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turbo trainer noise levels
I've been looking at upgrading from my cheap mag trainer for a while and have read and watched almost everything there is to read and watch on the interwebs. I reckon I'd be happy with any one of a handful of trainers so my question is not about cost, quality, road feel, etc. Instead, my question is about the one thing you can't really ascertain from the interwebs and that is noise levels.
Assuming a budget that will cover a Kurt Road machine or similar from another brand, is it realistic to expect to be able to use it in the house with a noise sensitive partner in an adjacent room? I would be riding my roadie with slick tyres, the trainer would be on a rubber mat and the floor is carpeted anyway. There is a door between the rooms and my partner would probably be watching TV at a 'conversational' volume.
I am not using the cheap trainer at all at the moment as it has to live outside on the deck, which is quite exposed and unpleasant in the current climate at the hours I would need to use it. Additionally, I can't leave the bike set up on the deck as it is not secure so I need a trainer that can be used indoors, otherwise I have to wait until late Spring or Summer and that really defeats the purpose as I'd rather go for an evening ride at that time of year.
Everyone's perception of noise is different and that becomes obvious when you read things like, "yeah my X brand trainer is absolutely silent". No it's not! So I guess I'm also asking if I can try before I buy, so if you know of any shops that carry a decent range of demo stock that would be about as good as I could hope for.
Cheers.
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I think the The Fixed Wheel have the wahoo kickr at the shop. These are direct drive so you don't have to worry about rear tyres. They also connect to a lot of different software out there.
http://thefixedwheel.com.au
My KK Road Machine isn't exactly silent in use, the tyre on the roller does make a bit of noise.
However I can still hear the soundtrack on my Sufferfest training videos on my Samsung S4 phone using just the little speaker without going to full volume, so it's not that bad.
It will depend on how noise sensitive your partner is. Mine gets upset when I breathe too loud or eat crunchy food (with my mouth closed).
So I tend to use the garage but have the opposite problem with seasons as I generate too much heat in the warmer months and leave a massive puddle on the concrete floor - I need an industrial fan.
I recently bought a Jet-black Whisper Drive for similar reasons - couldn't ride, wanted to stay fit, young family...
I have it set up in the lounge room in front of the TV just down stairs from the kids bedroom. I'm on it at 5 each morning and find noise levels good enough I don't wake the family. You remove the rear wheel and mount it as direct drive onto a cassette. You do without the noise of tyre whirring away so the main noise is chain & gear changes but really the TV is louder.
It also has a whole lot of fancy things that allow you to have data on iPad and fitness programs etc to ride to as well as all your HR, cadence etc. It looks like it would be good but I just get on and ride without all that...
Thanks for the replies. I did look at the Cyclops direct drive and the Jetblack version, but they are a bit more than I wanted to spend. Also, I wasn't sure if I could be bothered taking the rear wheel on and off. Reduced tyre wear would be a bonus though. The Wahoo Kickr would be great, but it is well beyond the intended budget.
There is a good video on the DC Rainmaker site that compares decibel levels (using a professional sound meter) of the Road Machine, Kickr and a Le Mond Revolution, which is direct drive like the Kickr, but uses wind resistance. The Road Machine was about 80db, the Kickr was about 81db and the Le Mond was about 90db, which is very loud.
Time for a conversation
Cheers.
Taking the rear wheel off isn't an issue at all and you're guaranteed zero slippage.
As for the noise, like you said some people comment there's is so quiet but it's all a bit subjective. One thing, just looking at specs like db gives an indication but you can get noises that are low db but more annoying because of the pitch.
Also keep in mind that you pretty much always have to take the rear wheel off as you will most likely use a different wheel on the turbo. The turbo firstly wears the tire out like nothing and secondly wears it out in a way that riding on the road with it is unbearable and dangerous even.
and re your budget, regardless what it is, we all start off low when starting the conversation with the misses but once approved in concept, we all know what eventually happens
I'm getting a second rear wheel for mine so I can fit a trainer specific tyre and save my rubber, but it's an old worn out non aero Shimano 500 that's going to cost me a whole twenty bucks off a mate and initially it will just have an old squared off tyre on it that I just remembered I forgot to throw out and the original 12-25 cassette that came with the bike. :v
I find the wear on the KK road machine quite tolerable and certainly wouldn't bother buying a new wheel for this, I'm only doing it because it's super cheap.
Tyre wear is not really an issue for me. Wheel change on the rear is about 30 seconds.