Trainer Tyre wear?

On Thu, 19 Aug 2004 20:55:50 +1000, "LT" <luis_the at

NOSPAM.yahoo.com said:

Hi All,
I just recently bought a Mag Trainer second hand (Tacx cycleforce swing),
and I've used it for a
couple of workouts, and I was wondering what the tyre wear is meant to be on
these. The reason I ask, is it looks like I've just about worn through an
almost new tyre in 5 workouts, and the amount of rubber left on the floor is
just ridiculous.

As I said, I bought it second hand, and I didn't have the
instructions, but I didn't think there could much you could do wrong in the
set-up - am I wrong? Is this normal for most trainers?

The situation you describe is not normal. Either the tire is much too
tight on the trainer or too loose. Probably the latter. You want to
tighten the roller so that it will not slip when you pedal, but not a
lot more than that. I suggest adjusting the roller so it just touches
the tire -- then hold the roller or flywheel steady in one hand and
the tire in the other. Try to move the tire. It will slip. Tighten
the roller against the tire a little and try to make the tire slip
again.

Do this a few times until it is hard to make the tire slip.

That's the right setting and all should be well.

JT

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LT luis_the at NOSPAM.yahoo.com said:

As I said, I bought it second hand, and I didn't have the
instructions, but I didn't think there could much you could do wrong in the
set-up - am I wrong? Is this normal for most trainers? I don't know if I
like the idea of wearing through tyres quite this quickly!!

I have a mostly identical trainer (Tacx Cycloforce One) and haven't had
such problems. In fact I've used the same cheap tyre with it (Ritchey Road
Logic 23 mm slick) for two winters without noticing any significant
wear. This means somewhere between 100 and 200 hours or use.

Try pumping the tyre hard - I've used as much as 9 bar on my road bike.
Tighten the roller against the tyre hard enough to get rid of any
slipping under pedalling, but no more.

-as

"LT" <luis_the at NOSPAM.yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I just recently bought a Mag Trainer second hand (Tacx cycleforce swing),
and I've used it for a couple of workouts, and I was wondering what the
tyre wear is meant to be on these. The reason I ask, is it looks like
I've just about worn through an almost new tyre in 5 workouts, and the
amount of rubber left on the floor is just ridiculous.

Trainers eat up tires so if you are going to ride it much buy cheap
durable tires and save your expensive good tires for the road.

Quoted message said:

As I said, I bought it second hand, and I didn't have the
instructions, but I didn't think there could much you could do wrong in the
set-up - am I wrong? Is this normal for most trainers? I don't know if I
like the idea of wearing through tyres quite this quickly!!

Adjust the trainer so the the roller has just enough pressure against the
tire to get good traction. Extra pressure will wear your tire faster.
5 workouts is pretty quick to wear out tires even on a trainer so I suspect
there is too much pressure against your tire.
--
Bruce Jackson - Sr. Systems Programmer - DMSP, a M/A/R/C Group company

Some tires wear faster on trainers. Best bet is to get the cheapest spare wheel and put a heavy, cheap tire on it. Inflate to the maximum and watch contact pressure. If you are on rollers, there is little you can do to limit contact pressure.

LT said:

Hi All,
I just recently bought a Mag Trainer second hand (Tacx cycleforce swing),
and I've used it for a
couple of workouts, and I was wondering what the tyre wear is meant to be on
these. The reason I ask, is it looks like I've just about worn through an
almost new tyre in 5 workouts, and the amount of rubber left on the floor is
just ridiculous.

As I said, I bought it second hand, and I didn't have the
instructions, but I didn't think there could much you could do wrong in the
set-up - am I wrong? Is this normal for most trainers? I don't know if I
like the idea of wearing through tyres quite this quickly!!

I find the wear is about the same as on the road, but the trainer roller
leaves a "polish" on the tyre (which wears off again on tarmac). As
others have said, watch the tyre isn't slipping.