Training & Nutrition - My trainer needs Pepto bismal...(picture within...dialup beware)

Does anybody else have this problem with their trainer? That's a picture of bits of my tire that have worn off from using the trainer. I made sure it wasn't adjusted too tightly...I moved the rollers up until it just touched the wheel but it still managed to wear off a good portion of the tire. Is this normal?

http://steversk.homeip.net/images/biketrainer.jpg

Generally I would say No it isn't normal,
however I recall a thread about the same thing
a while back (not too far back).
How high is the resistance set?
Is there any chance there is a rough spot on the
roller that is cutting the tire?
After changing tires, does it still happen (was it
a result of a bad tire?).

Just a few thoughts, but I don't think I'd
put my tires on that thing till I figured it out.

Marty

It doesn't look normal to me at all, definitely too much wear and tear. I do not own a trainer but I think you should check it out, there is definitely some problem somewhere.

Trainers are very hard on tires, I keep my old tire just to burn them up on the trainer. But that is a lot of rubber,,,,

Well, Steverino, I talked this over with the council of elders (that's my boyfriends who hang out at the LBS in Trollsville) and they all agreed that the problem is heat. They disagree as to the source of that heat. Some seem to think that the problem is you have the resistance unit a little too loose against the tire, causing undue friction. Others think you have the resistance unit too tight against the tire causing the tire to flex and burn up. I know this doesn't answer your question, boyfriend, but it made for a great argument.

:love:

Thanks for all of the replies...I'll look more closely at why my tires is getting shredded. I'll play around with different settings with the resistance unit to see if that helps.
Troll, I thought you had said I was your only boyfriend...sometimes I get the feeling you've had more boyfriends than just me. ;-)

It looks to me like the pressure of the tire on the roller is too loose, causing the tire to slip. Try putting more pressure on it.

1) Is the tire a particularly soft compound? Find some cheap, hard POS for riding the trainer.

2) What kind tire pressure are you running? You might be able to drop the tire pressure and get better traction between the roller and the tire with less pressure from the resistance unit.

My resistance unit is spring loaded, and not really adjustable. It's loose enough that it's not uncommon for me to "slip" the tire when pedaling hard, like during an interval. It does wear the tire, but not so much that I get a buildup of tire dust anywhere.