My bike (Trek 5200) just has the regular tires on it that I ride for the road, I think they are Michelins but not positive. I have gotten into great shape this summer and don't want to lose it over the winter when I cannot ride as easily. I want to buy a bike trainer to ride indoors on but I don't know much about how they work? Can I ride the bike on the trainer with the same tire I ride on the road? I've seen special trainer tires so that is why I am asking. Thanks for any help you can give.
Our Answer:
Jessica...first congratulations on getting into shape, cycling is a great way to do that and is what turned us into bike trainer junkies too. Once you get into great shape, you don't ever want to lose it....way too much work to get there.
So to answer your question, yes you can ride your bike on the trainer just like you do on the road. It is possible but trainers tend to be hard on the rear tire, so it will probably wear your tire out more quickly than just road riding will. That is why they make special trainer tires, they are a different compound than road tires and are designed not to wear quickly. They wouldn't have much grip or handle all that great on the road, but they are perfect for a bike trainer.
So if you want to, you can run your road tires, but if you are concerned with tire wear then you should change out to a trainer tire. Hope that helps.
I agree with the first two answers and throw this in the mix for supplemental info:
The heat produced from trainers will cause premature wear of your road tires. If you have an extra rear wheel set up, you might want to consider using old tires for the trainer instead of discarding them. Also, Continental makes a training specific tire that’s supposed to increase mileage on the trainer. I don’t if it’s marketing hype or not.
You don’t need any special tire to run in your trainer, but a trainer will put a licking on a tire. So, you never want to run your special race tire on the trainer. If you are going to be indoors on the trainer for the next few months go get a nice smooth tread, cheap tire for your rear wheel.
Hope this helps.
Any Tyre will do !
A Cheap slick tyre would be best, for a couple of reasons.
1. A knobbly tyre will make noise and be uncomfortable.
2. You don’t want to unduly put wear on expensive slicks.
I don’t use my best bike on my trainer, I have another cruddy bike for that!
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An alternative is a rim drive trainer. These drive the rear wheel off the rim instead of the tire, so no tire wear and no need for a special tire.
I’m looking into a trainer too and was wondering if Rim Drive Bike Trainer’s would need a special tire? Some websites say that it wouldn’t wear down the tire because it’s making the resistance on the rim rather than the tire. What’s the truth?
No need to buy a specific tire – do what I do…put some electrictrical tape on the tire, all the way around the tire. I usually double wrap the tire just to be safe. Works PERFECT and has for years! Good luck!
Why not try putting the tape on the cylinder for the trainer rather then the wheel