I have aluminum and carbon road bikes with same (endurance) geometry, fit and level (Ultegra). Starting my training plan in late September, finishing early April (28 weeks). Doing one weekly workout outdoor and the rest on indoor trainer (Elite Direto). Maybe squeeze one non structured joy/epic ride per week when time allows.
Just curious, which bike would you put on a trainer?
Aluminum on a trainer and “nice” bike for the road? Or nice bike on a trainer and dedicate aluminum bike as “winter” bike?
Southeast Europe, we don’t have harsh winters, and if it’s wet I just do everything indoor anyway.
Personally, I have my nice bike for outside rides. With disc brakes it has changed a lot. I can use my “nice” bike on winter rides with no problems.
For indoor training I use the “not so nice bike” as I also have concerns about the bike taking a lot of stress on the trainer being fixed in place and can’t sway like on the road.
FWIW, I’m also from southern Europe, although on the western end and also don’t bother going outside when it’s wet. I can always wait a couple of days for good weather, even in winter.
I don’t believe in winter bikes, especially when you live in Southern Europe. I’d keep the nicer riding bike reserved for outdoor duty and the lesser bike for indoor duties. @Johnnyvee raises a good point, too: disc brake bikes are better at handling less-than-ideal conditions. So that might be a factor, too.
Either is fine. I prefer to have the older bike on the trainer because I don’t maintain my indoor setup as frequently, but I’ve also had the nice one on there for periods when I was commuting a lot and it was easier to have the old one ready to go and not have to fiddle with bikes before work.
A carbon frame can also be nicer on rough roads and might be an advantage for climbing and sprinting, which I think tends to be more typical of outdoor riding. Also can’t discount the vanity factor for strava and group rides
I live in SoCal, so harsh weather is rare. That said I have had my nice carbon roadie with Dura Ace and Garmin pedals submerged over the hubs in flood water and it is still doing well.
