Is it just me, or does anyone find that using a direct drive trainer is wearing their aluminum dropouts down? Every time I pull my bike off there seems to be a bit of metal powder on the dropouts.
The quick release is properly tightened, but the QR adapters for my Kickr Core have a bit of free play and I think this might be causing the frame to be able to move.
I have been painting the bare metal of the dropouts with nail polish in an attempt to slow down the wear.
I had a separate issue where my bike seemed to lean in the trainer when attached by QR. Wahoo advised that the QR skewer needs to be clamped down extra tight - that is, beyond the usual “let it leave a mark in your palm” advice. I’ve never noticed the dust but I’m sure I had the same issue if my QR skewer wasn’t properly tight.
Firstly, I’m going to assume your bike has vertical dropouts.
If this is the case, then the only movement that would cause movement and therefore wear would be vertical movement of the bike on the trainer, or excessive side to side twisting. Do either of these sound like things that you could be doing on a regular basis?
I have a Kickr core also and was surprised how sloppy the adaptors were in the Kickr itself (I’m using thru axle) but Wahoo told me that they’re designed this way to allow the bike to move when used alongside the Kickr Climb.
What constitutes “properly tightened” to you? Could you experiment with going a bit tighter and seeing if the problem continues?
Haven’t noticed such issues with my Hammer trainers and aluminum dropouts on my Emonda.
The general guideline for tightening QR skewers is that you should need to use the frame or fork or the body of the trainer to tighten them.
I used to store my bike in an upright position on my trainer (in the case of the Tacx Flux it actually was definitely wearing on my dropouts). I think the sloppy adapters might be causing some noise that didn’t occur when I have used other trainers. It also causes some ambiguity regarding frame alignment.
A bike in a trainer is going to move and flex to some degree or another, but most of the movement is the trainer flexing or moving on your trainer mat, I think.
I think it’s just easy to misalign the bike since the adapters fit into the trainer’s body so loosely. I have had this happen before. I left marks on my dropouts. Of course, I have done while riding the bike before, too… I didn’t notice until I realized the bike wasn’t shifting right.
The Kickr is STILL slowly wearing my dropouts down.
I think I will try applying JB Weld as sacrificial material.
Hi, @BT-7274 I too have a Wahoo Kickr Core using 135/QR and noticed that my Kickr Core has worn where the internal spacer on the drive side of my core meets the add in spacer, so there is a clicking sound. There is also play movement of my bike’s frame. Measuring with a vernier the spacer that fits in the core is bang on 13mm, and shows no sign of wear. However the internal diameter of the nut that secures the hub carrier (before it gets to the inside tube across the turbo, has worn to 13.2mm. This means the spacer is slack on the drive side, but the other side fits perfectly with no clicking.
So it is not wearing my dropouts down, but i imagine it could cause wear if i left it much longer.
Did you manage to get a fix?
I bought a new road bike, and my old bike is a now a dedicated trainer bike, so just don’t worry about it any more… lol
It will probably take years before the dropouts actually wear down to the point of failure.
You can try using some teflon thread tape or maybe some brake pad grease to silence it.
for what it’s worth, I took my bike off, and tightened the skewer all the way down on the adapters, and there is no play when you do this.
I think there’s simply no way for a soft surface being clamped with a quick release to NOT get worn given the forces involved (hundreds pounds).
New bike - that is pretty radical 
Tightening my QR down still left some room for wiggle & clicks.
For the moment I have shimmed where the spacer meets the nut using a cut off from a coke can, which has stopped the movement and made a nice fit. Meanwhile Wahoo are sending me a new spacer and nut (FOC). Far cheaper than a new bike! 
Are you using a steel QR skewer?
Also try putting the trainer on a rubber mat, you’re floor might just be really hard, forcing movement to occur at the dropout.
Are the dropouts parallel? Is the bike in-line with the dropouts? Is the front end wandering /leaning to the side as you ride? Handlebars turned? Is the trainer tilted?
Are you bouncing in your saddle? Is your front tire /fork totally locked in place?
They sent me a new set of adapters and skewer at one point, but I don’t think it made much of a difference. It might have simply been that my bottom bracket was noisy (BB30 + spacers for my 386EVO PM, which got transferred to my new bike).
Now, most of the noise from my trainer now comes from my waxed chain. Liquid oil is probably the best choice as far as noise goes, but I prefer a chain that basically stays clean and is as efficient as possible (so in theory there should be less difference between my road and trainer power).
It still occasionally makes weird noises, but it’s a 13 year-old bike with a press-fit BB… literally anything could be the cause.
