tire from prematurely wearing.

To much roller pressure and you'll deform the sidewall enough to cause heat buildup. You want to avoid that, also.

Nigel's advice on going near max. pressure helps keep the sidewall from being overly flattened. I usually ride my sew-ups around 110 PSI on the trainer. A very hard rear tire on a trainer will also point out a rim in need of truing, and out-of-round or cord-damaged tire, etc. Let any vibrations be a pointer to possible needed adjustments or maintenance.

Ride an easy warmup and then do 10 minutes of pretty good riding. Stop and check the tire for temperature. I may be just a little warm, but it should be nowhere near 'hot'.

Wow great info Bob. You beat me to about 10 questions!
 
Thanks for the great responses guys. So far this forum is a superb resource.

Thanks again