# Do Trainers Damage Tires?



## bikesinsac (Dec 16, 2006)

I just bought a trainer and have ridden maybe 75-80 miles on it. I noticed my rear tire is starting to look smoother than my front. I'm wondering if the trainer is damaging my rear tire. I have a CycleOps Mag trainer to put my road bike on. I'm pretty new to cycling so I'm just wondering if I should have a different tire/wheel for my trainer. It's driving me nuts to ride on a trainer, but I work long hours, it's dark out and I don't want springtime riding to hurt!


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

Bienvenido al forum. Don't be afraid to check the search functions, I'm sure there are threads on trainers and rollers.

In my experience, traininers wear tires our pretty fast. I switch out my rear tire, using old ones no longer suitable for the road on the trainer.


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

Yeah... and rollers mess them up a lot (cycleops alu) i did 1.5 hrs on rollers and my tires had holes, slits, and silver stuff all over them...


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## allons-y (Nov 15, 2006)

yep. but the cheapest tires you can find for inside use, ride them to the threads. the (small cost) is more than worth it in preserving even decent training rubber, let alone nice race rubber.


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## BeeCharmer (Apr 30, 2003)

Rollers mess up your tires? Are the drums made of sandpaper or something? I ride my nice tires on my Kreitler rollers with no problems. Trainers are notorious for eating tires, especially if they're set too firmly against the tire. Set the contact pressure just tight enough to avoid slippage. And use crappy tires on them.

chris


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## kk4df (Aug 5, 2006)

I've not had my rollers too long, but I don't see any real problems with tire wear (yet). I think you need to make sure you have plenty of air in your tires on trainers/rollers, which should help keep the tire temperature lower and may minimize any wear.

Someone seemed to imply in an earlier thread that trainers create more tire wear than rollers. Of course trainers are only wearing the rear tire, whereas rollers have both spinning.


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

When I had my computrainer set up, I had a rear wheel dedicated to riding on the trainer. It was an old box rim clincher wheel with a conti 2000 wire bead tire. I only used it on the trainer and would adjust the tire pressure before each session. I never tried one of the special trainer tires that conti makes. My trainer tire would get a flat ridge on it after a winter of use and occasionally I would get a flat from valve stem wear.


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## Ligero (Oct 21, 2005)

Conti has a trainer specific tire.


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## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

*Trainer tires.*

i'd visit the LBS and find the cheapest tire you can for a trainer. It is going to get eaten alive. I never ride the tire outside, if the weather breaks, from my trainer because of wear and tear. Change the tire, or wheel and go.


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## physasst (Oct 1, 2005)

*Yep*

trainers DEVOUR tires.....the high heat generated is rough on them. I went with the Conti TRAINER specific tire..it was only about 35 bucks and it's supposed to last a lot longer than traditional tires....We'll see. It definitely has better friction with the trainer wheel and thus requires less tightening for tension. I would definitely recommend one. Best bet is to get an older rear wheel with a second cassette on, so you can just swap out the wheels when you want to use the trainer, cause that conti trainer specific tire is kinda of a PITA to get on the rim.


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## DieselDan (Sep 14, 2002)

Rollers don't damage tires. Trainers do. Like mentioned before, Continential makes and sells a trainer tire. Just don't try to ride it on rollers or on the road.


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

DieselDan said:


> Rollers don't damage tires. Trainers do. Like mentioned before, Continential makes and sells a trainer tire. Just don't try to ride it on rollers or on the road.


well with my experience with my rollers they do. i can look at my tires and they have silver color and chips, and slits in the tire it self. are you using pvc or alu rollers?


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## ergott (Feb 26, 2006)

I have a Kurt Kinetic that I use. My tire is fine. Perhaps I have a more fluid pedal stroke and I'm not trying to burn through the tire when I get going:thumbsup: 
There is nothing gained in trying to out accelerate the trainer. I turn the adjustment knob 2 turns after the tire just touches the roller. I don't find bit of rubber all over the place like I've seen with trainers set up as shops.

-Eric


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Why oh why?*



mytorelli said:


> well with my experience with my rollers they do. i can look at my tires and they have silver color and chips, and slits in the tire it self. are you using pvc or alu rollers?


What is it about your rollers that causes tire damage? Rollers should be perfectly smooth and not be shedding any material. How could that possibly result in cuts to the tread? If it is paint coming off your rollers, then that should go away very quickly, or be eliminated after a few minutes with a wire brush. Rollers spread the rear wheel driving force over two rollers, resulting in significantly lower force on the tread than seen with a trainer. IME, roller riding wears a tire about half as fast (maybe less) than riding on the road.


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

Kerry Irons said:


> What is it about your rollers that causes tire damage? Rollers should be perfectly smooth and not be shedding any material. How could that possibly result in cuts to the tread? If it is paint coming off your rollers, then that should go away very quickly, or be eliminated after a few minutes with a wire brush. Rollers spread the rear wheel driving force over two rollers, resulting in significantly lower force on the tread than seen with a trainer. IME, roller riding wears a tire about half as fast (maybe less) than riding on the road.


Im not sure whats causing it but it IS happening, before i brought out the trainer the tires were fine, now they have cuts in them..... just my experience and i dont think theres a point in argueing with me.


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## Uprwstsdr (Jul 17, 2002)

I tried Conti's trainer tire just for this reason. I think it is very good. So far it has shown no sign of wear, plus it doesn't heat up as much. One thing, it was very difficult to put on my rims (Velocity Aerohead OC). A real PITA to keep switching, so I kept an eye on ebay for a couple of weeks and bought a used rear wheel for $20. Put on an old cassette, and for $55 total I have a trainer wheel. I feel so indulgent.


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## cyclistjeff (Dec 18, 2006)

yeah, trainers will wear out tires real fast. My advice to you is will echo all the the other replies... make sure your tire pressure is at reccomended levels, have just enough contact with the tire just to make sure it doesnt slip. (I find that once it touches the tire give the tightening nob a full roataion and another quarter of one). Save and use your old tires that you no longer put on the roads. And if you can... have an entire seperate back wheel for the trainer. Its much easier than changing tires on your everyday wheels (plus if you dont have a spare wheelset, its a good excuse to upgrade your wheels and use your old rear wheel as a trainer/race backup wheel) 

Happy riding and Cheers!


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## cyclequip (Oct 20, 2004)

Tacx also make training tyres for both road and MTB.
http://www.tacx.com/producten.php?fl=true&language=EN&lvlMain=16&lvlSub=58&lvlSubSub=89&ttop=Trainer%20tyre


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## KATZRKOL (Mar 4, 2004)

*Say what??*



mytorelli said:


> Yeah... and rollers mess them up a lot (cycleops alu)


You must have has road debris all over your roller drums, as rollers do less damage to your tires than normal road cycling. I've done hundres of hours on rollers with a pair of Michelin PR2's and they are fine. For the record I'm using minoura mag rollers.


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## mytorelli (Dec 19, 2004)

KATZRKOL said:


> You must have has road debris all over your roller drums, as rollers do less damage to your tires than normal road cycling. I've done hundres of hours on rollers with a pair of Michelin PR2's and they are fine. For the record I'm using minoura mag rollers.


maybe thats the problem...


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## rruff (Feb 28, 2006)

Kerry Irons said:


> Rollers spread the rear wheel driving force over two rollers, resulting in significantly lower force on the tread than seen with a trainer.


Not so sure about that. It's true that there is a lower driving force with rollers, but I don't think that is what is wearing out the tire. If you follow the "energy balance" it seems that trainers might be better. With rollers *all* of the resistance is frictional losses in the tires (so if you are putting out 200 watts, almost all of that is dissipated via the rolling resistance of the tires), but in a trainer most of the resistance comes from an external unit. If it is a good trainer and is set up properly, the wear on the tire should be pretty low. The force of the tire against the trainer's roller should be much lower than the weight of the bike plus rider... even divided by two rollers. I have a Kurt Kinetic like Eric (ergott), and I haven't noticed much wear on the tire. It's possible that cheaper trainers have poor heat dissipation (tire gets too hot). I've heard that some resistance units can get very hot... maybe that heats up the roller and fries the tire...

Another thought... if the tire is so loose that it is slipping, that would wear it out faster (maybe a lot faster) than being too tight. Sliding is what takes off the rubber in a hurry...


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