Did a quick search and didnt find an answer, so any help is appreciated!
I’ve been using my Cutthroat with 29x2.2 wheels on my Kickr Core. I have to raise the trainer ~2 inches (forget the exact measurement) so the bike is level. I’ve been using old interlocking 2x2 foam gym flooring for this figuring it would have a little give but I don’t think this is a good long term solution. The trainer always seems slightly off level left or right probably from the material compressing. Also, I’m a little concerned I’m wearing away the tread on the tires when I invariably move the handlebars a bit since the tires are right on concrete.
Any tips on how to keep the bike level? I was thinking of the following…
Raise the Kickr like I’m doing but maybe on something more firm (the Kickr seems to move a bit too much on the gym flooring)
Buy a second, cleap front wheel and put a skinny tire on it to drop the front so the Kickr can sit on the floor.
Get a rigid front mount for the thru axle, so I can build something solid out of 2x4s maybe and get the height
just right. Could use a truck bed style thru axle mount.
Can you measure the actual axle height difference in your setup?
I personally like the front end about 1" higher than there rear and do this on purpose for all my indoor setups. I can touch on the reason behind this if you are interested. I’ve got it listed in another topic that I can link.
I did measure the axle to the floor to find out they were pretty different. I don’t have that handy at the moment. It’s a poured concrete basement floor so I didn’t check the floor itself.
I wanted to make sure it was levelmsoni could really dial in my fit and saddle angle. I think im there now soni could try having the front slightly higher.
Do you have the link handy @mcneese.chad ? If not i can search.
When you have a bike that is perfectly comfortable outside, and then leads to problems when ridden inside, I feel it is important to look at what is different. When you do, there are two key differences.
Lack of wind resistance on the body riding inside. That is a difference that I find because you end up with slightly more weight on the hands and arms, because you don’t have the wind pushing your upper body back.
To compensate for that, I recommend that people raise the front axle about 1"-2" [25mm-50mm] higher than the rear axle. This shifts the weight slightly back onto the saddle and off the hands and arms.
Just little trick I found after riding outside on a bike in perfect comfort, and then having hand pressure and numbness issues around 15 mins into a training session inside. Just a way to alter weight distribution for less force on the hands and arms while inside.
I just checked the measurements, axle to floor. Front wheel is 14 5/8" or 37 cm, Kickr is 12 1/2" or 31.75 cm. Since the difference is close to the 1"-2" you mention, I’ll give it a shot without raising the Kickr or maybe with 1 layer of 1/2" gym flooring (figured a little give would be like a poor man’s rocker plate haha)
Are you also taking note of your saddle tilt angle, for measurement and tweaking purposes?
Take a hardcover book, put it on your saddle, and use your phone level/angle app to measure.
Yeah, adding a squishy mat is a quick and easy way to get at least some “give” and motion. I think that is a very worthwhile step.
Please let me know what you think of the higher front and any motion you add. I’m always interested to hear what works or not for different people. Happy testing
Another vote for keeping your front end raised. Work on your fit outside or when you have the bike off the trainer (for things like making sure saddle is level on flat ground)
That works for when the front is too low. But in this case, with a large 29" MTB wheel and tire, it is the opposite issue. Frank would want to raise the trainer (or drop the front wheel) if anything were to change.
My Cutthroat is boost 15x110 up front and 12x148 in the back. I thought about a cheap wheel but its hard to find a single. I’ll keep my eyes open though.
