[CT-Mike]

So I just bought a Cycleops Jet Fluid Pro for the wife to use during the heat of the summer (she has horrible asthma and can't ride in the heat/humidity) and for both of us for the winter.

So I have been doing some reading and see that most people recommend a special tire for use with a trainer.

1 - What are the benefits of a trainer tire?
2- What training tire is most recommended, or are they all basically the same?

Thanks,

Mike

 

[Hank Stamper]

1. Not wasting road tires. And they are cheaper unless you ride really low end tires.
2. Basically all the same.

 

[CT-Mike]

Thanks for the quick reply Hank. I guess I will stop by the LBS where we bought the bikes and see if they have any trainer tires in stock.

I guess eventually I would like to get a couple of rear wheels with training tires to make it easier to swap back and forth.

Thanks again,

Mike

 

[MerlinAma]

This has always been a little bit of a mystery to me.

I always have old road tires laying around that have too many cuts or have minimum tread that work great for trainer tires. Why buy specialty tires?

My old tires are of the Michelin ProRace variety. Having a trainer tire with good traction means you really don't have to put a ton of tension on it to prevent slipping. Another trick is to clean both the tire and roller with alcohol.

If the tire has a few cuts, repair them with Goop. In fact, I use this on tires I'm still riding on the road.

 

[Quixote]

I agree with MerlinAma. When I first saw the price of trainer tires I was like, WTF? If you don't have any beater tires already lying around, I'm pretty sure you can get a Vittoria Zafiro Pro for cheaper than any trainer tire. It's just as tough, and you can take it out on the road. Fixie Hipsters would take a trainer tire out on the road anyway thinking it's cool cuz it matches their bike.

 

[PJ352]

This has always been a little bit of a mystery to me.

I always have old road tires laying around that have too many cuts or have minimum tread that work great for trainer tires. Why buy specialty tires?

My old tires are of the Michelin ProRace variety. Having a trainer tire with good traction means you really don't have to put a ton of tension on it to prevent slipping. Another trick is to clean both the tire and roller with alcohol.

If the tire has a few cuts, repair them with Goop. In fact, I use this on tires I'm still riding on the road.

+1. I see no reason to buy specialty tires. The marketing logic is that they run quieter/ smoother/ cleaner, but IMO/E they're relatively expensive and don't run any quieter/ smoother than a well worn road tire (essentially, 'slicks') and if you wipe the tire and trainer roller down periodically, there isn't that much debris to fret about.