Is It the Rollers or the Tires?

wiredued said:

The treads are separating from my Armadillo Elite tires I tried using two other types of tires but the resistance drops down to nothing and I can only use the smallest cogs not to mention the noise was worse with the other tires. I only had the Armadillo Elites for about 7 months using them outside and inside on the rollers about 2,000 miles total. I was using them at max PSI 125 and in the last month or so I noticed they were a little deformed, the rear had splits and then the front started separating. Has anyone had this problem? Should I expect only 7 months with this kind of use? Thanks

It's probably the tires. The Conti specific trainer tires are [censored] too.

I use el cheapo Conti Ultra Sports from Sports Mart - $15 for use on the trainer. The abrasive roller grinds them down leaving fine piles of rubber after 9 months but I get no other issues. I notice no problem with the tire carcass or with tread seperation.

Thanks swampy after using two other tires on the rollers one of them made a zip sound and got noticably warm and neither one created enough resistance to get out of the saddle I had to get the same tires. The LBS gave me one for free because of the tread seperation but they are $62 for one. They said rollers cause alot of heat so they may not be able to warranty it next time. I could probably have more freedom in tire choice if I got smaller drums but the speeds would be slower than out on the road making the out of saddle efforts an extreme upper body workout and I wouldn't have the flat protection of the armadillos on the road either. In the last month I remember doing some longer efforts out of the saddle and maybe that streesed the tires to much so I'll keep it below 20 seconds and see if I can get more life out of them this time.

swampy1970 said:

It's probably the tires. The Conti specific trainer tires are [censored] too.

I use el cheapo Conti Ultra Sports from Sports Mart - $15 for use on the trainer. The abrasive roller grinds them down leaving fine piles of rubber after 9 months but I get no other issues. I notice no problem with the tire carcass or with tread seperation.

swampy1970 said:

The Conti specific trainer tires are [censored] too.

😕 You're the first person I have heard say that. Everybody I talk to loves them.

wiredued said:

I only had the Armadillo Elites for about 7 months using them outside and inside on the rollers about 2,000 miles total.

I generally only get 2000-3000 miles out of tires here. The rollers will warm them up and probably wear a flat spot on the center.

You can also try the Conti equivalent - I think it's called the Gatorskin. I use them all winter and my teammates do too.

Thanks that might be an option I am really hooked on the FMRs and if I improve I will need to increase resistance. I wonder if the cheaper Armadillos that take only 100 PSI would increase resistance when the need for that arrives... Interesting with the fresh tires I am about 2 mph faster.

Steve_B said:

I generally only get 2000-3000 miles out of tires here. The rollers will warm them up and probably wear a flat spot on the center.

You can also try the Conti equivalent - I think it's called the Gatorskin. I use them all winter and my teammates do too.

Steve_B said:

I generally only get 2000-3000 miles out of tires here. The rollers will warm them up and probably wear a flat spot on the center.

You can also try the Conti equivalent - I think it's called the Gatorskin. I use them all winter and my teammates do too.

+1 on Conti Gatorskin. I use them at 110psi on Kreitlers. Only thing is a silvery residue on the tires, which can be wiped off.

I have noticed that staying on the low end of the inflation pressure while riding rollers gives me better resistance and a little longer tire life.

You know that makes sense considering the front wheel depends on traction to the single drum up front and there isn't much weight on the front wheel so tire slip seems more likely to happen there. Not to mention the constant direction adjustments that make slip more likely. If it slips it will create more heat so that is why the front tread separated thats my theory. Maybe I should lower the pressure and point a fan at the front wheel.

kdelong said:

I have noticed that staying on the low end of the inflation pressure while riding rollers gives me better resistance and a little longer tire life.

Wired, I don't know your weight, but 125 sounds like a lot to pump up your tires. I run Michelins and at my weight...OK, I'm skinny (65 kg)...the recommended pressure is 105 psi. I think that for most people, 100-115 is recommended.

That said, I had some Specialized Turbos a long time ago. They split where the red stripe in the middle met the black sides. I was just a poor bike racer back then, so I still trained on 'em though. 😄

Steve_B said:

😕 You're the first person I have heard say that. Everybody I talk to loves them.

Even the bike shop that I bought my PT at recommended that I stick to the the cheap tires and not bother with the expensive Conti Trainer tire. They won't even stock them anymore. LOL

From all the people that I've heard from, which is a pretty small group, they've all had the same experience - just like Porkboys in this thread:

cyclingforums.comt467019.htmlOpen ↗

Delamination and failure of the tire carcass. Besides, I thought the Conti tire was specifically designed for trainers where the back wheel was held in place and the roller shaft for the fan/flywheel/fluid doohickey was pressed against the tire - not for regular 'free' rollers.

89kg but I'm working on it🙂

Bailsibub said:

Wired, I don't know your weight, but 125 sounds like a lot to pump up your tires. I run Michelins and at my weight...OK, I'm skinny (65 kg)...the recommended pressure is 105 psi. I think that for most people, 100-115 is recommended.

That said, I had some Specialized Turbos a long time ago. They split where the red stripe in the middle met the black sides. I was just a poor bike racer back then, so I still trained on 'em though. 😄

swampy1970 said:

Even the bike shop that I bought my PT at recommended that I stick to the the cheap tires and not bother with the expensive Conti Trainer tire. They won't even stock them anymore. LOL

From all the people that I've heard from, which is a pretty small group, they've all had the same experience - just like Porkboys in this thread:

cyclingforums.comt467019.htmlOpen ↗

Amazing. I've never seen a tire (or tyre 🙂 ) fail like that. No one I know has had this happen.

swampy1970 said:

Delamination and failure of the tire carcass. Besides, I thought the Conti tire was specifically designed for trainers where the back wheel was held in place and the roller shaft for the fan/flywheel/fluid doohickey was pressed against the tire - not for regular 'free' rollers.

I know people that use them on rollers and others that use them on trainers. No problems in either group. Yet.

I don't know what the deal is. I don't use them though - like you, I just use old tires on the trainer. I use the Gatorskins outside in winter or when I ride in Tucson.

Steve_B said:

Amazing. I've never seen a tire (or tyre 🙂 ) fail like that. No one I know has had this happen.

I had a continental olympic tubular fail like that once... I was not a happy camper and no, I wasn't using it on the trainer :p