OS Best Practice: how do you preserve your headset on the trainer
I've learned the hard ways - and had to cash in a few times on the Chris King and Cane Creek 110 'lifetime warranties' - that a season of indoor training and sweat are hard on headsets.
And brake posts.
And stem bolts.
And all the other stuff in the line of fire.
Even though I'm not a materials engineer, I'm guessing these are not exactly things you want corroded or compromised.
So how do you preserve these on your indoor ride? Grease? Vaseline? Saranwrap?
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I just cover the headset and top tube with a towel and that's always worked fine. I keep a stack of towels and cotton T-shirts next to my trainer and I'm constantly wiping myself and changing T-shirts during a ride (used ones just get dropped on to the bike mat) which keeps most of the sweat off the headset anyway. However, the metal base of my Hammer trainer is a rusty-looking mess. The inside looks great though. I just pulled the cover off Tuesday night and sprayed conditioner onto the drive belt.
1) Two towels over the headset -- one is wide and covers the handlebars and a lot of the top tube , but does not interfere with pedaling; the other is for wiping face, arms, etc. to minimize the sweat drops.
2) Multiple headbands that I'll change during the ride when they become saturated.
3) Wahoo fan turned on high to increase cooling
4) Religiously wipe down bike after ride
I thread a T-shirt over aerobars, over aero pads and tuck into bento box on top tube, and that covers all the essentials. I also wear a headband, and change my T-shirt when needed.
I train on a covered deck, and move more inside or outside as the temperature requires so that I minimize sweat. When it's over about 55F, that strategy becomes less viable. Most of my sweat is absorbed by by bib shorts, and the towels I place on the handlebars. I worry most about my bottom bracket.
My big issue is keeping my computer dry. When I stand, I lean over the trackpad, and my nose drips on it. I've had to repair that twice now. Or heavy breathing resulting in a fine spray on the screen. I need a sneeze guard, like they have at salad bars.
+1 on the headband, as well as wrist bands, mostly for my nose...
Same as @Jeff Phillips for me... one towel spread wide over the bars and another that I use to wipe my face that sits on the stem and covers the headset. For rides over an hour I'll have more face towels nearby. I have two fans running - one down by the front wheel angled up at me, and another on my left side. I've noticed that when I ride with a shirt on, I sweat a lot more and that sweat drips everywhere. When I ride shirtless there's enough wind from the two fans that a lot more of the sweat evaporates and there's a lot less dripping.