Puncture after puncture on T2240 with Tacx Trainer Tyre

General Discussion
1

Hi, all.

I’m in desperate need of some help so I hope I’ve come to the right place. Mods, if this is in the wrong place, please feel free to move it.

I’ve got a T2240 trainer and am using a Tacx Trainer Tyre.

During my rides last winter, I started to get a lot of punctures in a very short space of time. I think I had five or six in total over for or five rides.

Every time, these punctures are pin sized holes in the centre of the inner tube on the outside (roller side).

I tried absolutely everything to fix it at the time, but have had no success and have just had my first puncture after my third ride back on Zwift since stopping in April.

I’ve tried patching the tube (twice), I’ve tried two separate, brand new tubes, two wheels (a Cero AR30 and a cheaper Shimano rim, both of which are well taped and smooth on the inner face of the rim), different brands of tube and also had Tacx send me a replacement tyre, in case it was that. Nothing’s worked!

The roller is clean, the tyre is clean, my tyre pressure is at 105psi which seems optimal in everything I read and calibrates perfectly, in the centre of the scale.

I ride in a cold garage throughout the winter so I wondered if there’s a big difference in roller and tyre heat but neither ever feel more than luke warm, even after a long or hard ride.

Does anyone have any idea what could be causing this issue? Should I ask Tacx for a replacement trainer? I’m completely lost and frustrated at the moment!

Any help is massively appreciated.

Thank you,

Ste.

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2

Trainer tires are very hard thats why you should ride them like on the road.
If your tire is skidding when you push it then I would go with more pressure on the
knob to tire so when you calibrate it should be close to the edge on the right.
Use only butyl tubes and use a new one,

My nephew blew two tires without enough pressure.

If the tire is still skidding when added more pressure, I would try with a regular tire but maybe
not a brand new one.

I would put a heater fan on the back wheel when you use a trainer tire but on a low setting and just try to up
the tire and the roller to a little bit os higher temperature.

Lastly I would cut up an innertube and glue it with vulcaniser on the inside the tire just making
it wide as contactpoint but the whole way around. and reuse old tires if not too bad.

Try one thing at a time.
Hope it helps

3

Thanks for the reply, Robban. My plan is to increase the pressure because that’s the only variable I haven’t changed.

I don’t have any wheel skidding or slipping at all and the calibration seems spot on. There also doesn’t seem to be much heat generated at all. Even so, I’m happy to try anything at this stage!

4

Well the tire needs some heat to grip

Old rubber is also slippery or hard but I presume the tires you have used are new.

By the problem you have it seems like you get a hot spot.

5

Well the only thing that’s been consistent throughout is the tyre pressure, so I’ll raise that and see what happens!

Thanks again. I’ll report back after the next few rides (or before if it punctures again!).

6

Remember that more contact is better for you…therefore less pressure in tire and more pressure from the roller.

7

Everyone is telling me to raise the pressure and you’re saying to drop the pressure or decrease tension with the roller.

The trouble is, if I decrease roller tension then calibration is off. So I’d need to drop the tyre pressure to do that.

Isn’t a lower pressure in the tyre going to increase heat because of more friction? And heat is what you’re saying is causing the puncture?

8

You misread me…more pressure from roller…increase tension

If you reduce pressure in tire by 1bar and put more tension on the tire = wider rubber patch on the roller

Dont be afraid if it tension calibration is not totally centered… in fact I saw a guy on youtube where he
increased tension and was closer to the real world when it comes to watts
I used to run close to the right hand line in the calibrator…until I changed trainer.

9

Talcum powder the tube thoroughly and you should be ok. Friction against the inside of the tire is slowly abrading the tube; the talc acts as a dry lube. Hope that helps!

10

Try a high quality tube with sealant inside. It’s amazing to me how many people I’ve spoken to that won’t take my advice on the sealant route, they just keep getting puncture after puncture in their tubes. WHEN I used tubes in my road tires, I added a little bit of Stans or Orange Seal (I prefer Orange, but it’s a personal preference for everyone) to the tubes, NEVER had a puncture, especially on the trainer. There are tubes that can have their cores removed to add the sealant. Before going to a Kickr, I was using a Kinetic and actually converted my trainer wheel to tubeless, so no tube to rub, and it worked well.

1 Like
11

I wanted to bring this topic back up because I’m still, after three years, having the problems I wrote about in my first post.

I’m at the absolute end of my tether, having just punctured on my first ride indoors since early in the year and just feeling like I don’t want to bother at all.

I’ve now tried:

  • Two different wheels (Cero AR30 and Shimano WH-R501).
  • Three different inner tubes from different brands and at different pressures (90, 95, 100, 105, 110)
  • Two Tacx Trainer tyres
  • Different wheel tensions
  • Talcum powder in the tyre
  • Two different trainers - Tacx T2240 and Wahoo Kickr Snap

I have just put another brand new tube in (the one that was in there was a patched one - but I’ve punctured two other brand new ones before now) so I’ll see how that goes.

I’d really appreciate anyone’s feedback or help on this.

Thank you,
Ste

12

Hi @Ste_Rumbelow

I know the feeling, happened to me at least once a month. You are doing all the correct things. It is just one of those things that happen when the trainer tire get super hot. The glue in the tube get hot and loose contact.

I would add releasing the tension after every ride.

13

@Gerrie_Delport Thanks, Gerrie.

It doesn’t feel at all hot - neither the tyre or the roller. If I put my hand to it and thought it was hot I’d realise that was the problem but it isn’t even moderately warm.

And I do release the tension after every single ride - I thought everybody did!

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14

is the same thing happening with the snap? How many tires have you punctured using the snap?

15

I ran a Snap for several years and never had flat. I went through a bunch of tires due to heat melting the rubber contact cap glue on some nice tires…until I used cheap, fully cased tires or a trainer tire (red one…not sure of the brand).

I am a bigger fellow, 102 kg, so I really cranked on resistance tension. 110 psi in tires, once the contact roller barely touches the tire, 3.5 - 4 full revolutions of the tension knob. Never used talcum powder.

Trainer tires are (or were) limited to 23 mm…might try a cheap 25-26 mm wide tire but make sure it does not have a glued on contact patch.

Start marking where the pinhole happens with relation to the air valve to determine if the pinholes are all in the same location.

If all else fails…Switch to a direct drive trainer or hire an Exorcist because you have a demon pinpricking your tubes.

16

Riding a CompuTrainer for 12 years. Started out with indoor tyres. Irrespective of make I would soon get a blow-out.
I have been using outdoor tyres (used), and no more blowouts.
I did on the rare occasion get a puncture, pinhole. Not a fault of wheel, as the wheel of as new and never used outside.
I’ve put it down to wear, usage overtime.
I’m sure butyl tubes only have a certain lifespan, heat, pressure from trainer roller etc., so I would just use an outdoor tyre, good quality butyl inner tube, new rim tape, and a dash of talc powder on tube.
See how it goes.

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