Today’s questions are about how to place your rear tire on rollers and stationary trainers…

Need to know whats the distance or how the back wheel should be placed on a roller? Because the way I have now it’s wearing my back tire, thanks

Hi I have a roller but it uses up my rear wheel pretty much, could it be the the two back rollers are too far apart? Is there a way to place the to back rollers for a better ride? please help
thanks.

Well I would assume these guys mean the roller of a stationary trainer…

But, if we’re talking about rollers:

Tire Placement on Rollers

If you’re talking about rollers, you can’t really change the back wheel position. On all the rollers I know of, the back two drums are set in place.

You can’t change the back drums, and there is no need to mess with them unless your rollers are defective. Your wheel is a circle and will naturally center itself between the two drums.

While we’re on the topic, about a stationary trainer:

Tire Placement on a Stationary Trainer

Stationary trainers are known for eating away at rear tires because of the pressure used to press it against the drum. Since the bike doesn’t move or lean like it would outdoors, all this pressure is concentrated on a very small portion of the tire’s tread, leading to a worn out tire.

You can’t completely avoid this, but setting up the trainer properly will help maximize tire life and riding comfort.

First, make sure things are clean. Wipe down the tire and roller surface using isopropyl alcohol.

Second, inflate the tire to its maximum pressure. This should be about 110-130psi.

Third, tighten down the roller.

Typically you tighten things down until the roller is just tight enough on the tire that it doesn’t skip when you ride. It should be no tighter than is necessary.

Start out by tightening it down some, just until the drum touches the tire. Then give the tire a quick tug and see if it slips. You should pull in the direction of rotation, i.e. up and back when pulling from behind. If the tire slips, tighten a bit more.

Once the wheel no longer slips when yanked by hand, get on the bike and ride. If the wheel skips, tighten the knob a bit more. Repeat as necessary.

Like I said, you’ll still get tire wear, though. That’s the nature of the beast known as the indoor trainer.

Your best defense is good tire selection. You could use cheap, heavy tires or invest in a Continental Trainer Tire that is made specifically to last long on an indoor trainer.

If you’re using a nice, expensive tire on your indoor trainer, that’s a bad idea! You’ll waste a lot of money!

Lastly, after your workout, loosen the drum so it’s not pressed against the tire. If you leave it tightened down when not in use, the tire will develop a flat spot and will ride terribly.

Put these tips into action each time you set up your indoor trainer and you should have less hassle, more comfort, and increased tire life.

As winter is approaching, indoor trainers will become more and more popular (and more and more despised, at the same time.) Here’s a question about which one to get…

I am 49 and late getting into the cycling game. I found your site and like it. Just wondering what is a good stationary trainer to get.
-Kevin

Hi Kevin,

Glad you like my site, and welcome to cycling!

Before I talk about stationary trainers, I should mention that I greatly prefer riding rollers. But if you insist on getting a stationary trainer, here are my thoughts:

There are two trainers out there that are highly regarded. First, the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine, seen here. It looks like most other trainers, but the quality is top-notch.

Second, there is a small company which makes the 1UpUSA Trainer, seen here. This trainer has a unique design and has won many awards, so I encourage you to take a look.

But those trainers are in the $300-400 range, which is a lot of dough for something that’s not much fun to ride!

If you look slightly lower, in the $250-300 range, there is a very popular trainer called the CycleOps Fluid 2, seen here. This is a very common trainer to be seen in bike shops for doing bike fittings, and based on the number of reviews out there, many cyclists must own this themselves.

But of course, opinions vary. You will see a wide range of reviews covering this trainer at RoadBikeReview.com and MTBR.com.

That seems to be the case with almost every trainer in the $50-250 price range though. No one trainer is going to please everyone.

If you don’t mind choppy resistance and lots of noise, a $75 trainer might be great for you. If you need super smooth resistance and perfect silence, you probably won’t be happy unless you fork over the $350.

It can be a tough decision. So that means doing some more research and maybe trying out a few trainers on your own is a good idea. If there’s one specific model you’re looking at, here are places to see reviews:

Trainer Reviews at RoadBikeReview.com
Trainer Reviews at MTBR.com

Do your research, but don’t over analyze the decision or it will be summer again before you pick the right one! Good luck, I hope you find a good one for your needs!

P.S. Don’t forget the Spinervals indoor trainer workout DVDs!