tires for indoor trainer
Do people use trainer specific tires for riding their trainer or computrainer?
I started using the computrainer last Nov. and have used the continental trainer tire. The tire delaminated after about 1500miles doing the EN IM workouts at an FTP of 220-250watts. I replaced it and the other tire wore out after 2 hours! Has anybody experienced a defective Continental trainer tire?
What trainer tires do people use in their pain cave?
Thanks!
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Comments
I've had really good luck with the Vittoria home trainer. Very durable and super quiet.
I originally bought it because I (and my wife) got tired of the black tire dust that was ending up in our basement.
The trainer does wear out tires faster than the road because of the smaller contact patch, which is probably how this whole "trainer tire" thing got started, but there's nothing cheaper than a tire you weren't that confident in any more anyway. :-). I've use ones that I've ditched because of ugly cuts in the side wall or just ones that were used the whole prior summer.
Interestingly, you're the second person in recent history who had a Continental trainer that blew up, following one that lasted a long time - and both on a CT. I think you probably just got a bad tire. I personally use a Vittoria as well, but I have a fluid trainer (not that it makes much difference).
One thing that occurred to me with my friend who blew his continental - the vittoria tire has grooves, supposedly to help dissipate heat. Also, my fluid trainer has a flywheel with fins, to provide cooling across the main body of the trainer fluid chamber. That 'fan' also blows air across the contact point of the tire and the drum - so perhaps one of the issues with the computrainer is that tires overheat, and that can be solved by putting a small fan to blow across that contact point?
+1
The first few times using it on the trainer, there was orange tire 'dust' everywhere, but hardly any since then. I learned to put a blue tarp-like thing under me and the trainer, and had no problems with that dust flying everywhere.
Like Al T and others, I just use an old tyre have have so for almost 3 years and haven't had any problems.
I do all my EN FTP/VO2 maX intervals on my CT (summer and winter).
So no unified voice here.
My experience on lots of indoor miles. Problems with all trainer tires except Tacx. Tacx hold up well, run cool, etc.
@ Peter - great question. I am definitely am more than 1.5 more around 3.5, I will use less and hope for the best.
Yes, agree with Peter.
For a true trainer tire, can use lower calibration number for the Computrainer. I try to get it just above 2.
But I bow to Peter's 1.5.
So, that's probably the reason the tyre fried itsself.
That being said, I've been using the same Conti tire (bright orange) for the past several years, and there has been very little wear on it. I typically use between 2.3-2.5 lbs of press-on force (hand-tighten it until it's kinda difficult to turn. Warm up for 10-20 minutes and check. Seems to work for me).