kmart

Hi all. I just picked up a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine trainer and I have a question. When I get on the bike and start pedaling from a standstill, the tire slips slightly. It does not matter if I tighten down the roller more because it's just a lack of friction from my tires. I am running some (fairly worn and squared off) Vittoria Rubino Pro slick tires at around 120psi . I discovered that Continental makes a tire made specifically for trainers. However, I only have one wheelset so swapping tires every time I want to get on the trainer would get old fast, so the Conti Trainer tire is not an option.

Is this slippage common? Do people find that it breaks the realistic feel of out-of-saddle sprints? What can I do to reduce it?

Mose

I use retired tires on my trainer that I consider no longer safe for the road. Slipping a bit if it's just when you start doesn't hurt anything, it will lay down a little rubber on the roller which will actually aid traction as it builds up (same reason drag cars do burnouts before a run). If it bothers you, back off the pressure a bit.

Ih8lucky13

I had the same problem, but I let out some of the air in the back tire, and that solved the problem right up.

Sprocket Man

Tighten the bolt that adjusts the pressure between the tire and the resistance unit. I usually tighten mine until the tire is no longer slipping when I jerk the wheel up and down a bit. The general rule I've heard (though I don't know if it will work on your trainer) is that once the resistance unit touches the tire, rotate the knob 2 full turns after that point. That rule doesn't work on my Blackburn trainer, but I think that's about right for my Cyclops.

Mose

Yeah, it will vary trainer to trainer as the lever arm that the threaded tensioner (whatever the mechanism used) will be different. My Cyclops II is good after 1.5 to 2 turns after the roller makes contact. I run ~80 psi in a 100 psi tire when I'm on the trainer.

SpongeDad

my good tires tend to slip and wear down on my trainer (Kurt Kinetic), but Continental GP 4 Seasons (which aren't bad tires) don't slip and don't wear on my trainer.

clausen

I have the same tire on the trainer now an a little tire slip is normal. I would invest in another rear wheel for trainer use if you don't feel like swapping the tire all the time. The friction on the trainer causes the tire to heat up more than it would on the road. This heat dries the tire out affecting grip and tire life, a spare rear wheel will be cheaper and safer in the long run.

lowracer1

I really want to hesitate to give away my secret. On the other hand, I don't think we have too many other riders here that race a i-magic or fortius during the winter, so I'll be nice and give you the real deal on how to escape the tire slipping. It is called automotive belt dressing. I simply spin the tire slowly and carefully give the tire a mist of the belt dressing. You will find that you can run higher pressure in the tire and loosen the tension further to have the smallest possible contact area on the drum. When doing online trainer racing, you need every bit of help you can get. I've gotten rid of a good 30 watts of extra friction this way so I can apply it to the actual race and not loose it in slippage and extra tension to overcome the electromechanical brake system.

DigitalRJH

Make sure the tire and the trainer drum are very clean, use windex. Crank it done all the way, and I hate to tell you this, but that Conti home trainer tire makes such a big difference. I don't turn the tension up nearly as much now that I am using it. If you can in the future, buy the cheapest rear wheel you can just to use for the trainer.