Newbie bike maintenance question. When I was setting my bike up on my Kickr Snap I noticed the distance between my tire and the roller is not consistent. How bad is this? Do I need to take my bike into a shop?
Here it is in two photos, without adjusting the trainer:
It’s possible that your rim is fine, but the tire is not round, or not seated evenly on the rim.
I’d set up some sort of pointer (piece of cardboard stuck to the frame, or just hold a pen on the frame) lined up with the outer edge of the rim, spin the wheel and check whether the rim is round. If it is round then the problem is your tire, which might be a fix as simple as removing and reinstalling, making sure it’s centered properly on the rim. If the wheel is not round, then it’s time to take it to the bike shop.
From zooming in to your pictures it looks like the bead may not be seated properly.
If you look at the picture I’ve attached you can see the difference between where it’s seated properly and incorrectly. Where it’s seated correctly you should be able to see the edge of the bead evenly around the rim.
If it’s not seated correctly then remove the tyre and lubricate the tyre bead with a little soapy water then refit it and the tyre should pop in to place.
if you’re not using an indoor tyre (and looking at the pictures it appears that you don’t) I’d strongly suggest you get one. rides a lot smoother with less abrasion
Thanks all for the advice. This seems to be the problem! I’m going to need some practice taking off and replacing tires though… Tried it this morning and I think the bead is still not set consistently.
Yeah, I plan to get one soon. Any recommendations?
I can recommend Tacx indoor tire. I rode with it about 12k km (Z-game virtual) without visible wear or any other problem (then I sold the trainer including the tire).
I got the cheapest one I could find. it’s been running for several thousand km now
@thomaslee Try pumping up to max PSI. Sometimes it will pop itself in and sometimes you can rock it back and forth a bit and it will also reset. Definitely get a trainer tire - the rubber is different and better suited to the trainer.
Sometimes tires just don’t want to seat properly, no matter what you do. But at least you know your rim is round. The fact that the tire isn’t round means that the pressure on the trainer spindle won’t be constant, but as long as it’s not slipping, it should be fine.
I’ve never tried trainer tires, so can’t offer any advice or opinions there. On my rollers, I’ve been using old road tires that are worn enough I don’t want to use them outside, but they’re doing just fine on the trainer.
