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Got on the turbo tonight for the first time since moving into our new house, in the garage. 12 minutes in and I get a text from the boss saying its too loud and our eldest can't sleep.
As far as I can tell it's the (very loud) cheap trainer I'm using applying noise/vibration to the garage floor slab and straight into the structure of the house...
So things I am considering to allow me to do a bit of garage hermit training through the winter.
1- a foam pad of to kill noise/vibrations, cheapest option, least likely to be effective enough. I have some old camping mats I could try this with.
2- a direct drive trainer (used, ideally fluid?) most expensive option, probably too pricey looking at fleabay.
3- rollers, no experience with them, would probably be going for a used set, I assume they are quieter, especially if setup on a mat?
So advice anyone?
Not bothered about smart trainers or clever toys, it's just a resistance device for some extra indoors effort to raise my HR while it's cold and dark.
Cheaper is good, but silence is apparently golden.
What sort of tyre are you using? That’s the first port of call if it’s not a slick
I used to use a mat (that came with my turbo, ut camping mats would work) for this same reason. Made a small but noticeable difference. Another cheap option might be putting some old carpet offcuts up on the wall to keep the resonance down.
It's a conti trainer tyre, the trainer itself is the culprit, but it is an ancient bargain bin purchase, I'm not precious about replacing it, but I'm not keen on much spend...
Hmmm, hadn't though of carpets, sadly we have none spare, just moved in and the whole house has laminate flooring... Could steal the rug from the lounge maybe.
How's about rollers, are them nice and quiet?
I'm sure you can get quiet rollers but mine make as much noise as my old turbo did.
Probably doesn't need to be carpets - just something to soften the resonance. Even some cardboard might be a good test option.
I bought these floor mats: https://www.halfords.com/workshop-tools/garage-equipment/garage-essentials/rolson-6-piece-floor-mat-set-120-x-180cm?_br_psugg_q=floor+mat
Fairly inexpensive to try...
Louder tunes!!!
My rollers are quietest if you ride close to the edge, a dangerous game!
Overall way quieter than my old Tacx I magic I can listen to a small digital radio without headphones. However if I go flat out, 40mph flat out then it’s loud. I can’t keep that speed up for long though.
I do find the Rollers much more tolerable than the turbo though, trying not to fall off whilst trying to stick to a heart rate makes time go faster.
Have a look on Gumtree or Ebay secondhand commercial magnetic spin bike.
I'm very conscious of turbo noise, as we have downstairs neighbours, so I focus on hill climbing. My Direto makes far less noise in the 34T chainring than the 50T.
Get a mat. Makes quite a difference. I use one of these from Decathlon.
Take your bike off the rollers attach some lights and go for a bike ride.
I got a heavy duty gym mat for mine (cheap tacx one) and tbh it's not made much difference with noise - the turbo is just loud. Must help with vibration I guess.
Did you start before your kid went to sleep or after? Mine don't seem to mind it but they're still quite young so are out like a light once they go down.
If it's as old it's possible the bearings are borked. In which case whatever you do probably will be in vain. How easy the bearings are to replace I don't know??
I have the same issue, so I've been banished to a shed.
At certain speeds, I can almost get the whole shed humming / resonating. I've got those HD foam tiles and the Decathlon turbo mat in there and it makes some difference, it's an Elite Elasto Gel trainer, so it's pretty quiet, it's just the frequency thing.
I'd try something like a layer of foam floor tile or camper mat with ply on to to support the bike & turbo.
As I live in an apartment, I just bit the bullet and bought a wahoo kickr core, it is incredibly quiet, it is actually the drive train that creates the most noise when in use. Might be a bit more than you want to spend, but IMO other solutions are only going to be playing around at the margins.
If you get a Secondhand fluid turbo it'll be a huge amount quieter than a non fluid (Magnet) one which I guess is what yours is. I had a cycle ops fluid 2 for a while and it wasn't noisy. Should be able to pick up a good one for < £100. Otherwise SH direct drive but do some research as all aren't quiet. Elite Direto is very quiet \ Wahoo Kickr Core is apparently silent (apart from bike noise). Some others not so quiet. You should be able to get a SH Direto but I'd guess not a SH Kickr as they're not out long.
The 2 quietest that i have used are an Elite Turbo Muin (direct drive, semi-smart and almost silent) and an ancient Cascade Fluid Pro (very basic, wheel on, again, almost silent).
If you're near the Midlands I'm looking to offload the Muin, drop me a message if you're interested.
but silence is apparently golden
Easily solved. take bike off turbo, do something else fitness based (anything is more interesting).
I live in a flat with downstairs neighbours. The first time on the turbo (2016 Wahoo KICKR) I got complaints. That was with just a turbo mat underneath on the laminate floor. I believe the main issue was the vibration going through the floor.
After that I put down sound deadening tiles sandwiched between two layers of carpet underlay and haven't had an issue. It was a cheap fix and might help with your vibration issues. It won't help your noise problem though.
The new electronically controlled/smart resistance units allow for quieter running than the old style turbos, not least because you can run with a lower wheel speed for the same power, which substantially reduces the noise level. I love my KICKR, and it has been a lifesaver for training in the new place. The latest version is quieter still, as is the new KICKR Core, but it is quite a lot of money.
KICKR CORE is the unpalatable but silent answer. My rollers are pretty quiet in the dining room, but the 2016 KICKR is in the garage for noise modulation.
What turbo - is it one with a fan or a mag turbo ?
The only one that I've ever had that was noisy was a fan model. Had a basic 'fluid' one that was quiet, as it the new Smart Tacx T2240 (cheaper Smart Trainer).
I do get some vibration on the Tacx, but my garage floor is solid concrete, and it's the 'tunes' you can hear, not the turbo. I'd suggest a mat or something as a minimum - I'm assuming attached garage ?
Kickr, again the drive train makes more noise than the trainer.
Yeah Kickr Core ain't really wihin budget...
I'm suprised Rollers are considered on the noisy side, I really has hoped they would be an option.
It probably isn't the best time to be shoppingfor a trainer either used or new, winter is sort of peak season for these things.
I could be tempted to stretch budget in the new year for a direct drive unit of some sort.
I'll see if I can take any steps tonight to dampen down the racket with foam and other things, I've still got a lot of card and foam from the slew of Ikea stuff I've assembled in the last month, that could be handy too.
What turbo – is it one with a fan or a mag turbo ?
It's a Cheapo Fan jobbie, I've looked
I do get some vibration on the Tacx, but my garage floor is solid concrete, and it’s the ‘tunes’ you can hear, not the turbo. I’d suggest a mat or something as a minimum – I’m assuming attached garage ?
The Garage floor (Double) has a big old Slab, connected directly to the house, but there's also a full sized basement below it, so it's got Steels tied into the house, as in theory it's got to take at least ~5ish tons, plus self weight...
It’s a Cheapo Fan jobbie, I’ve looked
That's your issue right there. Any mag job will be better, and get it mounted on a good mat too (or in may case, my wife's old yoga mat on top of my old camping mat).
Gym membership?
Or a bit of lateral thinking, if you have laminate throughout the house, maybe you need something to deaden more of the sounds inside. Carpets / wall hangings / rugs etc.
I did not realise that over time my turbo was getting noiser, everyone else complained, turns out it was a dry bearing, I packed with grease it was almost silent in comparison!