So last year, I switched to road tubeless after getting sick and tired of winter punctures. Problem is, I’ve been a bit apprehensive about running the tubeless tyres on a wheel-on (Kurt Kinetic Road Machine) turbo trainer, so I keep switching between rear wheels with the other running a tubed GP4000S II. As you can imagine, it’s a bit of a faff!
I was just wondering if anyone has any experience running tubeless tyres on a turbo? Have you run into any issues? I guess I’m concerned the heat may have some negative effect on the sealant, or the tyre may not remain seated, go flat and make a latex mess all over the trainer and floor! Tia
I went tubeless last year too, and I am soooo glad I did. First on my gravel bike, then the road bike, and I’ve had one puncture in 10,000km between both bikes, and that was a large hunk of metal that gashed the sidewall right near the rim.
Anyway, I have the Road Machine too, and tubeless is not a problem. Since the fall, though, I’ve ditched the RM for the InsideRide rollers, again with no problems.
Well… one problem. In the middle of a TR session, I heard a hiss coming from the back wheel, and I expected to dismount and find white goop all over the living room. Turns out the valve stem had worked its way through the rim bed. How? Likely because it was a Stan’s stem with the little round rubber mushroom top combined with rims that the manufacturer recommends NOT running tubeless.
I changed out to Orange Seal stems that have a big square mushroom, and no problems since.
So in my experience, tubeless works fine on trainers.
Sorry if this is skipping past the tubeless idea… but…
If you can find an old rear wheel/casette just lying about or have access to one cheaply, I’d suggest getting a trainer specific tyre and mounting that onto the old wheel. They wear much much slower and are a lot quieter than regular tyres. Not all that expensive either and last a long time.
Here’s one:
Other brands have them too. I use a stock wheel from a lower end road bike that someone didn’t use anymore post-upgrade and it works a treat.
Thanks @Brando - I’m actually doing something similar to this already, but this is what I’m trying to move away from…
I’m using an old rear wheel with shot bearings, but it’s fine for turbo use. I’ve stuck a GP4000 tyre on there which was damaged whilst fairly new but works for turbo duties - I’ve actually been pretty impressed at how well GP4000’s resist trainer wear, at least with the KK RM.
But I want to use my turbo bike daily to commute, which would mean having to swap wheels twice a day - a bit of a chore! Hence I’m hoping I could just leave my tubeless tyre/wheel combo on and stick it on the turbo when I get home, and then just take it off and ride the next morning.
