UKC

Any reason I shouldn't be using my "good" full carbon bike for turbo training sessions?

Or should I just go with a CX bike for turbo training sessions.

In reply to subtle:

There was something on the GCN channel on youtube which came to the conclusion there was no reason why not. If you have an old rear wheel you can swap out to save your best tyres it might be worthwhile.

In reply to subtle:

No reason not to, as long as you protect your bike from the sweat and there will be a lot of sweat.

carbon fibre + aluminium alloy + sweat = rapid corrosion of the aluminium alloy

In reply to subtle:

It depends on what quality of carbon the bike has been made with.

In reply to subtle:

Personally, I wouldn't, because I used to have a 1996 Roubaix and there were witness cracks in the thick brittle paint where the joint between the carbon chainstay tube and the alloy dropout was flexing microscopically. I've no doubt that carbon frames are better glued together nowadays but I can't help feeling that the side to side motion would not be good for some frames. I bet the manufacturer's warranty on your frame excludes damage caused by use in a turbo trainer.

Sweat is another thing and I've seen a decent steel bike ruined by sweat and then moisture in a garage and that would damage the alloy parts on your carbon bike. You can always protect the bike with a towel though.

In reply to subtle: it depends
http://road.cc/content/feature/216681-it-okay-use-your-bike-turbo-trainer

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Thats not what this says. I have to say its hard to see why a turbo would place a bike under any more stress than riding on tarmac.

https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/video/is-it-safe-to-use-carbon-bikes-o...

In reply to subtle:



You need to avoid getting it wet as it will melt, therefore using the turbo and the resulting sweat will be a bad idea.

In reply to GrahamD:



thats because when you rock from side to side on your bike the rear wheel rocks with you. On a turbo the wheel is locked upright and you impose lots of twisting force on the rear triangle and drop out mountings

In reply to kevin stephens:

I'd have thought you put the same sort of stress as you would standing and rocking a bike op a climb or sprinting. In both cases your forces aren't aligned through the axis of the bike.

If GCN channel is to be believed manufacturers don't see a problem with it either. In any case Carbon is generally better than Aluminium for degrading under repeated stress cycling so using a carbon rather than Aluminium bike on a turbo makes sense.

In reply to Rigid Raider:


Bike not not really a lot of use for Roubaix either, then

In reply to GrahamD:


GCN also do video turbo sessions run by the team (Matt's especially good). Lots of carbon on show in these.

In reply to GrahamD:
"...> If GCN channel is to be believed manufacturers don't see a problem with it either. In any case Carbon is generally better than Aluminium for degrading under repeated stress cycling so using a carbon rather than Aluminium bike on a turbo makes sense."

In the Road.cc article it states that Specialized thing use of a turbo may void the warranty.

I tried using a turbo for a bit but found if so tedious I gave up, better to buy some winter kit and get outside.
I'm going to try ans get out on the MTB as much as possible this winter coming.

In reply to subtle:

I work in a bike shop, all our brands would and mostly have rejected warranty cases on cracked carbon frames used in turbos. The cracks all appear in a specific place and so its not hard to work out what has done the damage.

My advice would be not to use carbon frames in turbos because as mentioned above the frame is not allowed to flex as it wants to and therefore cracks.

In reply to subtle:
I was knocked off my bike 5 years ago and the result was the bottom bracket shell now moves in my carbon framed bike. As I got a replacement bike as part of the compensation, it now is permanently on my turbo trainer.
It hasn't cracked yet.

In reply to gethin_allen:



Amen to that !

In reply to subtle:

Riding your good bike feels so much better than any compromise. You will never be able to replicate your favourite setup and position. When I was still training indoors many years ago I therefore preferred rollers over turbo trainers.

Takes a bit to get used to, but has the added advantage of improving your cycling posture and steering precision.

Of course, as the wheels are not clamped and hence can tilt and move sideways, the exaggerated frame flexing is not an issue.

CB

In reply to cb294:

How do rollers create resistance? Do they have a brake? They look fiendishly difficult to use.

In reply to Rigid Raider:

Mainly inertia and internal friction, but some models have small turbo type resistive brakes. To crank up the load you just go faster. Looks much harder than it actually is, after a few minutes or half an hour at most you should be able to do it like normal cycling, without having to concentrate on staying centred.

CB

In reply to cb294:

Rollers are brilliant. You can do a session with your tyres at a lower px to increase resistance.

In reply to subtle:

I have the kurt kinetic rock and roll, it does what it says on the tin !
youtube.com/watch?v=b_ZrCpdqAlA&

In reply to chris fox:

That looks good.