Carbon frame and turbo trainer - ok?

navrig

I may not be able to get out on the road for the next 4-6 weeks but am committed to the Kinross Sportive in April. I could manage 50 miles without too much difficulty but 87 miles with climbs would be a challenge.

I have a new bike coming (Ribble Gran Fondo) and was planning on passing my other bike to my son to try and get him into cycling.

I need to get Sportive fit and get used to my new bike but with a forearm plastercast.

Can I use a carbon frame bike on a turbo trainer?

amaferanga

Yes.

roadracedave

You can but do so with caution. Most manufacturer warranties don't cover turbo trainer use.

It will most probably be fine, just make sure you are not rocking excessively from side to side, or doing any hardcore sprinting whilst using it on the turbo

navrig

Hardcore sprinting :shock:

That's a laugh.



Thanks guys

amnesia

roadracedave wrote:

You can but do so with caution. Most manufacturer warranties don't cover turbo trainer use.

It will most probably be fine, just make sure you are not rocking excessively from side to side, or doing any hardcore sprinting whilst using it on the turbo

I emailed Boardman specifically about this and they said that it wasn't a problem at all.

roadracedave

amnesia wrote:

I emailed Boardman specifically about this and they said that it wasn't a problem at all.

It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but as you have done its worth dropping them an email to check, better that than it to crack and find out its not covered

amaferanga

Who on here has actually heard of a carbon frame being damaged on a turbo trainer?

With the exception of out-of-saddle sprints (ill-advised regardless of the frame material) I can't see how a frame would be damaged.

navrig

There seems to be a number of "urban myth" type things associated with carbon frames.

When I told a friend I was getting one he knew a friend of a friend who dropped his new carbon bike and the frame hit the kerb and "shattered". I took that with a very large pinch of salt.

However a colleague who does cycle did comment that using a carbon frame it a TT was not a good idea and that he uses his alu frame for TT work. As he is a keen and experienced cyclist I thought there may be something in it.

I have stretched the N+1 rule too much recently and there is no way I can justify a trainer as well as a new carbon bike.

Hence my question.

roadracedave

Having used to work for a distributor of carbon frames, I have seen a number of full carbon and carbon/alloy frames that have cracked around the bottom bracket junction as well as around the drop-outs, which had quite clearly been a result of turbo training.

If you look down at the BB when on the turbo trainer you will see how much movement there is, that kind of stress isn't experienced when riding on the road and so the frames are designed to cope with.

Newer stiffer frames with larger bottom bracket shells are a lot less likely to crack from turbo usage, but its just something to bear in mind

cougie

Roadracer Dave - in all the years i've been on these forums - you are the first person to say theyve seen a bike damaged by a turbo.

Interesting thread a while back : http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=15795096

Someone there references a german mag testing bikes on turbos and saying that road sprinting is tougher than turbo sprinting.

I really cant see how a turbo could damage a carbon bike.

silverpigeon

File this question alongside. Clipless pedals will I die? and Rain, will it melt my carbon frame?

See here and at the bottom of the page where Lennard Zinn adds his opinion

http://www.turbostudio.com.au/Frames_Indoor_Trainers.pdf

navrig

Navrig wrote:

Can I use a carbon frame bike on a turbo trainer?

That'll be a yes then.

Thanks Guys

Monty Dog

As others have said, this thread is the first I've seen where someone states they have 'evidence' that turbo trainer use can damage a bike frame! The turbo trainer exclusion on warranties is like the bike roof rack use - just another excuse by policy writers to wriggle-out of a claim based on zero evidence.