Training & Nutrition - trainer problems (long)...

So after doing copious research I decided to buy a trainer, and after reading many threads on here, and looking at roadbikereview and mountainbikereview I decided the 1upusa trainer was the way to go. So I ordered it and it arrived about a week before christmas. I started using it, fitted a rear wheel computer sensor. To start with it felt about right. 18mph felt more like 20mph but a lot better than the easily overpowered cheaper ones. After about 20 minutes though it started getting harder and harder until i was killing myself trying to stay near 18mph and eventually was dropping to 15mph by the end of it no matter how hard I tried.

So I checked the instructions and the setup, checked the website, and read that you should only use the minimum amount of wheel to roller pressure required to avoid slip. This was contrary to the instructions that came with it which said to use the maximum amount. So I tried this, and merrily overpowered the trainer going about 32mph. This didn't initally bother me too much because you can adjust the trainer to have a more resistance setting. After a while, it just seemed far too easy, so I got off and increased the pressure, got back on and kept going. This went quite well. After a while I got bored and stop. It was then that I noticed littles black pieces of rubber all over the area behind the bike. I had previously noticed the wheel getting hot whenever I used it, but had thought this was normal. I had lost a *lot* of tire, so much so that I'm worried about taking it out on the roads with that little rubber. So I figure well, I guess the tire must have been slipping when I had too little pressure on.

Since that I have flown my trainer and bike home to the UK. I have tried using it here, but again not only is the resistance huge normally, it also eats my tires (possibly due to the large amount of heat generated). The resistance is not only huge, which I wouldn't mind, as you can just crank the gears down and maybe asjust your computer so you feel you are doing the right speed, but it is the unpredictability of it that annoys me. Warming up there is very little resistance and when it is warmed up, if you stop peddling for say 5 seconds and then start again then the resistance drops for about the next twenty seconds of peddling.

Am I a muppet in setting the trainer up? Is this all due to my tires now being so worn? Is my trainer broken? Has anyone else had any experience with this trainer (I read some recommendations on here so someone must??) or were all the reviews online just "bullsauce" as pokey would say?

I have sent an email to the company asking them, but I just wanted to know whether anyone else has had experience with these trainers, or similar experiences with other trainers?

Cheers

Simon

Originally posted by streners
So I checked the instructions and the setup...
After a while I got bored and stop. It was then that I noticed littles black pieces of rubber all over the area behind the bike. I had previously noticed the wheel getting hot whenever I used it, but had thought this was normal.
I had the same problem when I first started using mine. :(
Have you checked the tire inflation? Pieces of rubber may be because of under-inflation or having the tire pressed too hard against the roller.

I had wondered about tire inflation so I pumped them up afterwards (though they were still fairly high psi) and have not had any of the 'rubber spitting' problems since though I think that was possibly due to too little pressure causing slip???

Well I got an email back today, the reviews were right, they do have really good customer service. They seem to think I may have an imperect axle and have some suggested methods to correct it. Failing that I can send it back for them to fix.

They also suggested using a harder compound tire if the flaking continues to be a problem. Can anyone suggest a good replacement tire that I can use on the road too as well as the trainer? I have been using Conti GP3000's which are pretty soft as they go and pretty expensive to replace in the US anway.

Check out the Vittoria Rubino Pro,
good tire, harder compound so they should last
a bit longer.
You can usually find them on e-bay fairly cheap.

Marty

Originally posted by streners
Can anyone suggest a good replacement tire that I can use on the road too as well as the trainer? I have been using Conti GP3000's which are pretty soft as they go and pretty expensive to replace in the US anway.
I have GP3000s on my bike ($$$).
I bought a "cheap" tire (~$15) and mounted it on an extra rear wheel I have that I use just for when on the trainer. Better than wearing out a $$$ tire.

yeah I wanted to get a spare rear wheel for the purposes of the trainer, I'm too lazy to swap tires afterall, but then I thought I'd have to buy a cassette as well, so i've been looking out for some cheap second hand wheels that I could use, but not much luck so far. This is particularly a problem as I'm going back to the US again soon, and will be there for another five months before coming back to the UK. Transporting bike, trainer and accessories is a problem enough without extra wheels too. As i'm only here for a few more weeks, I may consider a wheel when i'm back in the US if i find a cheap one as i'm going to have to ship sooooo much home anyway :rolleyes:

Originally posted by streners


So I checked the instructions and the setup, checked the website, and read that you should only use the minimum amount of wheel to roller pressure required to avoid slip.

That's odd - the directions that came with mine said "minimum." Anyway, I've had mine since the beginning of December and so far I've had no problems (unless you count the mark I left in the carpet cuz I didn't raise the rear enough heh heh).

:beer:

So today I decided to eventually send my trainer back because I hadn't even been using it becuase of these problems. Now I think this trainer must have just been faulty and not indicitive of the design itself, so I would not be put off buying one if you were thinking of it. I decided to get a refund in the end thought because after riding a lot of other trainers this winter, I figured I either wanted a cheaper one, or a more expensive tacx imagic. The amazing thing was that bearing in mind this is over a month after i received the trainer, they were more than happy to take it back, and said they would not only refund the trainer but the rear wheel sensor that I wanted to keep too. I have never met such great customer service, in fact I'm almost tempted to go back and order another one because they give it a guarantee for life, and it might be worth paying the extra $$ for fantastic customer service.

i have tried all the 'nice, expensive trainers' and have had similar disappointment. i went with the travelling nashbar generic brand and it performs well year after year after year. go figure. great for intervals or easy spinning or high cadence work.

i do find that imperfections in the floor make it work differently. sometimes i need to reposition it and it works well. my basement floor is not completely level, so sometimes just shifting/angling it a bit works well.