Trainer & bike frame

[violette]

I thought I read somewhere where if you put your bike on a fluid trainer, it is very hard on your frame...Is that true? I have a carbon frame and don't want anything to happen to it.

[aicabsolut]

It's fine.

[SouthernBelle]

I've never had an issue with it and don't know why it would be harder on it than a road ride.

[alpinerabbit]

There are data out there (can't be bothered to search right now and it's possibly in German) - road riding puts exactly as much stress on the frame, especially sprinting, and you haven't seen a frame break under a 165lb Pro in a finish sprint, have you.
And you don't get up as much on the trainer.

[SheFly]

I hate to disagree, but everything I have heard says no carbon on the trainer - it actualy puts more stress on it. I have a carbon race bike, and won't use it in the trainer at all.

Let me know if I am mistaken...

SheFly

[kermit]

I put mine on the trainer and have never had a problem. Tthe only suggestion I have is make sure you change the skewer to the one that comes with the trainer. I think higher end bikes have lighter skewers that may stress.

[Eden]

I put my carbon bike on the trainer, no problems here. It's not too often we can adequately (if at all) warm up on the road for a race around here, so the bike goes on the trainer. No one wants to drag around an extra bike to warm up on, so everyone around here does it and I have yet to know anyone who has damaged a bike. I use it on the trainer in the winter sometimes too.

[aicabsolut]

I imagine the warning for CF (and prob AL) frames are for those trainers which clamp the bottom bracket or other parts of the frame (fork, seatstay, etc). Some of those fork mount trainers really put a lot of force on the headset area, but it depends.

Rear skewer clamp models allow some lateral flexion similar to road riding (the clamp only holds so tightly, my trainer flexes a bit, the frame flexes). I'd guess that if you're trying to do a lot of sprinting and such on the trainer, you could be putting a little more stress on the frame laterally. The stress is in a similar location to normal forces put on the bike on the road.

I don't see how there'd be a greater risk for carbon frames over other lightweight materials (aluminum or ti).

While some people I know favor rollers, fluid trainers fill the parking lots at races (and race warmups do involve some hard efforts) and are a staple for winter riding. I've seen trainers kill tires easily, but *knock on wood,* I've never seen a trainer kill a frame.

[alpinerabbit]

See I said it was in German:



http://www.tour-magazin.de/?p=173

in almost every instance, the stress on the downtube (TU), chainstay (BK), and seatstay (BS) is higher on the road than on the trainer.
The three instances tested are at low intensity, high intensity, and standing up.