I'm sensitive to the heat and since I live in the south, the summer is my "off season". And if I want to binge watch something it'd be nice to hop on and watch TV. So I've ordered a Travel Trac fluid trainer.

While reading reviews, I came across people talking about using a trainer tire.
Currently, I'm on a vintage Peugeot and I'm not at the point of needing specialty tires or anything. I'm just doing ~20 miles a week right now as I've just started cycling more routinely.
I wasn't sure if it's worth getting another wheel with a trainer tire mounted so I can just swap them. Is a trainer tire really something more valuable to cyclists at a higher level than me? Or does a trainer really eat up tires?

I do, but because I had a set of good weather wheels with better tires than what came with my bike.

You might net out saving a little money on tires. I don't bother. It's just going to cost you some tire wear. And you can use a tire that's worn past the point you would trust it on the road.

Do trainers really eat up tires worse than the road would? I may use this for when there's crappy weather during a nice season. In that case, I might use the trainer once a week and be out on the road for the rest of my rides.

Yes. Cost $20 so why not?

Edit: I'll note that I have a spare rear wheel that I have a trainer tire on.

No, I use old road tires that I would prefer to no longer ride on the road. Why buy extra tires for the trainer.

+1

My "trainer" tires are tires that are well past their prime for the road but are still functional. I usually go through about a set of tires a summer on my road bike. Since only the rear tire gets wear on a trainer, the pair usually has enough left in them to last all winter. Never had a blowout yet on the trainer despite letting them get awfully thin.

Old tire one a spare wheel. I would probably buy a dedicated tire if I didn't have half a dozen mostly worn-out tires already hanging in the shop.

We do not, just repaired punctured tubulars. And the tread does come off.

I do, but only because it helps a little with noise and vibration. If you're in an apartment building that may be something to keep in mind.

wut?

yeah I use the cheapest crappiest smooth tread tire I have in the pile for the trainer or an old tire that is cut or something that you wouldn't trust on the open road. for me at the moment I use an older hutchinson nitro II 23mm. I have moved up to wider tires all around and I don't have a use for this tire otherwise, and it saves my good rubber from the extra mileage. I will say that I would avoid using "hard compound" puncture proof tires like gatorskins on the trainer. not that anything "bad" will happen, but the rubber is too hard to grip the flywheel well in my experience, and I get a lot of slippage when I surge.

Softer rubber. With a regular road tire my trainer vibrates a bit. I'm probably way, way, ridiculously, absurdly stronger than you though. I blow snot rockets at 400 watts.

No because I save my worn out tires and use them for the trainer.

If I had a dedicated trainer wheel I guess I would.
But no way I'm going to change a tyre, just to ride the trainer.

No.

Not enough to matter.

I don't like black sooth all over... I actually have cheap wheel with trainer tire dedicated for foul weather stuck doing hamster thing time...

If I were you, i'd just try it first with normal tires. If want to cheap out, use old road tires that no longer are road-worthy.

For me, Vittoria red trainer tyres really helped in terms of squeling and vibration. They practically do not wear out, as Ive been riding them for 5 months now with just a tiny bit of visible wear. So they work for me, but Ive seen different opinions.. I ride rollers with resistance and the cheap Khamsin wheels with the red tires are dedicated roller wheels.

I used to before I got a direct drive trainer. Sure, I had plenty of old tires, but my trainer used to shred up cheap tires, leaving bits of rubber and dust everywhere. The trainer tire eliminated that residue, was quieter and gripped better. I also live in Wisconsin where I'm on the trainer 5 months of a year. I think some of the better trainers are more forgiving on tires as the contact surface is larger. I had a cheap $100 Nashbar fluid.

Trainer tire also grips the metal roller better so it doesn't slip as much. That means that you don't have to tighten the roller against the tire as much, which is probably better for your wheel, and the tire won't slip as much when you are doing things like interval work or sprints where you apply a large amount of power to the wheel quickly. I have a dedicated wheelset for trainer/rollers that I bought from performance bike for like $200 and you probably can find some take offs from friends for cheap too. I even use a trainer tire on the front for rollers for the same reason. Grip the metal better, the rubber compound was designed for that, as opposed to a road tire that was designed to grip road.

I do because any normal tire gets black rubber flecks all over the place afrer a trainer session.

Thanks everyone.

I think, given the weather is pretty good right now, I'll go sans trainer tire. Then this summer, when it's over 100, I'll get the trainer tire since I'll be on it until the first cold front comes through for the fall.

When I wear a tire out to the point that I don't want to use it for regular training or racing, but it still has some life left in it, it becomes the trainer tire. I put it on an old cheap wheel I keep by the trainer.

I do but I do most of my training on the trainer and it cost $25.

I do but I have a dedicated wheel for the trainer and a wheelset for the road.