turbo trainer advice

[mudclawed]

Hi

just bought a TT to get thru the winter. Yes I know you can ride in the winter but for quick sessions without leaving the house it's great. Helps me to fit exercise around the life.

Bought cycleops mag trainer off t'ebay and use it with my old giant ocr 3. Nowt flash.

Questions: do I need to buy a special skewer? and why?
do I need to buy a special tyre? will this be quieter?
is it normal to see your bike frame flex slightly on the TT when at max effort? have I done something wrong?
bloody noisy aren't they?

any answers gratefully recvd.

[IanDarkpeak]

Hi

just bought a TT to get thru the winter. Yes I know you can ride in the winter but for quick sessions without leaving the house it's great. Helps me to fit exercise around the life.

Bought cycleops mag trainer off t'ebay and use it with my old giant ocr 3. Nowt flash.

Questions: do I need to buy a special skewer? and why?
do I need to buy a special tyre? will this be quieter?
is it normal to see your bike frame flex slightly on the TT when at max effort? have I done something wrong?
bloody noisy aren't they?

any answers gratefully recvd.

I don't think you'd need to change skewer, I don't however I use mine with a mountain bike so I use a slick tyre, if it's road bike you should be ok

[Dynamo Dan]

Hi

just bought a TT to get thru the winter. Yes I know you can ride in the winter but for quick sessions without leaving the house it's great. Helps me to fit exercise around the life.

Bought cycleops mag trainer off t'ebay and use it with my old giant ocr 3. Nowt flash.

Questions: do I need to buy a special skewer? and why?
do I need to buy a special tyre? will this be quieter?
is it normal to see your bike frame flex slightly on the TT when at max effort? have I done something wrong?
bloody noisy aren't they?

any answers gratefully recvd.

Mudclawed welcome to the masochistic world of turbo training.....

It's normal for a bike to flex a bit. You don't need a new tyre but purchasing one especially for turbo trainers will stop you knackering your existing tyre. You might want a desk fan to keep cool and a sweat cover for your top tube to stop the sweat from eating through your nice bike!!

[mudclawed]

Thanks DD, it was the flexing that was worrying me most of all. I do want to ride my bike for real next year and can't afford a new one!
Any thoughts on a skewer? I have put my bike on the TT using the cones of the exisiting skewer and sits ok, can I get away with this?

[mudclawed]

I don't think you'd need to change skewer, I don't however I use mine with a mountain bike so I use a slick tyre, if it's road bike you should be ok

Oops, just read this, thanks Ian

[Dynamo Dan]

You can just stick an old tyre on if you don't want instead of buying a special turbo tyre. If you try and keep a good cadence and don't get out of the saddle the bike should flex less too.

[granty]

Hi mudclawed,

you don't need a special skewer as long as the one in your wheel fits the turbo - which it sounds like it does.

I bought a turbo tyre when I first got my turbo but took it off and have never bothered with it since albeit my turbo gets about 20 winter miles every year if it's lucky so tyre wear isn't a concern :-)

Have fun with it - I can't abide the thing although to be fair, doing a 4x5 session was not too bad. I never got a fan either which I think was a mistake

[threerock]

You want a skewer where plenty of metal protrudes beyond the closing lever to engage with the trainer. Taxx trainers (I use 1 of those) definitely need them. You might botch a non-turbo skewer but if it works loose and you fall over mid effort, yoiu could end up with a comedy fractured wrist. I'm sure some googling on Cyclops trainers should clarify the matter.

[(notsomuchofa)Fellrunner]

I've got a Tacx & CycleOPS turbo trainer & they both have specific skewers.

The CycleOPS skewer fits into the little slot on the non cassette side of the rear wheel holder before the bolting mechanism closes in & provides a secure fitting. I'd have thought it was pretty necessary if you don't want to head straight across the room/garage when you least expect it.

http://www.spokesandpedals.co.uk/700co13954.html

http://www.google.co.uk/webhp?source...w=1247&bih=526

[geronimo]

Hi

just bought a TT to get thru the winter. Yes I know you can ride in the winter but for quick sessions without leaving the house it's great. Helps me to fit exercise around the life.

Bought cycleops mag trainer off t'ebay and use it with my old giant ocr 3. Nowt flash.

Questions: do I need to buy a special skewer? and why?
do I need to buy a special tyre? will this be quieter?
is it normal to see your bike frame flex slightly on the TT when at max effort? have I done something wrong?
bloody noisy aren't they?

any answers gratefully recvd.

some good advice already offerred
I had to get a specific skewer for my tacx trainer
fan and something to cover the top tube is good idea as is having a towel to hand
loud music such as ACDC will drown out the noise and make you pedal faster
dont get out of the saddle (I cant see the point anyway)
getting too hot and flexing the frame could be that you are pushing too hard instead of pedalling. concentrate on cadence.