School me on correcting roller squeal ?

[572cv]

So, I have 4.5 Kreitler Rollers with a Headwind as my primary winter training setup, for when it is too awful to go outside. I'm using an old but solid set of 25mm Prorace 2's on my training wheels, blown up to 90 psi (I'm 168, that's usually enough pressure). And, my set up has started to squeal. It sounds as though it is the interface between the tires and rollers. The rollers are relatively new, only two seasons old.

I have tried cleaning both the tires and the rollers. I used rubbing alcohol on the tires, lightly. I used Windex on the rollers. While some residue was removed, the sound remains. It wasn't pronounced or objectionable last winter.

So, I look for helpful suggestions as to solutions others have had success with. I can't imagine this is a unique problem! TIA.

[Joxster]

Is it the bearings/bushes in the roller? Drop a touch of oil on the inside of the rollers.

[Look585]

Ride for 10 minutes outside on pavement to roughen up the rubber. Too much uninterrupted time on rollers only will make the tires squeal.

[572cv]

Is it the bearings/bushes in the roller? Drop a touch of oil on the inside of the rollers.

These felt very smooth without a load on them - just spinning by hand- but sure, I should try that.

[572cv]

Ride for 10 minutes outside on pavement to roughen up the rubber. Too much uninterrupted time on rollers only will make the tires squeal.

Sure, good thought. I can manage that, even here in VT.

[happycampyer]

I would try pumping the tires up to a higher pressure, maybe 100 psi or even 110 psi. I find that my tires will squeal when they aren't inflated enough. I weigh a little more than you, and 110 psi is where my tires need to be in order to not squeal.

[11.4]

Have you tried removing the Headwind attachment? I've always had problems with errant noises coming from the attachment or the drive band.

A few more ideas.

Take off the clear urethane band and wash it well in warm soapy water. And use some alcohol or acetone and clean out the grooves that it rides in on the drums. Often the noise is in the band.

Just sand the tires with some carbide paper, enough to take off any silver glow from riding rollers and make them look like fresh and not aged rubber.

Disassemble and reassemble the rollers, and when the drums are off, lubricate very lightly as mentioned above. You'd think the roller bearings would dry out and be a constant source of noise but I've only seen that in one case and it was a short peremptory squeak.

Check the rubber feet on the rollers and consider replacing them. They're just crutch tips (or furniture tips) that you can find at any Ace hardware store. Sometimes they can squeak up a storm, both against the metal leg and against the floor.

The drum surfaces themselves don't usually make noise but these other areas are all candidates. Low tire pressure can occasionally cause squealing, but you can always eliminate the tires by switching to another pair of tires for a few minutes.

And remember that you're riding your bike a little differently from how you'd ride it on the road. Be sure that you haven't created noise in your bike itself.

[572cv]

Have you tried removing the Headwind attachment? I've always had problems with errant noises coming from the attachment or the drive band.

The headwind has been fine. I just replaced the drive band as well.

A few more ideas.

Take off the clear urethane band and wash it well in warm soapy water. And use some alcohol or acetone and clean out the grooves that it rides in on the drums. Often the noise is in the band.

Good idea. I'll plan on that.

Just sand the tires with some carbide paper, enough to take off any silver glow from riding rollers and make them look like fresh and not aged rubber.

Another reasonable approach. Mimic the on the road roughening....

Disassemble and reassemble the rollers, and when the drums are off, lubricate very lightly as mentioned above. You'd think the roller bearings would dry out and be a constant source of noise but I've only seen that in one case and it was a short peremptory squeak.

This resonated. I did this tonight. I rotated the roller positions, and turned them around when reinstalling.

Check the rubber feet on the rollers and consider replacing them. They're just crutch tips (or furniture tips) that you can find at any Ace hardware store. Sometimes they can squeak up a storm, both against the metal leg and against the floor.

My workout area has rubber horse trailer mats for flooring. BTW, this is really inexpensive, about thirty some odd bucks for 4x6x3/4 sheets of rubber, lasts forever and stays put. You can cut it with a mat knife to fit. Anyway, the crutch tips are rubber on rubber, so not an issue in this case.

The drum surfaces themselves don't usually make noise but these other areas are all candidates. Low tire pressure can occasionally cause squealing, but you can always eliminate the tires by switching to another pair of tires for a few minutes.

I tried another bike for a few minutes ( wife's, shush ) and determined that the squeak was not bike specific.

And remember that you're riding your bike a little differently from how you'd ride it on the road. Be sure that you haven't created noise in your bike itself.

So this was great. Really helped speed up the process of review. And it turned out that shifting the rollers around seems to have made a noticeable difference. Tomorrow, we'll give it a real test, but I can go into that with optimism! Note: answers interspersed...

[Peter P.]

Ride for 10 minutes outside on pavement to roughen up the rubber. Too much uninterrupted time on rollers only will make the tires squeal.

THIS. You'll have to repeat the procedure occasionally, but it works.