Trainer question

smnw10 said:

I've heard a few myths and whatnot about trainers and wanted to know from you guys what to do/prepare for before riding long times on a trainer.

What affects do they have on the rear wheel? ie should i get a cheap rear wheel
How quickly will I go through a tire?

I also wanted to know what's the best way to set it up...as in how firm should I get the unit against the tire and what PSI is best to run the tire at?

Then lastly, my trainer seems quite loud when i ride in a small room that is enclosed, at races when guys are warming up on their's they don't seem loud at all, probalby because of the open spaces of being outside, are trainers generally just loud and is there any way to quiet them at all?

Mine is a Tacx Basic magnetic trainer

it also seems to be almost unbearably loud if i'm riding at 21+ mph

thanks

Some people report that their trainers are hard on tires (or maybe its that their tires don't like trainers), but I have not experienced this using Conti Gatorskins (road tires).

Noise often has to do with the quality of the trainer and the smoothness of the tires. My trainer does make some sound but its not annoying, but I have never tried using it in small closed room.

I use the same tire pressure on the trainer as I do on the road. I have never seen this mentioned or discussed in the trainer documentation.

The resistance wheel should have two positions for on or off. On my trainer, I set it so that the wheel is about 1-2 mm from the wheel when in the off position, then when you set it to on, it contacts the tire properly.

The resistance settings are entirely your option.

smnw10 said:

I've heard a few myths and whatnot about trainers and wanted to know from you guys what to do/prepare for before riding long times on a trainer.

What affects do they have on the rear wheel? ie should i get a cheap rear wheel
How quickly will I go through a tire?

I also wanted to know what's the best way to set it up...as in how firm should I get the unit against the tire and what PSI is best to run the tire at?

Then lastly, my trainer seems quite loud when i ride in a small room that is enclosed, at races when guys are warming up on their's they don't seem loud at all, probalby because of the open spaces of being outside, are trainers generally just loud and is there any way to quiet them at all?

Mine is a Tacx Basic magnetic trainer

it also seems to be almost unbearably loud if i'm riding at 21+ mph

thanks

I did use up my Conti Grand Prix 3000 tire when I used on my Cyclops trainer. I guess that's because the rubber compund on my Conti was soft compared to my Vittoria Rubino. And yes, I suggest getting an inexpensive road tire for your trainer. Draw back is you'll be suing the same tire when you ride on the road (personal preference in my opinion). The first Cyclops magnetic trainer I had was a loud. I guess that's inherently the same for all magentic trainers. But when I switched to the fluid Cylops, it made a world of difference and it was quiet. But now that I'm in my 1.5 yrs of using it, I think it is getting louder. Maybe time to replace the resistance unit. With regards to how tight the resistance unit is on the tire. I spin the wheel and trun the knob until it touches the tire (tire stops). From there I turn the knob 2-3 times more and that should do it. Just as long as your tire does not "slip" the resistance unit when you go for a sprint, the contact resistance is good.