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Yesterday I installed a Continental Hometrainer Tire on the rear of my CX bike (which had been purchased mostly for trainer use and which came with knobby tires unsuited for that purpose). To my surprise, the sidewall of the tire is marked "for trainer use only, do not use on road."

Beyond potentially getting them dirty, is there any risk to using such tires on the road?

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  • The tyre sidewall may have thinned out, and to reduce dust forms, to improve traction on the trainer, different material apply . This is similar to "digital camera only tripods" that only support camera no more than 3 kg. Because the old day SLR with battery pack weight more than 3kg.
    – mootmoot
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 16:10
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    @mootmoot Your tripod analogy doesn't make sense. Analogue SLRs didn't need substantial batteries.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 17:15
  • @DavidRicherby ;-) In the old day, SLR camera battery pack less energy. By the way, the list can be extended to heavy lens, heavy film SLR body, etc. which is prone to tilt/falls on a light aluminium tripod.
    – mootmoot
    Commented Sep 1, 2017 at 7:48

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Turbo trainers are notorious for quickly wearing out tires. Trainer tires are therefore made of a hard wearing compound. However, this compound may not provide enough traction for safe cycling.

Traction is immensely important as it is usually the limiting factor to the maximum speed in curves. If one's rear wheel slides away while cornering recovery is usually not possible.

See also the related question: What kind of tire should I purchase for use on a bike trainer?

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    In addition, since you can't corner on a trainer, the tire does not need have any sideways stability. The manufacturer might save some complexity by building the tire in a way where it would not work well in turns.
    – Benedikt Bauer
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 18:51
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    Also, trainer tires don't need Kevlar bands for puncture or roll protection.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Aug 31, 2017 at 22:55
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    Plus, trainer tires need not be designed to take bumps. Or even pebbles on the roadway.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Sep 2, 2017 at 1:33

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