Laminarman

I am using my CAAD 6 on a Cyclops 2 fluid trainer, and besides a lot of sweat that I clean off and a shredded rear tire, do I need to be concerned about it destroying my bike as Arnie Baker says in Smart Cycling?

He says "use an old bike because trainers spell disaster to bikes. Without the bike moving freely beneath you enormous pressure is exerted, the headset gets grooved ..."

I looked and looked on Craigs list, all of it garbage that won't even shift. Thinking about a serviceable new bike from bikesdirect.com that I can just leave on the trainer. We have LONG winters here and many times I jump on the trainer to get a quick ride, when I am watching all three kids. Also, on rainy days it's a pain to move the bike or hook it up to the trainer . Any thoughts about this strategy? I prefer used, just can't fine one that doesn't need work to shift or is my size or is comfortable.

ericm979

I think that what kills the headset is sweat. Keep a towel over it to catch the sweat so it doesn't run down inside the headset. If you do kill the headset, you can buy new bearings. They're not that expensive.

More Cowbell

Rollers. You will still have the tire wear issue.

Laminarman

He said the headset grooved, not sure if that's the sweat issue. I have a bra on it, and a towel I keep wiping with, and a fan. I was concerned about the "stress" issue.

coasting 

i wonder how much stress is put on the wheel axle since the whole weight is held just by the quick release rather than the wheel.

Laminarman

Yeah, this is the kind of thing I'm wondering about. My neighbor won't put his bike on a trainer (Specialized Tarmac) since he had a chainstay break last year out of the blue and he rode it all winter on a Cyclops. He sent it to Specialized who replaced the frame at no cost, and they wouldn't comment on how it came about. He seems to think it was the trainer, but I'm not sure about the axle issue since when you ride, all the weight is still being born by the axle, right?? He's a much, much harder rider than I am, and he races Cat II, so that factor is different between him and I. But I hadn't thought about his comment until I read this Arnie Baker book just recently.

palookabutt

I've now got 2 rear wheels for my bike: the original crappy Alex wheel mounted with a trainer tire and a Mavic wheel for outdoors. Makes it easy to swap and I don't worry much what happens to the wheel on the trainer. I've had this setup for 2 seasons now and I've had no problems (yet).

tadawdy

I was worried about this, too, but I can't really see much difference between the trainer and the road. Part of it may be the design of the trainer. Didn't some old ones clamp onto the fork or something? As current models go, the parts that take the stress on a trainer are the ones that do on the road.

cuffydog

I wouldn't put my good road bike on a trainer--it gives me the willies. Instead, I've got an old bike on it, and maybe this would have happened anyway, but now the shifters are shot. The good thing about using an old bike is that it matters less when things go wrong, and you can go for the cheapest fix available. Also, the weight of the bike is not a factor. Just keep looking around for an old bike--garage sales, bike shops. Even if the bike isn't shifting, you can always put a shifter on the downtube for about $6 (since you won't be needing the sti, really).