How to fit Ribble bikes to indoor trainers

The first chill of the season often signals the start of indoor training season. Third-party apps like Zwift make winter workouts a far more attractive proposition, transporting you to a virtual world where you can race fellow cyclists across the globe. However, if you're not familar with the various axle designs employed on today's bikes, you may find yourself a little flummoxed when it comes to mounting your pride and joy on any indoor trainer you may wish to purchase/already own. In this guide we explain what you need to ensure fuss-free fitment, so that your conversion to indoor training goes off without a hitch.

Whether you're looking to purchase a new trainer or simply wish to mount your Ribble bike to an existing model, it's essential that you first check compatibility. Fail to do so, and you may just find that your trainer isn't immediately compatible with the latest thru-axle standard of Ribble disc brake bikes. And even if does prove compatible, you may still need adaptors to make it work.

It's a question we hear often and is a perfectly understandable inquiry. Especially when you consider that not too long ago, fitting a carbon bike into an indoor trainer would undoubtedly void your warranty. Thankfully, times have changed, and all models in the current Ribble lineup are perfectly safe to use on indoor trainers. That is, as long as the bike is secured according to the trainer manufacturer's guidelines. Any failure resulting directly from incorrect fitment or accidental damage (i.e., falling off) is liable to void your warranty.

To the best of our knowledge, no indoor trainer model or brand offers compatibility with the Ribble e-bikes that feature the MAHLE X35 system. This is due to the fact that the X35+ hub motor system uses a bolt-on style axle instead of the more typical thru-axle design. The oversized axle nuts that secure the rear wheel to the frame are too large in diameter to fit both wheel-in and wheel-out style trainers. However, it should be noted that we aren't saying that it's impossible to fit a Ribble e-bike to an indoor trainer. It might be possible to retrofit an indoor trainer to accept your Ribble e-bike, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should. If you do manage to conjure some way to make it work, you may find your warranty void if some mishap occurs as a direct result of such a retrofit. We advise you to contact us if you're ever in doubt.

Above Image: This close-up of the Gravel AL e's rear hub clearly highlights the oversized wheel nut that make this type of axle incompatible with indoor trainers.

This will depend entirely upon which type of bike you own and, more specifically, how the rear wheel is secured. The two most common methods for securing the wheel are the traditional quick-release skewer of rim brake-equipped bikes and the bolt thru-axle of their disc brake equivalents.

We may be oversimplifying this slightly, but there are essentially two types of indoor trainers. The classic wheel-on trainer has been around for what feels like forever and offers a great value option for anyone who wishes to train on a tight budget. On the other hand, the direct drive (wheel-out) trainer is a recent addition and provides a more realistic ride that feels akin to riding on the road.

It should be noted that connecting to popular training apps like ZWIFT is impossible when using the most basic models of wheel-in trainers. You must pair the trainer with a speed/cadence sensor or crank/hub-based power meter to use such apps. And even then, you won't be able to access the variable resistance offered by more expensive smart trainers.

On the other hand, direct drive trainers should nearly always be smart-enabled and include the extra functions required for capturing training data when using third-party apps like Zwift, MyWhoosh etc. Not only do they offer more accurate training data, but they aren't prone to the vagaries in power readings that affect the less expensive wheel-on types. So, if your budget stretches far enough, a smart, direct-drive trainer will be far more beneficial in the long term.

The first and most basic type of trainer is the classic wheel-on type. The rear wheel remains in situ and raised off the ground, with the tyre resting atop a roller within the resistance unit. A folding A-frame clamps the rear wheel axle securely, while the front of the bike is similarly raised by a wheel riser block (or Yellow Pages/phone book if you're old school, and they still exist?).

Above Image: Wheel-on trainers like that pictured above allow you to train indoors, but if you wish to use training apps like ZWIFT, you'll need a SMART interactive model.

Quick Release vs Bolt-On/Bolt-Thru Axles

Any bike that uses quick-release skewers or wheel nuts can usually be mounted straight into wheel-on trainers without issue. Renowned trainer manufacturers such as Tacx and Wahoo even supply a replacement skewer, so you can swap out your 'best' skewer to prevent it from the cosmetic damage incurred when continually clamping it up.

If you happen to own one of the rarest of bikes, a disc-brake bike with quick-release skewers (the CGR 2017 is one such example), you will find they can be fitted in the same way described above.

Above Image: Before the advent of disc brake bikes, almost every bicycle featured a cam lock-style quick-release lever to secure the wheels.

Bolt Thru-Axle

Most disc brake bikes won't be compatible with the wheel-on trainers straight out of the box. A thru-axle sits flush within your frame's dropouts, so there's literally nothing for the 'arms' of the trainer to clamp to. A thru-axle adaptor provides the necessary anchor points to secure the bike safely within such a trainer. However, it should be noted that you must order an adaptor that matches the correct dropout spacing and thread pitch as your bike (refer to the axle dimensions section below for more information regarding axle sizes).

Not to be confused with bolt thru-axles! The traditional bolt-on axle, or track nuts to all fixie and track enthusiasts, uses wheel nuts to secure the wheels to the frame. Though we should probably quantify this by stating that such wheel affixing systems are typically reserved for fixed-gear and single-speed bikes. The arms of the trainer should clamp onto these track nuts at the end of the axle. However, if the track nuts are the wrong diameter, you should be able to source manufacturer-specific replacements online.

It should be noted that Ribble e-bikes also use a bolt-on style fitting, but these may be too large in diameter to clamp safely into the arms of most wheel-on trainers. We have no way of ascertaining if this will be the case for specific trainer models. We would therefore advise against trying to use such a bike on any model of indoor trainer.

Above Image: Track nuts where the 'original' means by which wheels were secured in the frame and remain a feature on fixed gear and single-speed bikes that use horizontal dropouts.

The wheel-out trainer offers a more intuitive and authentic ride experience. It helps you connect seamlessly to third-party training apps to immerse yourself in racing alongside fellow cyclists worldwide.

With direct drive trainers, the rear wheel must be removed so the bike can be mounted directly to the trainer. Therefore, you must remove the cassette from the wheel and attach it to the trainer every time you wish to train. Alternatively, you could make the smart play (sorry, not sorry) and simply purchase an extra cassette specifically for the trainer. When it comes time to train, you can then simply remove the wheel, plug it in, and play.

Direct-drive trainers are typically supplied with a variety of adaptors to suit most bike types. These include bikes with quick-release skewers, road bikes with 142 mm thru-axles, and MTB bikes with 148 mm thru-axles.

Once again, we should reiterate that, to our knowledge, such a trainer is not compatible with any electric bikes that use the MAHLE X35 hub-mounted motor system due to the bolt-on style axle this system uses.

What's in the box?

Due to there being countless brands and models of trainers on the market, we would always recommend that you check the manufacturer's website for details of what accessories are included with the model of trainer you wish to purchase/already own.

When it comes to determining what details you need to ensure bike-trainer compatibility, you only really need arm yourself with the following information:

Dropout spacing: This is the distance between the frame's rear dropouts (where the wheel fits into the rear end). A road bike with quick-release axles should always measure 130mm. Whereas a disc brake road bike will, in almost all instances, feature 142mm spacing and an MTB 148mm.

Axle Dimensions: If we use the Ultra SL R axle as an example, we list its dimensions as M12 x 173 x P1.5.

• M12 refers to the overall thickness of the axle and is standard across all our disc brake bikes.
• 173 mm is the total axle length (often confused with dropout spacing).
• 1.5 is the thread pitch in millimetres and must always match the frame. A frame that requires a thru-axle with a 1.5 mm thread pitch cannot accept a 1.75 mm axle and vice versa.

It should be noted that total axle length is included for reference only and has no direct bearing on trainer compatibility. The critical factors are dropout spacing and thread pitch.

If we use any of the aero road bikes, gravel bikes, hybrid bikes, endurance road bikes, cyclocross bikes and all-road bikes from the table below, for instance, you will see that they all require 142 x 12mm adaptors. Whether that's adaptors supplied with the trainer itself or purchased as an optional extra.

We hope this guide proves useful in helping you work out which trainer type suits your needs best and what you need to guarantee compatibility with your Ribble bike. If you still need further advice or assistance, our customer service team is always here to help.

Winter is hard on your bike and components; find out how best to weather-proof your ride in our winter riding guide.

Gravel bikes are great to ride whatever time of year; discover the Ribble range here.