Damage to bike in the turbo

[Fifelad]

I usually do RPM classes in the depths of winter, I enjoy them and find them a good motivation. However thanks to restrictions, I dusted the turbo off and put the trainer tyre on the wheel of my good carbon bike and got everything set up in the freezing cold shed.
Anyhoo, something at the back of my mind clicked, and I recalled some manufacturers advice against putting a bike in a turbo as forces are put on the frame, that you don’t get on the road, and also damage can occur in the drop outs etc. After referring to the Cube manual, right enough a big no for putting the bike in a turbo. What’s everyone’s opinions on this ? manufacturer overkill to cover themselves ?

 

[Milkfloat]

A lot of manufactures are saying it is totally fine. I have never had any problems with any of my bikes over 20 years.

 

[Gunk]

My current turbo bike has an ali frame but we previously used my sons CF bike for two years with no ill effects.

 

[cougie uk]

Loads of people use their race bikes on the turbo. It's not an issue.

 

[Cycleops]

I imagine Cube and others are just covering themselves in the unlikely event.

 

[BurningLegs]

It was certainly common for manufacturers to advise against use on a turbo. Plenty of people ignore it and I’ve never heard of any issues as a result.

These days I don’t think manufacturers have the same warning, so I would worry even less!

Generally speaking though - I’d advise against putting any “best bike” on a turbo, regardless of material. Life on a turbo is hard. In my experience sweat dropping onto various bits of the bike causes problems like corrosion of bolts and increased wear. You’re also likely to end up using just a few gears very heavily which can wear out a chain/cassette pretty quickly. If you’ve got swanky lightweight components on the best bike then they’re wasted on the turbo and will need replacing more frequently. I go for the cheapest of cheap cassettes and chains on the turbo bike.