# Trainer - Tire and contact pressure



## Uprwstsdr (Jul 17, 2002)

When using a trainer do you keep your tires at the same pressure as on the road? Also what contact pressure on the flywheel do you use heavy or light. Today I had a terrible work-out because my tire kept slipping against the fly-wheel and it took several attempts to adjust it right. What seem to work best was a very low tire pressure, 80 lbs. (I run 120 lbs. on the road), and the tire as tight against the flywheel as possible. This also resulted in very high resistance.
My particulars - 1Up USA trainer, Continental trainer tire. Also, I weigh 250 if that matters. 

What is your set-up?


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

I used to use a little less than I would on the road and enough pressure on the trainer so that it wouldn't slip, and no more. I would also keep older tires around to use so that I didn't wear my "good" tires out....


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## Clark (Aug 10, 2004)

I use a 100psi on a Continental trainer tire with a kurt kenitc trainer and when the rollar hit the wheel I do 1.5 rotations of the knob. How much you weigh doesn't effect anything because your lock in at the skewer.


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## manhattanproj (Jul 13, 2006)

this is a good question. i like to know too.


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## TurboTurtle (Feb 4, 2004)

Uprwstsdr said:


> When using a trainer do you keep your tires at the same pressure as on the road? Also what contact pressure on the flywheel do you use heavy or light. Today I had a terrible work-out because my tire kept slipping against the fly-wheel and it took several attempts to adjust it right. What seem to work best was a very low tire pressure, 80 lbs. (I run 120 lbs. on the road), and the tire as tight against the flywheel as possible. This also resulted in very high resistance.
> My particulars - 1Up USA trainer, Continental trainer tire. Also, I weigh 250 if that matters.
> 
> What is your set-up?


1 - Clean the Conti (real well the first time) with alcohol. Clean regularly. Also the roller.

2 - Tighten down the roller until you can hold the fly wheel and give the wheel a little jerk and it doesn't slip. If you are trying to use a power curve for the 1Up, be as consistant as possible.

3 - With a smooth SS roller, I would think that you would want to pump the tire to max rated pressure (unlike on the road).

4 - At 250#, a trainer may well feel like it is slipping when all you are really feeling is the lack of momentum from the small fly wheel. When standing, the pedal just feels like it 'plops' down. You actually have to 'resist' the motion with your other leg to get a smooth stroke. Very tiring and uncomfortable. Only solution I know of is a spin bike with a really big fly wheel or a computrainer on 3D/standard (not ergometer mode). Or don't stand.

5 - If the 1Up is new: I found mine to be very difficult to use for the first few hours and then it was fine. I really couldn't say what was wrong, but it wasn't right. Having nothing to compare it with, I really didn't know anything was wrong. Later a friend bought one and was having a hard time so we switched. Definately something wrong.

TF


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