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I got a roller of the weekend (to be specific a Tacx Antares). After ridding it for less then 20 minutes my back tire looks like thisenter image description here. In other words there a lots of bulges. I tried deflating the tire and re-inflating, but they are still there.

I can't find anything on the internet concerning this problem. Does anyone know the cause, and solution?

Update

Following Criggie's answer, I bought a roller-specfic tire for my back wheel. Thus far it seems to be holding up much better then the tire shown in the picture. Thus it seems like it was a heat issue with that specific type/make of tire.

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    It looks like the tire melted. What pressure are you inflating your tires to?
    – Andrew Henle
    Commented Sep 20, 2021 at 22:45
  • @AndrewHenle I don't actually know the precise value (I've just moved country so just have a cheep hand pump). Is it likely to be too high or low?
    – Quantum spaghettification
    Commented Sep 20, 2021 at 22:48
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    @WeiwenNg My back tire was defiantly getting a lot warmer then my front one.
    – Quantum spaghettification
    Commented Sep 20, 2021 at 23:36
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    Is this one of the Bontrager tires that have a reputation for spontaneous delamination?
    – ojs
    Commented Sep 23, 2021 at 10:44
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    Possibly related, bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/10099/…
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 26, 2021 at 8:59

1 Answer 1

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Yes - your rear tyre has failed internally through being run under-inflated, combined with the heat generated on the roller surface. As such that tyre is no longer suitable to ride on the road.

Indoor Trainers are hard on rear tyres - at least the ones that use a roller setup to interface resistance with the tyre.

There are roller-specific rear tyres available for this purpose, which have a much harder wearing surface, at the cost of grip. You would not use a trainer specific tyre on the road.

Or you can simply "use up" all those half-worn spare tyres that cyclists seem to acquire over time. I'd continue to use that tyre on a rear roller right through to where you can see cords, which is a lot deeper than I'd use on the road.

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    It seems like this is the right answer. I also contacted garmin (who make the roller) - and they said the tire is likely to thin to cope with the heat generated with by the roller. I've just ordered a roller-specific tire.
    – Quantum spaghettification
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 10:21
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    @Quantumspaghettification cool thanks for the followup. I'd personally wear out that current tyre on the trainer - if you get a flat its not going to leave you stranded. And when the tyre is utterly shot, then replace it. But don't ride it on the road.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 11:55
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    Used to ride the rollers all winter long (back in the 80's & 90's get off mah lawn!) and never had any issues with tires. I can see under/over inflated tires causing damage, but nothing that wasn't comparable to what would happen riding the road. TBH, I never checked a tire for temperature after either a road or roller ride, but never heard of someone having issues like this. Is this more common now due to changes in tire compounds/construction since then?
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 14:08
  • @FreeMan back then you probably had few choices of tyre,they were incredibly thick and stiff, and could have ridden over most things without puncturing. Basically identical to a modern "trainer specific" tyre. Now there are fancy race tyres which are much more fragile but save watts, and all possible combinations in between. Also, the roller's surface itself might be different, you probably had plain or textured chromed-steel, I bet OP's got something grippier on the roller which will be hotter.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Sep 21, 2021 at 21:16
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    Well, that's true, @Criggie, I was a broke high school/college kid, so I never rode expensive silk sew-ups. Interesting about the roller texture, too - I do recall the ones I was on were smooth metal, and none of the dishing of the OPs to make it easier to stay centered. You rode off the side, you paid the price!
    – FreeMan
    Commented Sep 22, 2021 at 11:45

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