Trainer use with a nice bike

[C5 Snowboarder]

Are there any issues of a trainer use with my nice Legend that I should worry about? I do not have any experience with a trainer and was just wondering if use of one hurts or damages a nice bike.
thanks in advance for any advice.

[dogdriver]

Buy a cheap rear skewer and you ought to be fine. An old rear tire isn't a bad idea, either.

[Elefantino]

Buy a cheap rear skewer and you ought to be fine. An old rear tire isn't a bad idea, either.
Yep.

[soulspinner]

Just dont clamp your fork down. My steel beater bike built in 2001 has had tons of trainer time, Id think ti would be even better. Put a crappy skewer on though, as well as a cheap tire on the rear.

[jmc22]

I say go for it and don't worry about it, just put a nice coat of wax on the frame, try to keep the sweat off the frame & wipe it down after use - you should be okay in my opinion (I do it now with my bikes).
I think using a the same bike for winter training that you will also use for thousands of miles during the season is the best way to be propery fitted and thus ready to ride when the outdoor riding season starts. (you can never get 2 bikes to be 100% the same in every measurement - there will always be something slightly different).
An older or special trainer tire as previously mentioned is a great idea.

[soulspinner]

Wow, you guys beat me to the post. I like those nice front wheel levelers too, instead of books under the front wheel. I use a fan also and shield the front of the bike against sweat.

[Climb01742]

one more small point: you may also find that you need to experiment with saddles. one position saddles (like an aliante) can become uncomfortable on a trainer because you don't get up and shift your butt around on a trainer like you do on the road. i've found that a flatter saddle that you can slide around on more, with more riding positions or "spots" tends to work better on a trainer. YRMV. (or should i say "your butt may vary"?)

[TimD]

My Ottrott ST is mounted on a trainer as I write this. No issues.

If the trainer uses a rear skewer mount, use a cheap (Shimano or clone) skewer in place of your carbon / unobtainium skewer.

If you do more than a few sessions I would suggest not using the tire on the road afterwards. I've found a tire used on a trainer subsequently delaminates and loses its tread, exposing whatever lies beneath. My guess is that this is due to heat damage.

Continental, probably among others, make a 'trainer tire' which is not intended for use on the road; see this (http://www.totalcycling.com/index.php/product/TI_CONTINENTAL_HOME_TRAINER.html?action=currency&id=USD) for more information. Of course you should buy it from your LBS :)

Alternatively, save your old tires and mount one before setting up your bike on the trainer. If you are switching between trainer and road, try to use a spare wheel (with the sacrificial tire mounted) while on the trainer.

[Charles M]

A very good design point that lots of trainer producers are going for is flexible mounting.

Kurt and Elite both have trainers that allow your bike to move while staying well fixed in the arms... Elite are also using elastomer gel rollers that don't eat your tires anything like older models.

[Volant]

There shouldn't be any issues to the bike, but place yourself in front of the TV or some other form of entertainment. 3 hours in one place can get boring!!! (and I definitely agree with covering the top tube (from sweat) and adding a fan to the area!!)

[slowandsteady]

3 hour rides on your trainer?!?!?! Who can stand that pain and boredom!!! i have trouble tolerating an hour on the rollers!

[GregL]

If you sweat a great deal, I recommend using a towel or cycling-specific sweat guard to protect the bike. I had to replace a handlebar on my wife's bike because she sweats a lot (she doesn't like a fan blowing too hard on her). The bar was corroded under the bar tape.

- Greg

[Bytesiz]

3 hour rides on your trainer?!?!?! Who can stand that pain and boredom!!! i have trouble tolerating an hour on the rollers!

Go get one of these (http://www.racermateinc.com/computrainer.asp).
Then, buy a copy of this (http://www.riderunrow.com/products_na2.htm).
Finally, join this group (http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/netathlonbicyclists/).

This cured the boredom for me.

Aaron

[C5 Snowboarder]

Big thanks for alll the replies and answers.

One other question since I have not used a trainer with my bikes.. can they also help with final deraileur adjustments and the like or do they not respond exactly the same while on the road? :beer:

[fierte_poser]

1) good for derailleur adjustments in my experience.

2) the cheap skewer is a must, but you still need to be careful when aligning the trainer's 'cups' to the skewer. For example, on my Fierte, the aluminum 'cups' on my Kurt Kinetic trainer are big enough to scrape the paint off of the 3DXL dropout (at least on the non-drive side). The cup needs to be oriented just right to prevent the cup-to-dropout contact.

[zott28]

I tried to play xbox while on the trainer last time, but it made me a little sick.

On topic, I think I'm adding wear to my carbon seat post while on the trainer. Is this just in my head, there seems to be alot of creaking.

[Lifelover]

Are there any issues of a trainer use with my nice Legend that I should worry about?...

You really need to be careful for the mind numbing affects trainer use can have. There was a study that suggest trainer use can decrease your will to live. Ride it sparingly and find anything else to do in it's place. Aerobics, yoga, kettlebells and banging your head on a concrete wall are all acceptable substitutes.

Look what happened to these poor guys after only a month of daily trainer use.

http://www.inewidea.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/image0032.jpg

[C5 Snowboarder]

You really need to be careful for the mind numbing affects trainer use can have. There was a study that suggest trainer use can decrease your will to live. Ride it sparingly and find anything else to do in it's place. Aerobics, yoga, kettlebells and banging your head on a concrete wall are all acceptable substitutes.



Ok-- Good point-- maybe I should just snowboard more since my Quiver just went to 11 snowboards and we have a lot of snow out here and in Whistler. :beer: