I Wouldn’t Buy That: Trainer Wheel Support
January 9th, 2008 by JoelGuelphIntroducing a new series called “I Wouldn’t Buy That”. In it we will make recommendations concerning products you shouldn’t buy. Where appropriate, we will identify a “Blue Collar” solution.
The intent is not to point out where your LBS is hosing you, as many people prefer the simplicity of an off the shelf product, but to point out where you can save some money with a DIY solution. In many cases your LBS may be offering you a more cost effective solution by selling you a new part, rather than paying for the labour for a mechanic to repair it. However, if you do the labour yourself, the savings can be considerable.
Check out other Blue Collar How-To’s here.
Now for the first item:
Front wheel supports for bicycle trainers are expensive pieces of plastic. There are a few reasons to purchase one of these. First, if you are concerned with the appearance of the room in which the trainer is set up in. Chances are you aren’t since you are bringing your bike into the room in the first place. Another reason I have heard is that hey won’t slip on a slippery floor. Potentially a valid point if you do a lot of standing sprints on your trainer, and have slippery floors, but the riser must have anti-slip pads, which not all do. Also if it truly is a problem, there is a DIY solution for the DIY block.
Although I disagree with paying $20 ($29!) or more for these products, I don’t disagree with their function. Riding a trainer with the front wheel on the floor can be extremely uncomfortable, plus the fact that your bike geometry will feel weird when you get back on the road or trail.
My personal solution is my local phonebook. I basically eyeballed the distance of my rear wheel from the ground and then wandered around the house until I found something to jam under the front wheel. It should be pretty easy to measure with a tape measure if you want to find the perfect object. It is best to find one solid object as opposed to a stack of objects. If you were to stack up a pile of hardcover books, they will likely slide on each other and eventually collapse.
My first thought was a 12″ length of 4″x4″, but I quickly discovered that the 4″ width did not provide enough stability. Try to find something squarish, or at least 8″ square. I have seen people build little stands out of scrap wood, by nailing 2″x4″s to a base piece but I have never had a problem keeping the front wheel straight, so I don’t see the benefit. If you are have a slippage problem, try attaching pieces of cut-up innertube to the bottom of your riser block, or using a mat that goes from the trainer feet to the block.
What do you use? Any other off-the-shelf items like phonebooks that work for you?
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I agree but I also would not waist my time building something. Just use a couple books for gods sake. You don’t need stability, specially if you ride outdoors once in a while. Actually Rollers would be out of the question if someone is looking for so much stability.
I’ll stick with my Kurt Kinetic ring to support my front wheel. Besides I don’t want to carry around a big hunk of wood or a stack of books to our team trainer rides or to races for warming up.
I see your point, but for the simplistic design of the first one you have listed I use them about 3 times a week on my trainer at home. Maybe it is more of a roadie mentality. You can buy multiple and stack them, or better yet put books under them to stack it up.
I used a open phone book for years until I was truly training, out of the saddle wrenching on the handlebars when my front wheel slid off the phone book and I about crapped my pants. Not yet have I had my front wheel pop out of the plastic designed one with various grooves in it.
Plus I’m not very handy with wood.
I always got a plastic riser for free with the trainer, but a blue collar solution I used once was a shoe. Just put it under your front tire so the tire sits on the tongue and rests against the heel. It holds the wheel just high enough and the shoe’s sole keeps it steady.
What about other solutions instead of trainers? Something like making a set of rollers out of some old conveyor belt rollers. Anyone had any success with that? I plan on trying it this Winter sometime.
I like this column. I’d add rollers to your list of things that are a waste of money. I bought some and have rolled around on them for hours upon hours. All those wonderful things they promise- that I wouldn’t pedal like a square-shaped bowlegged novice newbie in his first time in a paceline, have the balance of a mountain goat, well, they just don’t really help. Sure, I bet that they have done some good, but I bet i’d be in better shape if I just rode up some steep hills and worked on my fitness instead. It sure would have been a lot less boring. One thing they do do-you get really good at riding on rollers.
I’m not saying it won’t work for you, but to me it all seemed like a big placebo. For pros working analysing minute details of their pedal stroke, yes. For novice riders, well, save your money and go ride in the real world.
Dust, try looking on instructables.com…you may find something useful there
I just use the yellow pages - nice and thick - just the right height. And after I’m done a ride, I don’t have to go far to order a pizza!
Cheers.
I never really considered that some people need a portable solution. Also, I didn’t think that people rode trainers outside. As a Canadian, I use my trainer and rollers only when I can’t hit the trails and road on a regular basis, i.e. during winter.
The Yellow Pages are working great for me, but as has been noted above, there are situations where the pre-fab blocks make sense.