So I’ve flatted out three tubes this winter on my Kickr Snap. Anyone else had this happen to them - esp. multiple times? I put in a trouble ticket @ wahoo, but just curious from the forum.
I run a 23mm Vittoria slick with Conti tubes on a road rim, 100psi / 6.8 - 7 mb. Every ride I tighten down the clutch per wahoo guidelines (2 1/4 turns, I think), then run a spindown before my workout, then de-tension the Snap after each ride, so the tire stays under stress only during the effort.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I be running more/less pressure? Seems like I shouldn’t be risking any pinch flats at the pressure I’m running at, and I use good quality tubes.
May be water under the bridge at this point, since I’m hoping to pick up a Kickr in the near future, but frustrating nonetheless knowing I’m going to have to pull the rim and seat a new tube in the tire before I can do my next ride.
I had a Kickr Snap for a full season and NEVER flatted once. I did my Knighthood on it and even bought a spare tire as well as a couple tubes. Was using a conti trainer tire and tubes also 23mm.
Kept at 100 psi and did everything else you did.
Is there possibly a burr on the rim? Less likely but is there a rough spot on the drum? How certain are you that there’s no debris stuck in the tire itself? Are you able to pinpoint the location of the flat? Is it always in the same place?
At the end of the day, it could just be rotten luck.
Fwiw, I loved my Snap as it was a great wheel on trainer but have absolutely ZERO regrets getting the Kickr (and the Climb) despite the significantly higher cost. It’s just a lot more engaging and a LOT less EFfing about.
While I do not have a Snap, when I pump up my front tire on my Tacx Neo, I also rotate the tire a little bit. That way the same part of the tire is not always under pressure. It also prevents the same spokes from being under pressure.
I had a run of flats on my Kinetic Road machine - 3 in a week which I eventually tracked down to a slight knick in the tyre which I think was causing a hotspot causing the tube to fail.
I would put money on it being what @Glen.Coutts said about a burr. I had this problem for years on my dumb trainer, the punctures became more frequent as the rubber rim tape perished and exposed the inner tube to the sharp edges of the spike holes, fitted new cloth rim tape and never had the problem again.
Had this sort of experience with my old Tacx Flow trainer. See:
Gave up in the end and bought a Kickr Core which I am very pleased with - it’s night and day compared to the old Flow.
In retrospect I wonder if my issues were caused by the wheel not being perfectly true, but that doesn’t really explain why the punctures were in different locations.
Thanks @Glen.Coutts and @JGreengrass. Got home and fixed everything up. No easy answer, I’m afraid. Small puncture on the drum side of the tube, so not rim related. Checked the rim anyway and found no issues. Rim tape is good, with no pointy bits from spokes or rim, but went ahead and replaced anyway. Nor any debris or foreign objects compromising the tire. It still has some life in it, but I will likely replace it anyway.
Checked the drum as well, though I maintain and clean it monthly, so nothing to report there either.
Best I could do was mark the spot on the bad tube, and if it happens again I can compare I guess.
…or just convince the Mrs. to let me get the Kickr and consign the Snap to the youngsters.
So yay! Very excited to take the new toy “out” for a spin.
Only one issue as I see it coming out of the gate - that shiny new 11 speed cassette. Obviously I didn’t think this through.
I’m running 9 speeds still on my road bike. As I understand it, I could put a 10 speed cassette on the Kickr with a spacer, and my 9 speed drivetrain should still be mostly compatible, but short of new shifters and a new wheel set (for the road), I’m thinking I’ll be running it “as is” for the near future.
No problem in ERG mode, for the most part, but given how much I like but given how often I prefer level mode, not sure how this will play out.
You can install a 9 speed cassette. Just use the spacer the KICKR came with. You put that on first.
I just bought an inexpensive, aluminum frame bike to live exclusively on my KICKR because I was increasingly worried about damaging my carbon bike. Part of what made it cheap was that it has an 8 speed Claris groupset. That installed perfectly on my KICKR with the included spacer. I’ve also installed a 10 speed cassette, also using the same spacer.
Thanks @RServranckx and @AkaPete. I was able to solve my “issue”. I didn’t get set up into Shimano until this bike, so no expert, but I swear I’d read specs somewhere during the 9spd - 10spd transition that Shimano had raised the splines on their hubs for the 10spd so that the narrower gauged cassettes could have more contact area for support. Supposedly that meant you could put 10/11 speed cassettes on a 9spd hub, but couldn’t put a 9spd on anything else.
I was also reluctant to make any changes, as the Kickr’s 11spd cassette was SO shiny and new, but turns out the installed cassette isn’t particularly great (no offence, Wahoo), so I lost my shiny/new impulse and mounted a 9spd Ultegra cassette onto the Kickr, and kept a Dura Ace 10spd on my road wheels. Indexing isn’t quite perfect w my 9spd shifters, but I fiddled with the derailleurs and the spacers on the cassette and my shifters run the 10spd cassette just fine.
Glad it’s working. You can pick up a 9 speed shimano cassette for around $30. Maybe you can suggest it as a Father’s Day gift if you don’t have a birthday coming up. Better than socks!
