putting a carbon frame bike on a trainer?

richmiani

hey folks... is it a bad idea to put a carbon frame bike on a trainer ? if it makes a diff, the KK Road Machine is what i have

John Stark

Hey Rich:

Welcome to the team!

I have only used carbon road and tri bikes on my trainers over the years.  Never, ever had an issue.  I have spoken to several reps for manufacturers and they tell me it is OK also.  

John

 

 

cgres123

rich I have also used a carbon frame bike on a trainer. I have heard that is his not a good idea to use carbon wheels on the rear.

William Jenks

Use my P3 all the time. They are very very stiff, so there shouldn't be an issue. This is (I believe) a myth that had its origins in the very early days of carbon frames.

Spokane_Al

I have been riding my carbon Felt B2 on the trainer every winter, all winter since I bought it in 2008.

rbogle

Quintanno Roo says the Illictio should not be clamped in a trainer, that its not designed for the kinds of torquing it might get. I'm guessing thats because it only has one seat stay, and cant handle the side to side twisting if the wheel is clamped. Otherwise I think most CF frames of standard morphology will work just fine. 

robin sarner

Good question.      I have never had problems with my titanium frame I mostly use (Zinn).      Or my carbon frame (Giant).

But I do wonder for all frames.          Using a trainer definitely puts a frame through different stresses than on the road.

As others state, probably not something to worry about.                 But I still do regardless.        Even though I do most of my training indoors.

tgarson

As everyone else says, I don't think I'd really be doing any real damage to my carbon frame by riding it on the trainer, but I still don't do it simply because I have the option not to. I spare my fancy carbon race bike and throw my older aluminum road bike on the trainer over the winter just to save the general wear and tear on my tri bike (chain, cassette, crank, sweating out bolts, etc)

[Deleted User]

I read somewhere (can't remember where) that the impact on a frame of flying down a bumpy road are much greater than what the frame experiences on a trainer.

richmiani

thanks team!

benvanmarcke

Personally I am not convinced it is OK to ride on the trainer with any bike a lot. Welded aluminum frames, probably not an issue. Titanium frames should definitely be OK (titanium has very little sensitivity towards metal fatigue). Carbon monocoque frames should be fine since stresses will be distributed evenly.

I am more concerned with frames made of 2 different materials... like aluminum frames with carbon chainstays or carbon fibers bikes with adhesive bonded lugs. The stresses on materials with different elastic modulus could potentially debond at microscopic level, and result in the frame starting to creak or break at a lug or anywhere it does from one material to a different one.

This happened to my previous bike frame (Eddy Merckx Race). Since then I bought a brand new aluminum race bike just for the trainer. It cost a whole 300 euros and I've been riding it for 7 years now. Stripped it of nonessential components like brakes and the front tire. Headset is all rusted and totally stuck but then again no need for steering. Love that bike!

jwpicciotto

As with all things the answer is it depends. For the vast majoprity of us it is not a problem to ride a carbon frame bike on a trainer. I do ride with a couple of track sprinters that it is an issue for just because of the sheer force that they place on the bike during their workouts. When you look through all of the fine print from bike manufacturers you will see they tend to say not to ride in a trainer or to place a carbon fork in a roof top rack. This is due to the lawyers, not issues you or I will see.