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Found: Bike Trainer Tape offers stick on protection for pricey treads?

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It’s peak trainer season for most of us, and if your bike is mounted up your tires are at risk. Stationary trainers put a lot of wear and tear very quickly into your rear tire because the drum has to be forced tightly into the tire to prevent slipping, and you’re riding in the same spot of the tire the entire time. For most of us, that leaves three options – just deal with accelerated wear to your tires and replace them at the start of the season, mount up one of your old tires to a spare wheel, or go full out with a dedicated trainer wheel and trainer tire which are said to offer better grip on the drum.

Apparently, there’s now a fourth option which involves tape. Yes, Bike Trainer Tape is an adhesive protective layer that is meant to be applied directly to your tire with claims of keeping those pricey tires in good shape…

Sold in 20 meter rolls for $12.95 with free shipping, each roll is said to provide 40-80 hours of protection. That breaks down into about 10 applications of tape that will last 4-8 hours depending on roller pressure and rider wattage. They point out that the higher the pressure and wattage, the faster the tape will wear out. If removed within the recommended time frame, Bike Trainer Tape should not leave any residue on the tire allowing you to remove the tape and hit the road.

biketrainertape.com

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33 Comments
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Rixter
7 years ago

Looks like a solution looking for a problem. If I put that in my wheel then have to remove to go for a ride and then reapply, it’s going to get very expensive

Crash Bandicoot
Crash Bandicoot
7 years ago
Reply to  Rixter

Hit the nail on the head, In addition a cheap tire is close to that cost with the added benefit of you having the ability to train on/ pit that wheel/tire.

elvis
elvis
7 years ago

Well, just playing a little devils advocate here but this might be nice for trainer warmups in crit season (or maybe even cx?)

anonymous
anonymous
7 years ago
Reply to  elvis

You must have really expensive fast wearing tubs if it’s worth spending money on tape for every warmup.

BMW
BMW
7 years ago

Go to your local bike shop, give the person working the service counter $10, and ask if they have any worn out tires in your size laying around. If they don’t, still give them the ten spot, and ask them to call you when they get one. Problem solved.
Tire tape….I’ve now heard it all.

Scotty
Scotty
7 years ago

I haven’t seen accelerated wear from my Elite trainer since the pressure is based on my position and my fat ass.

Another alternative is to buy a trainer that doesn’t use the rear wheel.

NDE
NDE
7 years ago

Someone like me only has 1 wheelset and they are set up tubeless. I don’t want to swap out tires just for the trainer. I also can not afford a direct drive trainer so this actually is an OK solution to a non-slick road tire.

Seraph
Seraph
7 years ago
Reply to  NDE

Just get a beat up old wheel and put a decent trainer tire on it. You should be able to get a wheel, tire, and cassette for less than $150 if you do a little digging.

Chris
Chris
7 years ago
Reply to  Seraph

That or ride rollers. Bonus being rollers are a lot more fun.

Greg
Greg
7 years ago
Reply to  Chris

Those of us who ride rollers do, those that don’t complain about trainer tape.

dlh (@dlspace108)
4 years ago
Reply to  NDE

I like the convenience of using the trainer with the wheel on and don’t want to have to swap out the complicated rear wheel with cluster, etc. so the tape seems a good solution and in the Winter likely would just be training indoors anyway. Have another older bike if I need fresh air so the tape seems a great solution for Winter training. Another really interesting option would be a cover for the wheel that’s made of polyurethane or some other silicon that would be tight and protect the tire and the roller because what I heard is that the real issue with the trainer type I have is scratching up the roller from a dirty tire and then that in turn damages tires so a real no-win situation so puts a rather high value on a good match for a very clean connection with the roller or whatever that thing is that the tire presses agains at the back of the Wahoo trainer. Of course cleaning off the tire is an option but a lot of trouble and tedious to get it really scrupulously clean, but I also read in comments on a site that trainers can wear out tires just by the pressure on the resistance pad and length of time they are used as well as other parameters of their use.

bob marley
bob marley
7 years ago

Until it wraps itself around your cassette and destroys your drive train. Would be best to apply a soft tape to the roller on the trainer. Uses less tape and only a foot long or so depending on the roller so its less likely to get tangled when you inevitably wear through it. Would love to know what this tape was originally intended for.

Flatbiller
Flatbiller
7 years ago

I’m waiting for the non-aerodynamic indoor trainer helmet. No vents, not aero, just a big foam block with a chin strap. And glasses, but without the lenses, just the frames. You know, for the indoors.

Ric Liang
Ric Liang
7 years ago
Reply to  Flatbiller

I just about spat out my coffee all over my keyboard when I read your comment! LOL

Chris
Chris
7 years ago
Reply to  Flatbiller

Bravo…….bravo…

jason at Kinetic
jason at Kinetic
7 years ago
Reply to  Flatbiller

Well there goes our big product launch at Eurobike. Did you hack my email?

Bk
Bk
7 years ago

wouldn’t it be similar to apply the rubberized tape to the metal rollers themselves?

nightfend
nightfend
7 years ago

This does not really solve the main problem which is heat building up in the tire casing, causing the casing to eventually degrade and “bubble” out in certain spots, ruining the tire. Much better to use a dedicated tire for the trainer that is cheap.

Mick
Mick
7 years ago
Reply to  nightfend

Bingo!

Ish27
Ish27
7 years ago

I solved this long ago. Wrap the fibrous ankle tape used for sprains or to wrap hockey sticks around the roller. Gives velcro traction without wheel slip at high torque levels. It is the wheel slip which causes the accelerated wear(like skidding). The heat will melt the tape creating a nice bond to the roller. The tape will wear out before your tire, but I only replace it 1-2 times per year.

dlh (@dlspace108)
4 years ago
Reply to  Ish27

Why would you want to bond to the roller?

Fat Bike Freak
7 years ago

Get a Fat Bike and some studded tires and never train indoors again…

Double ZZ
Double ZZ
7 years ago

Flatbiller, you need to work for NASA, or on a Formula 1 Team. Super Smart and hilarious.

dustytires
7 years ago

Fatty is right, get a fat bike and go ride outside. Dont we spend enough time inside as it is? To sit on a bike trainer looking at another f’in screen?! Whatta tri geeks do? have a treadmill to run nowhere on looking at a screen with some cartoon to chase? Riding a fat bike is probably even better than rollers for building skill too? Wouldn’t that me nice, roadies with better bike handling!

WhatchyouKnowAboutEthic
WhatchyouKnowAboutEthic
7 years ago

More limited-use landfill plastic. A cool idea, and I’m sure it fits well in various scenarios, but the idea of constantly reapplying is sort of a bummer.

They are like.. 60% there.

edge
edge
7 years ago

when my bike is on the trainer…it’s there for a couple of months so this works for me.

bbb
bbb
7 years ago

“It’s peak trainer season for most of us”

Really? Who is “us”?

jlg
jlg
7 years ago
Reply to  bbb

Cyclist

Steve@ Bike Trainer Tape

The tape is actually very popular with Triathletes and beginner-Intermediate cyclists. Honestly, for people who are spending thousands of dollars on bikes and gear, 12.95 every 3-4 months is not a big investment, given the convenience.

Also works for Time Trial warm-ups.

meowmix093284
7 years ago

I’ve been using it with success. It’s a lot of tape for the money and allows for good traction. No more slipping problems when a tire has been used too much.

Brian
Brian
7 years ago

How much different is this than electrical tape?

Joan or Arc
Joan or Arc
7 years ago

It isn’t. Go to Home Depot and buy wide electrical tape for half the price. Actually, don’t. It is worthless and will leave residue all over your tires and drum. If you are lucky (unlike me), when you use it, it won’t unwrap all over your trainer drum and cassette…

Lauren
Lauren
10 months ago

Tape actually may be exactly what I need for my personal situation. It’s actually a solution to a very real problem—going through tires quickly and properly disposing of them is no fun. I’ve searched high and low for a trainer tire for an old bike I use on my indoor trainer, but I still have not found one in the side I need (27×1.25). Tape would solve both of my problems. Plus, it’s much cheaper than a trainer tire.

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