Which bike to use on my TT

mutznutz

Morning all

After some opinions at as to what to do over the winter

At the moment I've got 3 bikes, one mtb and 2 road bikes. I'm trying to decide which to use on my turbo trainer as one is my bike I use for triathlons/tt's which hasn't yet been out in the rain and the other is my commuter (Scott s50). I want to get one of them setup on the turbo trainer, I have a spare wheel and cassettes to use either on it too. I just wondered if it's going to be a stupid idea to use the race bike on the trainer or not and put the extra miles on it (as it's not going out in the winter anyway). I can use the other one and just drop the wheel out

I just wanted some opinions on whether I'm being an idiot or not

Thanks

slowbike

Depends how often you're intending to use it.

I'd be tempted to use the TT bike on the turbo - with the swapped out wheel or just replace the tyre.

Only bit I'd be concerned about is the stress the turbo may place on the frame where the back wheel is clamped. IIRC Canondale refused a warranty claim on the frame because it had been used (briefly) on a turbo. However, I've used my Specialized alloy frame on turbo without issue and I'm sure others have done the same - like I said, it's a concern, not necessarily an issue.

mutznutz

Good point well made thanks

mrwibble

outside base miles on the commuter and plenty of them, build strength with an heavy bike, then do interval stuff indoors as well. i did loads of turbo interval stuff last winter but no base miles, had no grunt when TTing up hills... it's about finding a balance, ultimately i would say base is the important one. ps mtb good for strength too

meanredspider

I find the different geometry and position on an MTB works different muscles. It's a bit subtle but I always noticed the swap between the roadie for ice-free commuting and the inevitable swap to the MTB and Ice Spikers during December. After dragging an MTB shod with nobbly tyres 35 miles a day for 4 months, you'd think I'd fly on a roadie. This didn't quite work out because it would take a couple of weeks for the muscles to adjust. So, if you want to train to ride the TT bike fast, I'd train on the TT bike (or something similar).

mutznutz

Thanks for the feedback/replies

@mrwibble - I'm looking to get a lot more miles in over this winter then ever before, I sacked off commuting too early last year plus some ice crashes meant I was off the bike too so was looking to make sure my training doesn't go off a cliff again

@meanredspider - The mtb certainly encourages me to get out of the saddle more up some of the hills and having a wide bar rather then drops I can see what you mean about different muscles