Do 'quiet' turbo trainers/rollers exist?

skinnerooony

Festive greetings one and all!

I'm contemplating getting a turbo trainer but I'm wondering whether it's a bad idea as I live in a top floor flat with fairly thin walls/floor...(as in I can sometimes hear muffled voices from below if I have the TV turned off)

Realistically is a turbo trainer or a set of roller going to be too loud? It's the vibrations that I'd be worried about more than anything would a few mats eliminate this enough?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

alihisgreat

My Cyclops jet fluid pro is pretty quiet -> you can also get rubber mats to dampen the sound and vibration further.

whojanicanackerov

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

My Cyclops jet fluid pro is pretty quiet -> you can also get rubber mats to dampen the sound and vibration further.

I will second that 8)

bigpikle

read all the other numerous threads about noise from indoor trainers and you'll realise its the vibrations and resonating through the floos that will get you in trouble. A rubber mat helps but not greatly IME, and you'll still get a lot of noise/vibration/rumbling going through the floor unless you use a lot of layers of the right materials.

Then you have the noise of the fans you need to be able to do any meaningful training...

springtide9

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

My Cyclops jet fluid pro is pretty quiet -> you can also get rubber mats to dampen the sound and vibration further.

Same for the Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll (much quieter than the Tacx Satori).

A few things help Rock and Roll to be quieter than the Tacx Satori are:

- The spindle that the wheel sits on is probably twice the size, which means it spins at half of the RPM for the same speed
- The bike is isolated on the "Rock and Roll" support system, which gives another layer of vibration isolation.
- Fluid trainers seem to offer a much more progressive resistance setting, meaning bike wheel speed is reduced for the same wattage.
- Fluid resistance units also seem to be quieter than magnetic. Magnetic resistance units seem to have a high pitched "squeal" under load. I would mention that this high pitched squeal seems to be easily dampened by doors/walls etc.

The above will apply to most trainers I expect if they have a similar design to the Rock and Roll.

whojanicanackerov

springtide9 wrote:

ALIHISGREAT wrote:

My Cyclops jet fluid pro is pretty quiet -> you can also get rubber mats to dampen the sound and vibration further.

Same for the Kurt Kinetic Rock and Roll (much quieter than the Tacx Satori).

A few things help Rock and Roll to be quieter than the Tacx Satori are:

- The spindle that the wheel sits on is probably twice the size, which means it spins at half of the RPM for the same speed
- The bike is isolated on the "Rock and Roll" support system, which gives another layer of vibration isolation.
- Fluid trainers seem to offer a much more progressive resistance setting, meaning bike wheel speed is reduced for the same wattage.
- Fluid resistance units also seem to be quieter than magnetic. Magnetic resistance units seem to have a high pitched "squeal" under load. I would mention that this high pitched squeal seems to be easily dampened by doors/walls etc.

The above will apply to most trainers I expect if they have a similar design to the Rock and Roll.

I will second that as well

skinnerooony

Cheers for the responses,

Seems like a 'what you get, is what you pay for' deal.

Bloz

I got the Kurt Kinetic magnetic trainer - blurb says it's really for fixies and mtb's but I find in a high gear with the resistance at mid-point it's perfectly strong enough to give a good workout. Am combining it with a proper turbo tyre (Schwalbe) and find the 2 as a pair are certainly quiet - I can watch TV at a pretty normal volume. No idea what the vibes below are like though - matting would have to help.

Muffintop

The Elite brand are pretty good (I've had two from them now). Anything with fluid fans or magnets might be best, slick tyres are a must as well though.

Mx

danowat

Got an Elastogel Fluid one, makes a hell of a racket, even with the laptop at full volume I have to strain to hear it over the turbo.

TakeTurns

My drive train makes more noise than my turbo...even that's annoying tbh.

springtide9

FYI
Anyone after a Kurt K Rock and Roll.... on "the Bay" Item: 281038661921

Note that this is not my turbo, but thought it was worth noting as they don't come up very often on the Bay.

Trev The Rev

My turbo is silent - no noise at all hung up on my shed wall.

sunburntknees

Minoura trainers don't seem too bad. There are some vids on YouTube if you want to hear before you buy...

thegreatdivide

I mentioned this in another turbo thread - I live on the top floor of a flat with ‘traditional’ wooden floors (but carpeted) so not very thick. On just this surface my Elite Qobo shook the room and made a bloody racket. To remedy this I put down a thick rug, then placed the turbo on a 5cm thick paving slap from B&Q and the front wheel on a 5cm polystyrene block (plus riser). This pretty much cancels the vibration out. An additional rubber mat under the turbo unit would make it even better .The tyre running on the turbo still makes a noise that means the volume on the laptop needs turned right up but it’s a huge improvement on the original setup.

If you’re on the turbo for 45 mins to an hour and training between 8am and 7pm your neighbour can’t complain (well they can but you can tell them to get a grip). Midnight sessions with Sufferfest at top volume are not advisable ;-)

Muffintop

danowat wrote:

Got an Elastogel Fluid one, makes a hell of a racket, even with the laptop at full volume I have to strain to hear it over the turbo.

I have one of these and it's completely fine, not noisy at all. Different model perhaps?

Al Fresco

First Post so be gentle.

I have a Lemond Revmaster spin bike and it is SILENT with no vibrations as it's belt driven. All you hear is your breathing. They cost about £1k new but you can get them on ebay as I did.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Le-Mond-Revma ... 4abfaeba1a

They weigh about 50kg or so, so the biggest problem you'll have is getting it up the stairs.

Wrath Rob

Al Fresco wrote:

First Post so be gentle.

I have a Lemond Revmaster spin bike and it is SILENT with no vibrations as it's belt driven. All you hear is your breathing. They cost about £1k new but you can get them on ebay as I did.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Le-Mond-Revma ... 4abfaeba1a

They weigh about 50kg or so, so the biggest problem you'll have is getting it up the stairs.

Can you get any data from it, e.g built in sensors? Or can you add a speed sensor and derive power via a published power curve?

jgsi

Instead of having a 'iron hulk' in your house .. probably ending up as an expensive clothes hanger.. use a Satori like me
on resistance 5, Pro race 3 tyre having seen better days and pumped up to 9 bar .. it's quiet enough.

amaferanga

My experience with an Elite fluid elastogel and a Cycleops Fluid 2 used on a concrete floor in the garage are that they're not exactly quiet, but they're not unbearably noisy. My missus doesn't hear it from the house despite the turbo being next to the wall between the garage and living room.

Mind you, noise is a function of how fast you ride so stronger riders putting out more Watts will generate more noise.

Al Fresco

Wrath Rob wrote:

Al Fresco wrote:

First Post so be gentle.

I have a Lemond Revmaster spin bike and it is SILENT with no vibrations as it's belt driven. All you hear is your breathing. They cost about £1k new but you can get them on ebay as I did.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Le-Mond-Revma ... 4abfaeba1a

They weigh about 50kg or so, so the biggest problem you'll have is getting it up the stairs.

Can you get any data from it, e.g built in sensors? Or can you add a speed sensor and derive power via a published power curve?

No, which is why I use rollers (with Trainerroad) and the Revmaster is now a clothes stand. It satisfies the silent criteria though and is fine if you only use HR.

Muffintop

amaferanga wrote:

Mind you, noise is a function of how fast you ride so stronger riders putting out more Watts will generate more noise.

Christ I must be sh!t then.