Tire Problems...Please Help
 

So I locked my bike into my trainer tonight, and I noticed that when I was pedaling, it was "jerky". I didnt give it much thought. So, I started going. After about 20 mins, I noticed that there was some black specs on the floor. The light was off, and only a lamp was on, so the area was kind of dark. I stopped and got off the bike. I felt my back tire and noticed that it now has a flat spot all the way around it. I dont know if I had my tension too much on my trainer or what. I noticed when I locked it in, the tire seemed to go a bit and catch, then go a bit and catch. Almost like the tire wasnt exactly round. Does this make sense? I havent done anything to my bike, no wrecks, crashes, etc...

What gives?

Also, it looks like I am in the market for a new tire. I have a Bontrager Select 700x25 on there now cause that is what was on my bike (Trek 1000). Should I just decide to replace with the same tire or a different one?

Thanks,
mscycler

the problem is slight and barely noticeable its not your frame or wheel its just the tire
tires when inflated on the ground too fast can create bulges where air collects, like you said its not exactly round. its not your fault so don`t worry. on your trainer increase the preasure of the roller on the wheel so it remains closer all the way around.

some good choices on tires are vittoria rubino pro/pro slick or hutchinson fusion comp
the stock bonty`s aren`t all that great infact they suck

Sounds like you didn't have enough tension on the trainer. That is, your tire would slip a little bit, and when it caught, it would slide (destroying the tire in the process)

Increase the tension, try again. Remember, in real riding, the tension on the tire is equal to (roughly) half your body weight.

I remember now that I had my daughter adjust the tension while I was riding to make it harder for me. Then, after 20 mins of riding, the rubber on my tire wore off. When I got off my bike, there was hardly any tension on my trainer.

mscycler

Update...The tire is in rideable condition, so that is a good thing. The best we (my wife, cycleops, LBS, and me) can tell is that the tension wasnt tigh enough on the trainer, and the PSI in my rear tire was only at like 50 psi.

mscycler

The low pressure will make that worse.

You have to have full pressure in your tires for any tire life at all. Absolute highest pressure. You need to check the pressure every time right before riding.
You can't tighten the thing down so much that you can stand and sprint that's too tight.
The small contact area and resulting huge distortion of the tire compared to riding on the road is going to ruin your tire quickly anyway. That's life.

Fill your tires, sit on your bike, and look at how much the tire is distorted. Then set the tension correctly so it will work and look at the tire when it is in the trainer. The difference then becomes clear. It bends the tire a lot more. This is also why electric bikes with metal drive wheels on the tire burn out tires quickly too. Some times the rubber may even come off of the casing. It's happened to me.

Some bike tires wear out quickly and are very soft for traction while racing. Some tires are very hard for good tread life and last a long time. I have no idea if a tire that lasts a long time on the road will react the same on the trainer. I would try a very hard long life tire to see what happens. Some Continental touring tires are very hard and some
Panaracer touring tires are very hard and long lasting. Myself I would call or email the factories for advice.

Brilliant Response. We have had the same issue, discovered that too light pressure = shredded tyres. Good tyre pressure + adjusting the roller pressure so that you get no slip gives you much longer tyre life.

Thanks for the kind words. Did you experiment with different tires?

Yes we have. We were using cheap kendas, and have a dedicated trainer wheel. Kendas suck actually, they can be uneven, but they are cheap. We are currently using a worn set of contis off my bike. They seem much more durable and noticeably smoother on the trainer.
Funny, when we first got the trainer, my wife shredded a brand new tyre in one session. She didn't notice the pile of rubber until she finished - owch.

I noticed the pile of rubber, but to be honest, I thought it was chain lube. I had just lubed my chain a few hrs earlier, and the whole time I was riding, I was thinking...My wife is gonna kill me for getting grease all over the hardwood floors.

mscycler

For the hardwood floor problem, I put the trainer in a plastic boot tray (tray with a lip to collect mud and snow melting off boots). This keeps the rubber off the floor and also covers me if the fluid trainer ever leaks, which they used to be notorious for.

I have an old steel rim with about a million spokes that weighs a ton and I use all of my old tires on that until they really wear away. The pressure on the cassette (and frame) is pretty high on a trainer so just have an old crappy wheel and tire combo with a compatible cassette that you can flip on for the trainer and off when out on the road. If you use a trainer enough eventually all your tires will wear flat like that, so it makes sense to use something that will wear out and you wont mind.

That's very interesting to hear. It makes sense to me. One of the electric bike motors uses a knurled metal wheel against the tire, similar to the trainer, to drive the bike. They always use Contis and claim they last longer too. I have heard similar comments from others too. The tire that actually came apart on me was a cheap tire, possibly a Kenda too.