Dampen trainer noise?

[illuminaught]

Hey guys/gals,
I'm reworking our house to have a more functional 3rd bedroom. It'll basically be an exercise room where we do yoga/ride the trainer...
What I'm wondering is can I dampen the noise of my kinetic trainer so that my wife can enjoy the room at the same time? I'm trying to get the trainer noise down so that if we were watching a movie the volume wouldn't have to be crazy high.
I already use a rubber mat to reduce vibration noise... Anyone ever insulate or cover the magnetic parts?

[sandyrs]

Hey guys/gals,
I'm reworking our house to have a more functional 3rd bedroom. It'll basically be an exercise room where we do yoga/ride the trainer...
What I'm wondering is can I dampen the noise of my kinetic trainer so that my wife can enjoy the room at the same time? I'm trying to get the trainer noise down so that if we were watching a movie the volume wouldn't have to be crazy high.

I doubt you can get it that quiet without getting a new trainer. If you have the coin, there are some supposedly extremely quiet direct-drive trainers out there.

[wallymann]

kurt kinetic units themselves are among the quietest out there.

buffering layers on the floor can help with sound being generated by vibrations.

lay down a sheet of 1/4" or so neoprene on the floor, then 5/8" sheet of plywood over top of that. heck, the plywood alone may do the trick. if neoprene isnt handy, a towel or such can suffice.

[Ti Designs]

The bike industry sells crap for training floor mats - we have the Blackburn and the Cyclops mats which don't do much. Do a quick search for kitchen anti-fatigue mats.

[MattTuck]

my attempt a few years ago. (https://apartmentrouleur.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/silencing-a-cyclops-fluid2-trainer/)

Not sure it would OK for someone in the same room, but my main concern was the neighbor downstairs.

[Anarchist]

Many years ago when living in an apartment and having a magnetic trainer I set about silencing it.

I did a pretty good job of it and what actually eventually worked was HEAVY rubber sheets, I ended up getting them at a truck supply place but a horse or agricultural supply would work as well - think stable mats.

The ones I got from the truck place were intended for insulation mats in Class 8 trucks and were 3/4" thick.

One of those on the floor, 1/4" plywood, then another rubber mat. Mass is what works and an inch and a half of rubber is a lot of mass.

[thegunner]

my attempt a few years ago. (https://apartmentrouleur.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/silencing-a-cyclops-fluid2-trainer/)

Not sure it would OK for someone in the same room, but my main concern was the neighbor downstairs.


did you put the pads under the frontwheel as well?

[MattTuck]

did you put the pads under the frontwheel as well?

I put the MMA pads under the front wheel. Not the Sorbothane pads.

[coffeecake]

I had pretty good luck putting a anti-vibration pad (these (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GUYZWK?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00) under each of the four "legs" of the trainer.

[wallymann]

if you want to dampen the noise, then use this:

http://revelation.org.uk/media/k2/galleries/Bucket-of-water-285x300.jpg

but if you want to damp the noise, use the recommendations elsewhere in this thread! ;-)

[rwerkudara]

my attempt a few years ago. (https://apartmentrouleur.wordpress.com/2014/02/05/silencing-a-cyclops-fluid2-trainer/)

Not sure it would OK for someone in the same room, but my main concern was the neighbor downstairs.

This looks promising. I received a kinetic trainer for Christmas and I just started using it with Zwift. I haven't been able to really ride hard because my place vibrates and well I already have some issues with my neighbor downstairs. I've been using the kinetic mat, but it only helps to an extent.

[thegunner]

This looks promising. I received a kinetic trainer for Christmas and I just started using it with Zwift. I haven't been able to really ride hard because my place vibrates and well I already have some issues with my neighbor downstairs. I've been using the kinetic mat, but it only helps to an extent.

haha, i moved into my place about a month ago and i've already gotten a letter from the downstairs folks. hence my interest in this thread. i bought the pads as well as the foam blocks, so hopefully that goes well.

[11.4]

Those thin trainer mats are really just to keep your sweat off the floor. If you want the best sound absorption you can get, go to Tractor Supply and get a stall mat. They're $39 for a 4x6 foot mat, 3/4" thick, and go on sale for down to about $24. Be warned -- they weight almost a hundred pounds. Cut a strip wide enough for your bike and trainer and it works great. And it's absolutely indestructible.

[Peter P.]

Noise is not the issue with trainers. VIBRATION is.

Here's the Cliff Notes version: The typical wheel, and typical trainer roller, is within 0.003" round. The typical tire has ten times the error. Get a wheel up to speed on the trainer and that roller is turning 10k rpms. and you're setting up vibrations.

Most trainers are so quiet that in a perfect world where your trainer was suspended in air, you COULD have your spouse watching TV while you train and it would be whisper quiet. But alas...

I had the exact problem when I had a 2nd floor apartment.

The solution is a combination of MASS and DAMPING.

If your floor was made of concrete, you would not be able to generate enough energy to get the concrete to vibrate/resonate. Same if your trainer sat in your back yard. Try it and you'll see how quiet a trainer can be. Concrete is good in that is doesn't resonate like a guitar string. So mass, like in concrete, is good. More is better.

Damping is absorbing those vibrations before they reach the floor and the floor joists. They make materials you can place under your flooring to aid in damping resonant vibrations, but that means tearing up your floor. If you put these resonant materials under the feet of the trainer then all the downward force is focused on those 3 or 4 legs so it's not as effective as placing your trainer on a rigid surface under which is a vibration damping material.

You can try THIS (http://www.soundproofing.org/) web site for information and materials. I purchased roughly $200 worth of materials from this site and while the quality of the materials was very good, I clearly needed more than I was willing to invest to cure my problem.

[illuminaught]

Great suggestions and jokes!
Thanks guys.
I think I'm going to build a soundproof box and experiment with tires too.
Cheers,

[rwerkudara]

Great suggestions and jokes!
Thanks guys.
I think I'm going to build a soundproof box and experiment with tires too.
Cheers,

I may try a trainer specific tire to see if that helps with vibrations, but haven't really read any feedback online that mentions any significant benefits. At this point though any little bit helps.