Trainer shredding my tire??



ryanspeer

New Member
Jul 19, 2006
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I have Michelin Dynamic tires (came with the Vuelta wheelset I purchased earlier this summer) that I was already planning on replacing, but it looks like I'm going to have to much sooner than otherwise expected. I got on a trainer that I've had for 10-12 years or so and that I've never had problems with in years past when I used it, but after only 5 minutes on it tonight I smelled an odd "hot" smell. Got off the bike and noticed tiny black stuff all over the floor around the trainer. At first I thought maybe some internal mechanism of the trainer was grinding to pieces (although I didn't hear anything of the sort), but only then did I notice the nice flat 3/8" band worn deep into my rear tire. Essentially it was getting shredded by the trainer. The roller of the trainer was HOT to the touch (which I was somewhat expecting), but I really must ask . . .

IS THIS NORMAL?!?!?

Good grief - either I've got **** for tires or I really need to replace the trainer (or both). I already knew I needed/wanted to replace the tires, but thought I'd have to look for an excuse for the trainer. Now that I'm faced with actually needing to do it, doing it out of necessity instead of jealousy is almost an unpleasant thing.

So . . . DO I have **** for tires, am I just doing something wrong with the trainer, or does the trainer have to be replaced? I only had the roller against the tire firm enough to make contact. No real hard pressure against the tire to speak of at all - just enough to turn the wheel and feel a bit of resistance.

Help a bruthuh out, eh? :confused:
 
Yep, this is normal, a trainer is a tyre shredder.
Continental and Tacx make special tyres for trainer use that is made of a cold running compound. I think they are quite pricey though. Sometimes you may need to adjust the roller pressure so there is no slippage.
 
I was only on the freakin' piece o' junk for 5-7 minutes and it shredded my tire to the point where I don't feel comfortable riding on it on group training rides because, thanks to "Murphy's Law", I'll be the guy who gets a blowout at the furthest possible point from where we parked our vehicles.

If I'd ridden the trainer for the 30 minutes I intended, I can't imagine having a useable tire left at all. Surely it can't be common for THAT to happen, right? I'm quite confident I didn't have the roller pressed against the tire too heavily either (if anything, there *might* have actually been some slippage - *maybe*).

I can't imagine someone spending $250 on a good solid trainer and then going through 4 individual tires after 4 individual 30 to 45-minute trainer sessions. Right? :eek:
 
does your rear wheel have any side to side movement at all...if it ain't 100% true, you may not notice it so much on the road, but if it moves sideways a few millimetres on the roller, that could account for the marbles coming off the tyre tread. But yeah, trainers are supposedly notorious for de-laminating rear tyres...

I was going to have a crack at your incorrect spelling of "tyre" , then I realised your location of "WA" is NOT Western Australia but Washington (or West Arizona?):D :rolleyes:
anyways
 
ryanspeer said:
I can't imagine someone spending $250 on a good solid trainer and then going through 4 individual tires after 4 individual 30 to 45-minute trainer sessions. Right? :eek:
Definitely not normal. Trainers do accelerate the wear on the rear tyre, but not that much.

My experience has been a reduction in tyre life of around 50% - although it may differ for different tyre compounds.

Can't really explain why yours has melted as much as it has, though.

HTH,

n
 
I think its actually the slippage which causes the heat build up that leads to the increased wear, try adjusting so there is no slippage. With my Minoura VFS it recommends only 1 - 2 mm seperation between the tire and roller before you release the foot clamp, after this the contact between the tire and roller is very tight and you can see the tire is compressed.
 
Well there definitely is some side-to-side movement of the rear wheel when I'm sitting on the bike on the trainer. In other words, it doesn't feel really really locked in, in the "REALLY immobile" sense, but I wasn't sure if that was going to be a problem or not. If I lean left on the bike, the rear wheel will move up to maybe 3/4" or so (side-to-side). It IS an old trainer that was given to me by an uncle of mine about 10 years ago after HE bought it used, and so perhaps it's just already served it's useable lifespan and ought to be retired? I'm willing to grant that perhaps I just have REALLY cheap tires as well, but still, I wouldn't have thought it'd make such a massive impact in such short time.

I guess those trainer-specific tires aren't that bad of an idea as long as I'm willing to change from the trainer tire to actual road tires once a week when I'm ready to hit the road.
 
I have to agree-somethings amiss as I rode 2 hours (~32miles) on my trainer last night (Boy was that boring-all to not get my bike dirty in the rain) and with the exception of a silver line on my 23c Contis, all is fine.

Agreed that slippage is the cause of heat, much less so the pressure of the wheel on the roller. I would suggest making sure youve got ample tire pressure and that when you accelerate fairly briskly-the wheel does not slip on the roller.
 
Get like a cheap Performance Bike Forte tire for the winter and have at it. When the new season rolls around, put on a new set of rubber. This is totally normal. That is why I rice an Indoor CycleOps when I can't go outside. My bike are spaired the brutality. So nice.



ryanspeer said:
I have Michelin Dynamic tires (came with the Vuelta wheelset I purchased earlier this summer) that I was already planning on replacing, but it looks like I'm going to have to much sooner than otherwise expected. I got on a trainer that I've had for 10-12 years or so and that I've never had problems with in years past when I used it, but after only 5 minutes on it tonight I smelled an odd "hot" smell. Got off the bike and noticed tiny black stuff all over the floor around the trainer. At first I thought maybe some internal mechanism of the trainer was grinding to pieces (although I didn't hear anything of the sort), but only then did I notice the nice flat 3/8" band worn deep into my rear tire. Essentially it was getting shredded by the trainer. The roller of the trainer was HOT to the touch (which I was somewhat expecting), but I really must ask . . .

IS THIS NORMAL?!?!?

Good grief - either I've got **** for tires or I really need to replace the trainer (or both). I already knew I needed/wanted to replace the tires, but thought I'd have to look for an excuse for the trainer. Now that I'm faced with actually needing to do it, doing it out of necessity instead of jealousy is almost an unpleasant thing.

So . . . DO I have **** for tires, am I just doing something wrong with the trainer, or does the trainer have to be replaced? I only had the roller against the tire firm enough to make contact. No real hard pressure against the tire to speak of at all - just enough to turn the wheel and feel a bit of resistance.

Help a bruthuh out, eh? :confused:
 
carbonguru said:
Get like a cheap Performance Bike Forte tire for the winter and have at it. When the new season rolls around, put on a new set of rubber. This is totally normal. That is why I rice an Indoor CycleOps when I can't go outside. My bike are spaired the brutality. So nice.
I thought about this, but the problem is with how quickly the tire wore out. At the rate that it shredded last night, I could realistically go through 2 tires a week with 2 30-minute or 60-minute rides. It's honestly that bad. In the long run, it'd be cheaper to spend $100 on a headlight and another $150 on a foul-weather jacket and just hit the local riding trail in the dark and in the rain and wind.
 
I think you may have a good piont. I just got a CycleOps 300PT Indoor Bike and its the coolest thing! I think I'll be better for it in the Spring with the Watts Training all winter. Too many cool features. The only challenge is the $2000 it set me back. This sport is putting me in financial ruin. :p

ryanspeer said:
I thought about this, but the problem is with how quickly the tire wore out. At the rate that it shredded last night, I could realistically go through 2 tires a week with 2 30-minute or 60-minute rides. It's honestly that bad. In the long run, it'd be cheaper to spend $100 on a headlight and another $150 on a foul-weather jacket and just hit the local riding trail in the dark and in the rain and wind.
 
Side to side ain't normal. As far as tough trainer tires go, check out the Specilized Armadillos.
 
Since I am banished to the trainer thanks to my jaw surgery (recovering nicely though), my tire is alllll smooth now. It has a continental tire on it, the Ultra 2000. I've been putting in a lot of hours on it since I can't ride on the road, and it lasts.
 
I'm using conti GP 4 seasons on my Tacx Sirius and they are not wearing much at all. One set has lasted 3 months of 2-4 hours a week on the trainer still with all of the tread left. It may be something to do with the roller on the sirius