jpitkin

Hi All,

In a few months the weather up here in New England is going to turn cold. I've got a trainer (Cyclops Mag) that I sit on during the winter months, and haven't had any issues with my tires yet. I was browsing on Nashbar today instead of working, and saw this ( https://tinyurl.com/rbuhu ).

What's people's opinions on doing something like this?

I know the 'real' answer's are:

a) get cold weather gear and ride through the winter

b) ride it and see

998

I tried one of those with my cyclops fluid. You wouldn't believe how long it took to clean up the mess. With even a miniscule amount of pressure/contact the thing disintegrated into a yellow powder that stuck all over everything. Absolute waste of money. Did I mention the mess? Stick with cheap hard or worn out old road tires.

will dehne

I keep reading that people have trouble with tires on a trainer. I do not understand why.
Here is what I do with zero problems:
Use 700 x 28 Continentals at 17 to 20 MPH every day for at least one hour and have done six hours/day.
Use 700 x 38 Bontragers at 16 to 18 MPH if the above bike is used on the road.
I use very low preload of the resistance roller to tire, just enough so it does not slip. I have done this for about two years. BTW, CycleOps Fl 2.

jpitkin

I don't get peoples problems with tires on rainers either. I've been running a set of Bontragers 700 x 38's on my bike for two years now, no trouble with it on the trainer. I don't spend nearly the time Will seems to (I average an hour a day, duringthe winter) and haven't run into trouble. I was in my LBS and talked with one of the guys there, they started carrying the continental trainer tire last year. He said he'd sold a couple, but hadn't had any personal experience with them. After reading 998's comment on the sticky yellow powder i'm reluctant to put one on. I'm surprised that there have been no positive comments on them.

BloomBikeShop

The tread looks kind of like the Hutchinson Flash I use. $5 a piece, have been using them for a couple years (even including some outdoor use in crappy winter weather) and don't even notice the wear yet. I bought a couple pairs expecting to use a few over the course of a winter - boy was I wrong!

BikeInMN

The Conti trainer tires work and work well. They are very quiet, provide consistent resistance as the rubber doesn't get soft when it heats up and they don't wear at all (at least for me it didn't wear). I used one on my Computrainer all winter with good results. Having a dedicated trainer tire also keeps the tire/roller interface free of contamination which will give you a more accurate reading on the CT. Saying all that, you are not to ride them on the road.

normZurawski

My trainer bike is an old MTB setup for the trainer. I go to the LBS and ask for the cheapest 26" slick I can buy. $15 for 1 tire. Don't care if it wears quickly. I imagine the same tire online would be something like $8, or less.

park

Ditto what BikeInMN said. The tire is super smooth and has held up well. I think a lot of people don't understand that many cyclists ride their trainers hard as hell. I'm not talking about thrashing around like in a sprint but grinding out hard intervals at high wattages/speeds. If you're just noodling and spinning easy you won't generate much heat and tires will last forever. But if you're doing intervals at 27-28 mph for over four minutes the heat generated will be high and tires will wear much faster.

Spintogrin

Ditto Park and BikeInMN's coments, The Conti is smooth, quiet and after over a thousand miles of use last winter - in great shape.