# Trainer - Rim drive Vs. Tyre drive



## heckler963 (Dec 28, 2005)

Guys, just got into roadbike and undecided on a trainer.

Can you help to advise which one is better? I have heard that tyre drive will wear out our tyres, What about rim drive, will it wear out the sidewall of the rim?

Thanks and Happy Holidays


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

The smooth surface will not wear out your tires, they will be fine. Besides the average rim set costs about 400 dollars while the average tires run under 100 dollars. Which would you rather ruin?
I'll kill the tires, nothing is touching my rims.


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## Blue Sugar (Jun 14, 2005)

Go tire drive. Rim drive is meant for use with knobby ties, as on a mountain or cross bike. Tire drive WILL wear out your tires, so your best bet is to buy a cheapo tire for use with the trainer. Don't waste your fine, $50 kevlar bead racing tire on the trainer.


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

*Rim drive .... NOT!*

Rim drive trainers are gimmick invented to be able to sell trainers to people that own knobby tire bikes (knobbys don't roll well on trainer drums). Unfortunately, rim drive works very poorly. They rely on a small diameter wheel pressing laterally against the rim. Wheels are very flexible laterally, at least as compared to vertically, so the the resistance wheel pressing on the rim is prone to slipping and uneven traction (and the accompanying noise).

If you have a road bike, get a regular tire-driven trainer and a cheapo $10 tire to run on it.


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## lemmy999 (Apr 6, 2004)

Or you can by the Conti or Tacx trainer specific tire. They are not cheap ($30 & $40) but they grip much better and last much longer.


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## heckler963 (Dec 28, 2005)

thanks guys. made teh biggest mistake in my life. Got the rim drive. Ouch!


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## KonaMan (Sep 22, 2004)

*No you didn't...*



heckler963 said:


> thanks guys. made teh biggest mistake in my life. Got the rim drive. Ouch!


I have to take the other side on this one guys... I have rollers (for winter training at home), rim drive trainer, and tire drive trainer. Now, obviously, the rollers are the cadilac of the group, but for a spin class that I take with my wife's coach (triathlon/cyling coach), we have to use trainers (can't do one leg drills with the rollers).

Obviously, there are 30 different kinds of trainers. My tire drive is a MAG trainer, it sucks. It's not smooth, it has high and low spots due to the MAG drive. It wears out tires, period. The rim drive trainer has not done anything to my rims (and yes, I'm a picky little effer when it comes to component wear and tear). It's a rubber roller that engages both sides of my rim, and when adjusted properly, provides very smooth resistance.

Given the cost of the 3 devices, the wear, the tear on my bike parts, the performance quality of the indoor trainers/rollers, the best bang for the buck is my rim drive trainer. I love my rollers, don't get me wrong, but for the price, performance, and smoothness of the "ride", the rim drive is nice.

You didn't make a mistake... don't knock something until you try it.


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## heckler963 (Dec 28, 2005)

Thanks Konaman, I felt much better now.

1 silly question. For a rim trainer, wouldn't the rubber roller behave like our rubber brake pad that constantly rubbing and wearing our rim side wall?


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## Waldo (Dec 22, 2005)

heckler963 said:


> Thanks Konaman, I felt much better now.
> 
> 1 silly question. For a rim trainer, wouldn't the rubber roller behave like our rubber brake pad that constantly rubbing and wearing our rim side wall?


I've also got a rim drive (mag) trainer and haven't experienced any problems in the 3-4 years I've had it. Use it and forget about it.


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## heckler963 (Dec 28, 2005)

Thank you so much for the valuable feedbacks. Really appreciate it. Will start using it right away.

Happy New Year and Happy pedalling...


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## Mark McM (Jun 18, 2005)

Firstly, I was speaking about the one-sided rim drive trainers (roller only presses against one side of the rim). A two-sided rim drive would be less problematic (especially if it allowed the roller clamp to float laterally).



heckler963 said:


> 1 silly question. For a rim trainer, wouldn't the rubber roller behave like our rubber brake pad that constantly rubbing and wearing our rim side wall?


No, for two reasons. Firstly, brake pads don't roll against the rim, they only rub against it (or else they wouldn't provide much braking friction), and rubbing is far more abrasive than rolling. Secondly, it is not the rubber than wears out the rim (rubber is softer than aluminum, afterall), it is the grit and debris that get caught between the rim and pad that grind down the rim. There is less chance for grit and debris to get caught on the rollers when riding a stationary trainer indoors (but you will still want to keep the trainer rollers clean, to not only reduce wear but also to improve roller traction on the rim). Still, the trainer rollers might leave a residue on the rim sidewalls, which might need to be removed to restore normal braking.


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## KonaMan (Sep 22, 2004)

Mark McM said:


> Firstly, I was speaking about the one-sided rim drive trainers (roller only presses against one side of the rim). A two-sided rim drive would be less problematic (especially if it allowed the roller clamp to float laterally).
> 
> No, for two reasons. Firstly, brake pads don't roll against the rim, they only rub against it (or else they wouldn't provide much braking friction), and rubbing is far more abrasive than rolling. Secondly, it is not the rubber than wears out the rim (rubber is softer than aluminum, afterall), it is the grit and debris that get caught between the rim and pad that grind down the rim. There is less chance for grit and debris to get caught on the rollers when riding a stationary trainer indoors (but you will still want to keep the trainer rollers clean, to not only reduce wear but also to improve roller traction on the rim). Still, the trainer rollers might leave a residue on the rim sidewalls, which might need to be removed to restore normal braking.


When I was searching for a rim drive trainer, I didn't come accross any one sided, they were all 2 sided. With proper maintenance and cleaning of the trainer and your bike, there shouldn't be any residue issues or wear issues on the rims. The rubber rollers are similar to the compounds used in inline-skate wheels, hard enough so they don't leave debris, soft enough to smooth out the ride. Quite honestly, if you didn't keep your rims clean, and you had residue from brake pads, grime, etc. you'd be more likely to wear out the roller long before you wear out the rims.


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