Trainer with a Hybrid

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Hi there,

I am thinking of getting this CycleOps Mag trainer:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BT577G/

to use with my hybrid Trek 7500 circa 1999 (men's):

http://www99.epinions.com/bike-Bicycles-All-84339-Trek_7500_SHX__1999

Problem: All of the stuff I have read about trainers say that they are made for road bikes, and that you should definitely NOT use a mountain bike. The info says nothing about hybrids. I have regular hybrid tires that are a little bumpy. Other people say the tires should be smooth...

* Can I use the CycleOps trainer with my Trek?
* Do I need to get the smooth tires for my Trek?

Thanks for your advice.

Hi there,

I am thinking of getting this CycleOps Mag trainer:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000BT577G/

to use with my hybrid Trek 7500 circa 1999 (men's):

http://www99.epinions.com/bike-Bicycles-All-84339-Trek_7500_SHX__1999

Problem: All of the stuff I have read about trainers say that they are made for road bikes, and that you should definitely NOT use a mountain bike. The info says nothing about hybrids. I have regular hybrid tires that are a little bumpy. Other people say the tires should be smooth...

* Can I use the CycleOps trainer with my Trek?
* Do I need to get the smooth tires for my Trek?

Thanks for your advice.

Hi-

Sure, you can cetainly use a hybrid on a trainer. You'll need to do one of two things:
1) change out your rear tire to a trainer tire or a road tire
2) get a second rear wheel and sprocket with a road tire or a trainer tire on it.
3) change out both the front and rear tires to road tires


The second wheel scenerio is the good one if the hybid is your only bike, as it makes it easy to simply change the wheel when you want to ride outside and change back when you want to ride the trainer. If you want to only have one wheel, the preference would be to change both the front and rear tires to road tires, so you can easily use the bike either on the road or on the trainer.

You could use your regular hybid tire, but it's probably going ot increase the noise level when on the trainer, and it will definitely wear your tire, and possibly throw the wheel out of whack.

hope this helps
FF

Dear Friendly Fred,

Thanks for the info! I think I'll get a smooth tire for my back wheel.
I moved from NYC to Philly not too long ago, and the cycling options are not as good here as they were in NYC. My poor bike has not seen much action.