1-Up Trainer Question

[ss-jimbo]

The stock resistance with the three bearings in the inner position seemed hard so I removed the bearings completely and now it's as if there is no resistance. Is there no middle ground? This is actually a question for my wife. With the ball bearings in she could do steady state intervals only in her 39x23. That seems a bit over the top.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[sr51]

There is a comment at roadbikereview.com that says reducing the pressure between the tire and roller reduces the resistance. If you reduce it too much, the tire will slip but it might be something to experiment with.

http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/training/trainers/blackburn/PRD_367799_1663crx.aspx

[keno]

I would call 1UP on their 800 number. Their customer service is beyond excellent. I can't say enough good things about them and their service.

keno

[11.4]

Without the bearings, it'll spin freely because the bearings have to drift outwards as the trainer turns and they in turn create contact with the friction pad. No bearings, no contact.

You can reduce the tension quite a bit -- if you're really pushed into the tire you're creating huge rolling resistance. If it slips, you can sand the surface of the tire to get off any wax or glazing or just go to a fairly treaded tire -- a smooth tread tire does tend to slip a bit more than a diamond tread Conti Sprinter, for example. Also, go to a somewhat larger tire (28 mm so, whatever your bike will accommodate) and run a lower pressure. You don't want the tire to slip on the rim so you still want to be at perhaps 80-90 psi, but you get more traction without a lot of resistance. Just use a cheap tire because it really heats up. I wouldn't really depend on such a tire on the road after it'd been heated up a few times on the trainer.

The solution I finally went with: It's not legit but when I was recovering from a torn achilles tendon I wanted an (almost) free spin -- just a bit of resistance but not a high-stress workout. I measured the bearings and got some in three different sizes that were ever so slightly smaller. Swap the bearings and you don't create as much pressure on the contact pad. You have to experiment a bit, and 1-Up wouldn't bless it, but there's nothing it'll hurt either.