Punctures on a turbo trainer!

PeteHusky
PeteHusky Posts: 6
edited November 2015 in Training, fitness and health
I know. Bonkers. Have tried a conventional inner tube and a slime tube and one blew the valve, the other failed after a couple of hours use on the trainer.

Am I doing something wrong? What psi do you put into your tyres before using a turbo trainer?

Feeling very dumb about this. outer tyre fine but I am going through inner tubes and I need to stop that!

Any ideas or tips gratefully received

Comments

  • Wooliferkins
    Wooliferkins Posts: 2,060
    Not at all. It's heat generated by the roller. I used to use my old road tyres and trash them over the winter as the carcass used to gently strip with the heat never generated on the road. Never used slime but I doubt it's designed to be used at the temps generated by a turbo trainer. Invest in a turbo trainer tyre TACX & Vittoria do them for around £28
    Neil
    Help I'm Being Oppressed
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Mine runs at about 100psi and has been on the turbo bike for a long time and is just a cheap tube. Check the wheel especially around the valve for sharp edges or you could be pinching the inner tube when you change it, always inflate it a little when you put it on. Also +1 for the turbo tyre.
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    That's nothing, I got one on my front tyre ie the one that sits there doing nothing... Explain that if you will

    Plus one for sharp edges or very small foreign bodies ... And look at your changing technique
  • diamonddog
    diamonddog Posts: 3,426
    Mikey23 wrote:
    That's nothing, I got one on my front tyre ie the one that sits there doing nothing... Explain that if you will

    Plus one for sharp edges or very small foreign bodies ... And look at your changing technique
    That's really unlucky. :lol:
  • macroadie
    macroadie Posts: 172
    Just started using a turbo trainer past 2 weeks and use my roadie gatorskin tyres and a cheap $5 tube. Maybe your PSI is too high or the resistance is too high.
    Just wondring, did you ride outside with this tyre and tube? If so did you get a flat?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    My tyres dont get hot from the turbo. Maybe I'm not going hard or long enough - or maybe its the turbo ?

    The OP must just be very unlucky or doing something wrong ?
    One tube going - well anything can happen. Maybe the next tube was nipped by the tyre - where did it puncture ?
  • buckles
    buckles Posts: 694
    cougie wrote:
    My tyres dont get hot from the turbo. Maybe I'm not going hard or long enough - or maybe its the turbo ?
    I bet they do - you probably just don't notice.
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  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    I've had my hand on the tyre after a 2 hour session and there's very little heat if any, but i don't have a clamp down style turbo.

    I'd say chances are there is debris in the tyre. Deflate, squeeze between your fingers and inspect all the little cuts for glass, metal or stone. You shouldnt get multiple punctures from turbo sessions from heat. If you did get them that frequently, there would be thousands of people with the same trainers having the same problem.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
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  • rscLundarnTarn
    rscLundarnTarn Posts: 1
    Not at all conclusive... but...

    I started going to a group turbo session. I have done turbo many times before but 3 weeks ago got a rear puncture after being on the turbo for about 4 minutes. I was given a spare wheel... no problems with that, other than the pain of the turbo session. The inner tube was replaced and I rode on the road the following week with no difficulties. Then I went to the turbo session the next week (with the new inner tube) and the rear blew on the turbo within one minute. I checked the roller drum on the turbo... nothing obvious there. I put a new inner tube in and rode the 10 miles home (no difficulty) without taking the offered spare wheel or completing the turbo session. When I got home I looked at both punctured inner tubes and saw that they failed at different (spoke) locations, but both on the rim side. I looked at the specific (different) locations and could not see/feel anything untoward. However I decided to get some new rim tape (2 year old wheels, Askium) even though the existing Mavic tape looked fine. I plan to get back on the group turbo in a fortnight (work commitments prevent sooner) and will let you know how it goes, but my thoughts are: (i) do i have pressure too high (about 105 psi on Conti 4000 25mm)? (ii) will the new rim tape do the job? (iii) two failure could easily just be unlucky... if I had 5 consecutive failures... then that would be a significant trend.

    Any other observations on rear punctures only (well.. obviously not only) happening on turbo would be interesting to hear.

    RSC
  • Bill Black
    Bill Black Posts: 39
    The extra-thick puncture resistant tubes from Performance solved it for me -- previously regular flats on the CT regardless of the tires I was running and no flats in the last 2 years using the thicker tubes.
    Bill Black
  • Elfed
    Elfed Posts: 459
    How about using the low gears and more resistance on the turbo, so your wheel is turning at a slower rpm, thus creating less heat.

    That's what I used to do, it's much quieter as well. Got a Vortex Smart now so that adapts to whatever gear you're in.

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