Turbo Training - spare wheel?

dru
dru Posts: 1,341
edited September 2009 in Road beginners
Hello people,

I'm hopefully getting a Turbo Trainer this week from a fellow bikeradar forum member and have a question about what I should run with?

Should I just run my bike on the trainer and accept rear tyre wear (do they wear more on a Trainer than on the road?) or should I get a spare wheel/tyre so that I can swap it out?

Cheers,

Dru

Comments

  • Flasheart
    Flasheart Posts: 1,278
    I think from what has been said before about this, the concensous was that you have a spare rear wheel and cassette with the turbo training tyre on to swap over. Saves a lot of hassle by all accounts.
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  • zedders
    zedders Posts: 509
    Flasheart wrote:
    I think from what has been said before about this, the concensous was that you have a spare rear wheel and cassette with the turbo training tyre on to swap over. Saves a lot of hassle by all accounts.
    +1. Its what I do.
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  • dru
    dru Posts: 1,341
    so...

    Its better for me to get a new rear wheel, new cassette, new tyre to use on the turbo trainer rather than just replace the rear tyre when it wears out?

    Or am I missing something?
  • schweiz
    schweiz Posts: 1,644
    I went for the spare wheel and trainer tyre option but what is better for you depends on what type of tyres you run on at the moment and how many hours you're going to spend on the turbo trainer.

    I was lucky a couple of years back and got pair of Shimano R500 wheels for 40 quid, an ultegra cassette for 15 quid and a trainer tyre for about the same. I figured that 70 quid was about the cost of 2 decent rear tyres so it was worth it.

    That being said, turbo training is boring. Tacx videos, a good i-pod mix, www.thesufferfest.com all help but there's no getting away from the simple fact you're cooped up in the spare room with the window wide open, a fan on full speed, dripping with sweat not going anyway. I just try and ride through the winter but when the snow comes, which living at 1900' it does regularly, I have to resort to the turbo. However, I only managed 11 sessions last winter (November to April) totalling less than 9 hours whilst clocking up nearly 2000km on the road, so I don't think those 9 hours would have added that much extra wear on my normal road tyre.

    I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you are on the turbo trainer 4-5 times a week for 5 months a year then the spare wheel/tyre/cassette combo will probably pay off, but if like me, a 40 minute session on the turbo has you back out on the road, then you're not going to be doing enough to wear out your normal tyre, especially if you run a harder wearing tyre on the road in the winter anyway.

    So see how you get on with your new turbo trainer and decide later whether a further investment in a spare wheel is worth it,
  • dru
    dru Posts: 1,341
    thanks for the good post :)

    I'll see how the turbo Trainers goes - I'm hoping to use it when training days are too bad due to weather.

    I've only got the one bike and not got access to hoses and stuff to wash the thing down all the time.
  • I used a turbo thro' most of last winter and just swapped out the tyre each time I used it to an older one. It wasn't a 'turbo specific' tyre as such and it's not worn too much (but I wouldn't go on the road with it).

    I found that the greates wear on the tyre was if it slipped against the roller on the turbo, and this practically melted the tyre (that's how I got the old one thta I use all the time now).

    This worked OK, but it's still more time consuming to replace it each time than just to swap back wheels and I'll be looking for a spare back wheel shortly.

    View your turbo time as an opportunity to catch up on all those DVD's you've never watched. I'm still working my way through 'The Sopranos'.
  • bikerZA
    bikerZA Posts: 314
    For some very odd reason, I've always liked training indoors, so I tend to try and train on the trainer more than going out on the road..
    I doubt you're going to be that extreme, but riding on it 5 days a week, 1.5-2hrs at a time doesn't do you bike any good (not just rear tyre wear, sweating all over the frame and components), so I picked myself up a cheap second hand bike for £50, and have that constantly on the trainer. It doesn't have to be anything special, and it puts my mind at ease that I'm not trashing my normal road bike with my corrosive sweat.
  • Don't buy a trainer tyre, an old road tyre will do.
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  • Gav2000
    Gav2000 Posts: 408
    I use rollers (which may not cause as much wear as a turbo) but just use my regular wheel and accept some tyre wear. However, I don't use very expensive tyres (Schwalbe Lugano at present) so can replace them when I need to for a modest cost.

    I did look into an extra wheel but couldn't find a cheap one at the time. Since them I've found out how boring rollers are so haven't put too much wear on my tyres anyway!

    Gav.
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  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,954
    bikerZA wrote:
    For some very odd reason, I've always liked training indoors, so I tend to try and train on the trainer more than going out on the road..
    I doubt you're going to be that extreme, but riding on it 5 days a week, 1.5-2hrs at a time doesn't do you bike any good (not just rear tyre wear, sweating all over the frame and components), so I picked myself up a cheap second hand bike for £50, and have that constantly on the trainer. It doesn't have to be anything special, and it puts my mind at ease that I'm not trashing my normal road bike with my corrosive sweat.

    Surely sweat doesn't do that much does it? If you drip on the frame, wash/wipe it off after and happy days isn't it?

    Likewise with the wear and tear. I can understand the tire getting worn out but surely the rest is no different to doing the equivalent distance on the road?
  • rjh299
    rjh299 Posts: 721
    I use spare wheel with trainer tyre. Minimal cost really. Thinking of getting a separate bike to keep on the trainer the whole time. Not so much because of not wanting to ruin good bike but just so it's set up ready to go straight away. The 'hassle' of setting the trainer up kills off any enthusiasm I have to actually use it. (I'm lazy, I know!)