This post is really an update to a post I wrote 2 years ago when I fitted a Tacx trainer tyre on a spare wheel specifically for use on my Wahoo Kicker trainer.
Late last year, after about a years use the Tacx trainer tyre was in bad shape. It had numerous small splits or cracks and while it was fine on a trainer I would certainly not ride a tyre in that condition on the road. I was really quite disappointed with it’s durability. At this point in time I was not using the trainer much so the state of the trainer tyre was not a prime concern.
Then the virus struck and we were all placed into lockdown in one form or another.
As you can imagine I then started to spend a lot of time on the indoor trainer. I have actually been quite enjoying it as it is a quick way to get an intense, focused work out and target areas of training that are difficult to do on the public roads. With public gyms being closed my wife has also been using the trainer as a substitute for her normal gym based sessions. So one way or another the trainer has been getting some serious use these last few months. I have left it permanently set up in the garage with my race bike attached to it. If I ride outside I take my touring bike.
Being uncertain about how long the Tacx tyre would last I ordered another trainer specific tyre, hoping for something better. This time I went for a Vittoria. A change from Blue to Red, nice, as we all know red is faster!
So since march the Vittoria has definitely seen “active service”
This is what is looks like now. As you can see the tread has split and delaminated across significant part of the tyre. You certainly would not want to ride a tyre in this condition on the road. It is working OK on the trainer but I have started to notice a bit of vibration vibration so it is time to replace it again.
Looking back through my data I have ridden about 120 hours / 3,000km on this tyre. That sounds very poor to me, in a year I will ride 10,000km on the road and I certainly don’t get through 3 sets of tyres.
Why do trainer tyres wear out so quickly especially when they are designed for the task?
Let me know how you have got on with trainer tyres, how they are lasting for you?
I thought I’d try another brand to see if it is any more durable and this time I went for a Continental. The only problem with this tyre is that it is black so not to easy to identify as a specific trainer tyre. I have a worry that I will go out on the road on it by mistake! But that got me thinking, perhaps it is something in the colour that makes the tyre less durable? Perhaps. Watch this space.
As a small aside I also notice that the trainer roller is getting worn. The original matt finish has been polished to a smooth shiny surface and there is a slight indentation in the roller. Perhaps my next job will be to replace the roller.
But my last question to you relates to the position of the wear mark on the trainer roller. Notice that it is off set to the left of the tyre contact point. (The photo is taken from behind. Can you explain the mechanics behind why that happens?
rideupgrades 
Do you lean ever so slightly to the right or position more weight on that side while on the trainer, so when you’re actually riding, the bike is not perfectly upright on the trainer, hence the contact patch is offset to the left?
I never used trainer specific tyres, just old worn out ones that I’d removed from road use.
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I am having a similiar issue with the roller and have contacted Wahoo about this (and they didn’t reply which was disappointing). I use an old road tyre as a trainer. There is no information about this issue. I suspect that it’s just a think layer of paint that has been worn off.
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