Turbo trainer wheel

davala95

Hi all,

Been recommended to get an old/cheap wheel to use on the turbo trainer as they receive some heavy wear.

Any suggestions?

jds_1981

It's more the tyre that receives wear, rather than the wheel. Any wheel then a turbo specific tyre would do you good. Get gears that match your current ones for it.

Gizmodo

Trouble is if you buy an old rear wheel, you'll also need to buy a cassette to fit on it. I have a spare wheel (including a spare cassette) and I still just use my normal road wheel/tire as it's just too much of a pain to swap over

Yes you're adding wear to your tire, but I prefer that to the pain of swapping over the rear wheel every time I want to use the turbo. I guess it depends on how often you are going to use the turbo.

luv2ride

I use a spare rear wheel (cheap FSA OEM from Wiggle a coupleof years back, and got a cassette in the sales), as well as a turbo-specific tyre. Now I can swap wheels depending on whether I fancy a turbo or road session, takes less than a minute each time. Plus I've now got a spare rear wheel "Just in case" something happens out on the road to my main wheel set. Works for me... 8)

centimani

You don't have to have a specific wheel and tyre.
I've used my normal wheels on all my bikes, usually shod with Gators on my Cycleops...no problems with heat, wear, anything
I suspect the only time you'd encounter problems was if you set it up wrong in the first place..usually too much pressure between the roller and The tyre. Set it with the minimum pressure required so it doesn't slip, you should be ok. I have been for 5 years.

brettjmcc

I have one because I swap it between the road bike and TT bike in the winter.

Got the wheel and casette from Decathlon - one of their wheels and a 105 casette they had on offer. I already had the turbo tyre, but all in because I had some points vouchers at Decathlon the whole setup cost less than £70 (inc tyre)

saprkzz

I bought a cheap ally wheel with a cheap cassette and a continental turbo tyre, have this fitted to my spare road bike, this stays up on the turbo. It is a pain to keep swapping the wheels over if your using the bike outdoors regually. It would be ok if your inside more and only have to swap it over a couple of times.

ilm_zero7

a spare wheel and cassette makes life easy, but DO get a trainer specific tyre - they are a different profile, with a much broader flatter footprint for better traction on the roller. They are also a roller-grip specific compund

davala95

okay thanks all. Information much appreciated

any ideas where i can get a decent spare wheel from for a low price?

saprkzz

davala95 wrote:

okay thanks all. Information much appreciated

any ideas where i can get a decent spare wheel from for a low price?

Your LBS should be able to help here, I got mine all in for £40 (not halfords) you will get a much personal service and better rates at a LBS.

NITR8s

Just use your normal tyre, I initially used the one that came with my bike and it practically burned through it. Thought I needed to get a whole spare wheel with a trainer tyre, then I bought a cheap Victorria Zaffiro Pro tyre and touch wood it hasnt even worn down the little rubber bit that sticks out in the middle of the tyre.

I think the speed of the wear mainly depends on the tyre you have.

prawny

Spare bike on the turbo is ideal

markos1963

davala95 wrote:

okay thanks all. Information much appreciated

any ideas where i can get a decent spare wheel from for a low price?

Don't waste money on new stuff for the turbo, have a look in the classifieds on here and buy a cheap heavy 2nd hand wheel. I got one with a tyre and cassette fitted for £40 delivered. I never use a turbo tyre, just bung on worn out road tyres as I change them from my road bikes.

alihisgreat

I was thinking about getting a wheel, tyre, and cassette for the turbo but it just seemed too expensive... so I just put on a Giant PR3 tyre that came with the bike in place of a Conti-GP4000s so I don't feel so bad about the accelerated wear on the tyre.