jboogie

so i recently picked up a trainer to do some riding early in the mornings before work and i'm finding out the hard way that they shred tires pretty quickly. i was just wondering how you guys go about using trainers and any possible options to combat this problem?...any input is much appreciated

StalkerZERO

Umm, dude.....are you talking about an indoor trainer?
Nah, you couldn't be......could you? You do realize that you have to raise the back wheel off the floor right? usually the trainer itself raises the bike off the floor or there is a wheel stand that comes with it or you get seperately.
But you can't be talking about an indoor trainer.....could you be? =/

Enthalpic

Yeah trainers wear tires pretty fast, just don’t use good tires. You can also buy a special trainer tire from conti I believe (but uncertain). I save worn-out premium tires or use crappy tires that I got with new bikes. Flats and blowouts on the trainer are nothing…

merlinman

yup - the heat generated by the rear tire on the resistance wheel causes it to degrade very fast. I keep a stash of old tires and just rotate them through on the trainer. Never ride the same tire outdoors that is on the trainer.

grebletie

Continental Gatorskins, or some other like tire, is perfectly suited for trainer duty. Something with hard rubber, to stand up to the head and friction.

Carbonfiberboy 

I use rollers with a resistance unit. Having the two 3" D rollers pressing on the rear tire really helps. The rubber still goes away, but I don't think much if any faster than on the road.

StalkerZERO

Oh.
I never realize that you guys had such trouble with trainers. I use the blackburn trainer with the specialized roubaix tire with a 290 dpi I think. It has very thick rubber. I've been hammering the same tire on the trainer and on the road for months now without any blow outs or trouble of any kind. So I never knew people had trouble with the wheels touching the trainer's spinning wheel.