Trainer wear 'n tear on the bike

[salsabike]

I have nothing to add on whether it harms the bike or not, but I will say that having an inexpensive bike that lives on the trainer makes it a million times easier to both use the trainer AND ride outdoors. The trainer is always ready to hop onto and go, and my bike is always waiting in the garage ready to go. Not having the schlepping back and forth step makes it much more likely that I'll just get on the trainer or bike and GO. Works well for me.

[Alex]

I bought a carbon/Ti Seven earlier this year, and Seven said NOT to put the bike on a trainer. (In fact, doing so will void the warranty for my Seven model.) The Seven replaced my carbon Felt (which was no longer rideable due to a dented chainstay), so DH reinforced the chainstay with duct tape and a metal bar (tres chic!) and that is my trainer bike. I took the measurements from the Seven and set up the Felt as close as possible to the Seven. FWIW, DH has a carbon Aegis tri bike and the builder said there was no problem with using that bike on a trainer.

Alex

[LBTC]

Syndirelah - I'm not sure which story is true. Our trusted LBS guy thinks it is just fine to have our nice carbon bikes on the our trainers for winter (or rain) training.

He did have two warnings, though, aside from the advice you've already gotten about the tires.

Don't tighten the clamp on the skewer too tight - you can damage the bearings.

If you sweat a lot, put a towel over the bike, or, even better, buy a sweat protector (yes they make these). Even if your bike is a material that will not rust, the bearings are not, and salty water can be very damaging.

Congratulations on the purchase of a very nice trainer! May you have many happy hours of spinning!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[OakLeaf]

I notice the table alpinerabbit posted only discusses stresses on the down tube and rear triangle, so I'm assuming they didn't test any of the trainers that clamp the forks. Those are the ones I'd worry most about.

[Becky]

I notice the table alpinerabbit posted only discusses stresses on the down tube and rear triangle, so I'm assuming they didn't test any of the trainers that clamp the forks. Those are the ones I'd worry most about.

Can you even buy those anymore? I don't think I've seen one in years..... And yes, the idea of clamping both fork and rear triangle makes me nervous too.

I don't worry too much about putting my bike in the trainer.

[Crankin]

I've never had an issue with my bike on the trainer. I change the tire before the season starts, when I take it off the trainer.

[LBTC]

AlpineRabbit - The graph is pretty interesting, but the translation doesn't tell us everything I'd like to know. For instance, I know that Strasse means street or road, and that is compared to Rolle. I don't know German, but rolle to me sounds like rollers. If the comparison is road to rollers, I think the results would be very different than road to trainer since the bike would move fairly naturally under the person if it were on rollers.

Not that I want to admit that my bike is being worn out faster on the trainer that the road, I really don't!! I'd just like to understand.

All of this discussion has encouraged me to concentrate on smooth pedalling on the trainer to keep the stress on my beautiful frame to the least amount possible.....

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[roadie gal]

This question goes around and around on bike and tri forums. I believe the general concensus is that it won't harm the bike. That being said, I'd put on cheap tires and the steel skewer that comes with the trainer.

[RoadRaven]

I've been thinking about the graph AlpineRabbit posted... I'm just wondering if there are any other studies to support this...

Our main LBSs would never/do not recommend/support putting good bikes on trainers. Maybe I'll ask them after the holidays and see if they have anything to back up their opinions...