Your Turbo Trainer Could Be Trashing Your Bike! | Maintenance Monday

Many of us park up our bikes onto the turbo trainer in the winter, never to see the outdoors until the spring. But this doesn't mean you can leave bike maintenance alone, it still needs love and attention! Manon and Alex show you some top tips to keep your bike in great condition, and how not to destroy your bike on the turbo trainer!

0:00 - Intro
0:32 - Remove your trainer before you move your bike!
1:19 - Cleaning and lubricating your chain
2:14 - Protect your bike from sweat
3:24 - Correctly tightening your trainer
5:10 - Choosing the right tyres

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Have you ever damaged your bike on the turbo trainer? Let us know in the comments!👇

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[Barrygee]

I don’t use my good bike on the trainer, instead I bought the cheapest frame I could find on wiggle and used some spare parts etc to build up a specific training bike…doesn’t need brakes or a rear wheel…cost about £300 to build and has served me well for the last 2 years with no issues

[fepatton]

Key reasons that my Wahoo trainer has a spare, steel bike attached to it. Not worried about tires, rust, carbon breaks, over-tightening, whatever. My primary bike is always available for riding outdoors!

[darinbusse]

I don't think you mentioned it, and it could go a long way to saving your bike while stationary riding: use a fan to mimic the headwind created while riding. This will evaporate the sweat, instead of dripping it all over the bike. Also, I wear a head band to catch the sweat from dripping down. Someone did mention using an older bike for stationary training. I would suggest, if you train a lot indoors, use a dedicated stationary bike and save your real bike for the road. I prefer riding the rollers to a stationary trainer. Then my bike is not clamped down to anything. Plus it is a much more realistic feel to the road. Thanks for the videos. Keep them coming!

[Drzhounder]

Two points. 1. Sweat will also get down the seat post and all the way to your bottom bracket. Clean it all! As a fitter I have seen some destroyed front mechs!
2. If you clean your chain indoors, put down a towel as those chain cleaners will throw water everywhere. And never use then while you bike is on a plug in trainer!

[robertgray]

I use multiple fans, including a window fan in NYC winter sessions, so sweating is minimized. But I also ride the trainer with a headband and summer cycling gloves, both of which prevent sweat getting on the bike.

[sebastiaansiemensma]

Another tip: use an old front wheel on your trainer. Because your wheel is postitioned static you will wear your ball bearings unequally. If you don't have an old wheel, just rotate it every now and then so you will avoid flat spots on your bearings.

[edmcguirk]

Bungee cords from the seat to the brake hoods make a perfect place to drape a sweat towel and keep sweat almost completely off the bike. A little velcro loop will slide up or down the triangle to keep the cords out of the way of your legs.

Also, clean or WD40 underneath the BB where the cables collect sweat and rust until they snap without visible warning.

I have a habit of not moving my hands enough on the indoor trainer so numbness is a problem. I purchased the cheapest triathlon clip on bars to give my hands a rest.

[salsalawyer]

also, if you have a Trek bike with the IsoSpeed rear end, please make sure you set it at the firmest setting. I had used my bike during the lockdown extensively. But I had the setting at the softest setting. I ended up cracking my seat post completely in half. Image turning a metal tab on soda can, back and forth repeatedly. You can imagine how the tension weakens an otherwise strong post.

[KirillAfonin]

I’ve heard another good advice regarding front wheel on a turbo trainer: make sure to turn it 1/4 turn every time you train to even out the load in stationary position.

[supernewb]

Used cheap entry level steely with a 11-12 speed rear mech. Done!

[joanofarc]

I use my old aluminum bike on the turbotrainer. My chain kept hitting my front derailleur on sprints, after checking everything for play and cracks a few times I realized it was actually the frame flexing under heavy loads. I got rid off the problem with some front mech adjustments, but it really made me realize how much strain it puts on a bike

[peterbevan]

Another key point with through axles is whether the thread is single or dual (sometimes unhelpfully called speed-release to keep you confused). I wrecked a hanger with a new through axle of the right pitch and length before working out the axle was single thread and the hanger dual thread.

[jibroniuk]

This is exactly why I purchased a Wattbike Atom. No sense in potentially damaging my Trek Domane SLR (cost me £4k … don’t tell my wife!!). I have the Trek and the Wattbike Atom. That is it!!

[galenkehler]

Buy a cheap carbon frame with thru axles. The front axle can be mounted through a drilled hole in a wooden block (no wheels req)
If you set up the bike as a singlespeed (using erg mode) then you can omit derailleurs, cables and shifters.
If you still need brake hoods, a cheap set of singlespeed brake levers can be obtained.
All in this could cost just a few hundred dollars, and save thousands in repair costs on your regular bike.

[leonh]

Thanks guys for making this video- as someone who works in a bike shop I can honestly say- this would have been so much more relevant 18 months ago... 🙃

[kevinc]

Here's my tip: Always check the skewer before each ride incase it has become loose from the last ride (especially on the long climbing rides). I've had it pop out before. Second tip, when sprinting focus your energy downwards and don't rock the bike side to side as that can crack your rear dropout because it's in a fixed position.

[GregLanz]

I tried a vitorria trainer tire and it lasted less than 3 months. I took DC Rainmaker's advice and used some Continental Gator Skins and they lasted an entire Canadian winter and were still good to ride in the spring.

[CrabgrassFarmer]

If you have disk brakes, put a spacer between your rear brake pads. I use an old credit card folded over, but many things work.

[GeeFunk]

I think the easiest way to do indoor training is to have a dedicated bike/frame for the job. As long as the frame has the desired geometry, you can have any piece of crap used one for the job. I mean you're standing still, it doesn't matter how heavy or aero the frame is.

The things you have to pay attention to is your contact points (handlebar, saddle and pedals) and the moving parts (bottom bracket, gears, the derailleur and the chain and the shifters). Accordingly, I wouldn't spend top money on any of these (okay, maybe it's better not to have the lowest quality moving parts) and you also have to keep in mind that this setup is primarily for t_r_a_i_n_i_n_g purposes that you mainly use in short bursts and/or just in a certain time of the year in your home and it's by no means for showing off before anyone else.

So it's not worth blowing all the money in the world for a setup like that, but it keeps your regular bike always ready on the go (for me it's easier to make a decision where to ride if I can jump either on the bike or the trainer without replacing wheels or (dis)mount the bike off/on the trainer.

EDIT: Also, on the trainer I use wheels/rims and tyres I wouldn't use on the road anymore. Chewed up used tyres can still serve as training tyres for a while. Get a puncture on a turbo trainer, you get off and you're instantly home. How convenient is that?

[j.milleraabamsc]

Who uses a Pinarello F12 with a full Dura Ace groupset on a bike trainer, aside from emperors and oligarchs?