Cycletrainer tires
 

I am going to buy a tacx flow or satori, can i use my normal vittoria zaffiro tires or do i need to buy special trainer tires?
what happens if i use this tires? will i screw up the trainer?

thks

Depends how often you plan to ride. I don't do more than a dozen, or so, trainer rides a year so I don't change tires on a KK trainer. Some trainers are harder on tires than others. Regardlesss of what tire you use you won't hurt the trainer.

i plan on using them a lot. i'll buy a special tire in a few weeks but for now i'll have to use my normal tire, just wanted to know if there is any problem.
i heard that they wear quite fast, is it true?

They'll wear a little, but so what? Tires wear out. You bought the bike and the trainer to use, so use them.

Another reason for the trainer specific tire is that they don't throw off the black rubber 'dust' that regular tires will. Not a problem if you go in a garage but if you're in a finished room it can be a mess.

I typically put an old tire that I have retired from road use on to a cheap rear wheel that I bought for the purpose and run that. You won't get a flat or break a spoke on the trainer.

They throw yellow shreds instead. I didn't find them any better to use.

Is your trainer lined with barbed wire?

Buy one - its worth it. I personally use the Continental one (orange). I used an old Gatorskin at first, and after about 30 mins of riding, there was black dust all over the place and the tire was very, very hot. I switched to the trainer tire and after over 1000kms of hard interval riding, its still fine with no sign of wear.

I have it mounted on a dedicated rim and cassette which makes switching between the trainer and the road very easy.

not to mention that the trainer tires are much quieter on the CycleOps trainers.

A few trainer sessions also makes the tires very smooth and slick. Not good on starting out on wet roads. But a couple hundred years on dry road roughens up the surface again.

This.

Old tire user here...Michelin Krylions...Never any black dust....

Trainer and rollers are where my retired tires go to die...

and squared off.

retired tire is the answer.

My coach says road tires can be hard on the trainer roller... tends to wear a groove in it or gouge it up. Cannot verify this by experience however.

i use a retired slick and there is neither noticeable dust nor noise with the trainer/tire combo I use (tire is a spec all condition 28, and yes it gets all shiny)
trainer tires may be quieter but I listen to movies using headphones and its fine, even without headphones noise is ok for listening.

Which trainer tire is best? vittoria zaffiro or tacx?
i have vittoria zaffiro for road and it's very good so i'am inclined to buy it for trainer

I use a continental training tire and highly recommend it. I have around 700 miles or so on mine with a kirk kinetic. Seems grippier and doesn't slip like a regular tire will in sprints.

I'm using a KK Road Machine, had it since Jan2008 and it's still going strong...no noticeable groove...I live in Canada so it gets lots of use in the winter..

I imagine this is theoretically possible with PVC rollers but certainly not with metal rollers or trainers.

I've been using a Tacx on the KK Road Machine. After 3800 miles, it still looks new. Very minimal wear on the center section.

This statement is total BS... A trainer specific tire is made of a compound to prevent this from happening. Going on my third winter on mine, and it shows no sign of shredding period...

I do notice a sheen on my tires from a little aluminum wearing off the roller. I doubt I'll see a noticeable groove in my lifetime though :) Even if there was a groove it wouldn't affect the trainer functioning.

I didn't have time to read everyone's posts here so sorry if this stuff is repeated stuff.

I change tires...to old tires that are no longer good to use on the street! Old tires are perfectly fine to use on a trainer as long as you clean the tread and pick out anything embedded in the tire.

A trainer adjusted properly will not have bits of shredded rubber dust laying about. In that same vein, nor would a properly adjusted trainer that is a higher quality unit deposit it's aluminum or steel on the roller onto the tire giving it a sheen.

My Cycleops Fluid 2 is a steel drum not aluminum. I've used it now for 8 years and there's no groves on the drum, and no signs of wear like grooves, there's also no rubber fragments on the drum either.

you sure the sheen isn't just the tire glazing with the friction/heat?

I clean it off with a damp cloth so I'm pretty sure it's just aluminum.