How loud?

LOUD!!

I would say hair-dryer loud.

Get a good Fluid Trainer - Cycle-ops or a Kurt Kinetic are the best out there, from my experience having used a few over the years.

Fleck

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

"I would say hair-dryer loud. "

closer to 60, or 90?

one review said you wouldn't want to use it in an apartment. that's pretty freaking loud.

closer to 60

Dido on the Kurt Kinetic trainer. I sold my CT to get one and a PT. I ride while my daughter naps and she sleeps good.

S

I don't think that anyone has done a precise study to assess the exact noise levels. Keep in mind that there are various wind trainers out there.

The loudest trainers are the ones with the very small fans. That is because smaller fans are going to have to spin at very high rpms in order to generate enough resistance. It is the ultra high rpm that creates an narrow intense jet of turbulent air that generates the loud noise. At the other extreme, a schwinn airdyne has a much larger fan that doesen't have to spin as fast in order to generate resistance, so it is relatively quiet.

The point is that if you are going to get a wind trainer, get one with the biggest fans you can get. I have and old Findlay Road Machine (Not the Kurt Road Machine), which has a very large fan, about 11" diameter. It is very smooth and relatively quiet. It will get somewhat noisy when doing sprints or intense intervals, but overall the noise is minimal. Unfortunately, this excellent trainer is no longer available. I believe the company went out of business sometime in the early 90's.

Definitely hair dryer loud, makes listening to the TV all that more enjoyable (sarcasm).

68

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http://www.clevetriclub.com

rob reddy

Wind trainers are really loud. That little squirrel cage fan really gets going. A high powered hair drier is a pretty good analogy. No one is going to want to be sitting in the room with you while you ride and you better have head phones or a huge amp if you want to listen to music or watch TV while you ride. (I actually did once have a neighbor complain when I lived in an apartment and rode a wind trainer . . .)

Over the years, I've ridden wind, mag and fluid trainers. Fluid is by far and away the best at mimicing rode feel. Add that to the fact that a fluid trainer itself is basically silent (all you hear is the bike) and the only reason not to ride on one is if you can't afford it.

So are you saying that this
http://www.usauzziesales.com/bt-ats-ergo%20trainer.htm
wouldn't be too noisy?
SteveMc

Back in the day I had Vetta Super Quad Fan... During sprint efforts you couldn't hear a damn thing... It was LOUD.

Yes, but I can't say for sure,since I have never tried it. You could probably ask their customer service regarding noise. I would imagine that the noise level is probably similar to what you get with the concept 2 rowing machines. The newer Concept 2's are very quiet, even at high wattages.

I don't understand why that trainer has to cost over $2000.00. The Findlay trainer was somewhere in the 2 to $300.00 price range.

That's Oz dollars (1$oz = .75$US) so we're talking 1500$US
SteveMc

I'll take a sound meter home today and measure mine. What speed/watts do you want?

I ride a Specialized 3000 I bought back in 1985.

My first guess is that it will be somewhere between 60 and 70 db. That's a pretty large range considering it's measured on a logarithmic scale.

jaretj

60-70 is pretty large, huh? Not sure as speed/watts - I go 20 or so for my long rides and up to 30 for intervals, all on the road.

One guy said he couldn't hear his ipod while riding his cyclops wind trainer, much less the TV. That's way too loud for me. Your experience?

it's completely possible I've been using my fluid trainer improperly but it is louder as well. If you are watching TV, especially with someone else, you've got to turn up the TV. Not impossible but noticeable. Headphones would be best.

Dan
www.aiatriathlon.com

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http://www.aiatriathlon.com

The sound level of the trainer will be affected by the level of effort. If you are going hard, the noise will be a little louder. If you are just spinning easy it will be quieter.

I would compare the sound from a trainer to be about the same level as a blow dryer on medium or high. Your table mentioned as much as 65 decibels. I don;t have a relative idea based on decibels, but to me a good effort on a wind trainer sounds like someone using a blow dryer on a moderate setting in terms of volume.

One note, we typically have $199.99 wind trainers that we have to sell for $99 on sale because people don;t want the noise since they ride in th morning or evening and don't want to disturb others. Often times a person will buy a wind trainer and return it after a week to exchange it for a fluid resistance trainer.

I'd also suggest that a fluid resistance trainer actually does have better road feel than most fan-resistance wind trainers.

Check this out:http://www.bikesportmichigan.com/...s/kurt-kinetic.shtml

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

During steady riding, I could just hear the TV if it was turned up all the way. By this time all other life forms had exited the room. If I hit the intervals, it was loud enough to affect my focus.

I always thought that my old blackburn fan trainer (with the nice heavy flywheel) had better road feel than my current trainer, a Trek Cyclops style fluid trainer. The resistance curve on the fluid trainer seems to improve after about 10-15 minutes, as the unit heats up. I think the difference in road feel has a lot to do with the relatively light flywheel on the fluid trainer.

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Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly

Now I didn't do this test in an anechoic chamber, just my bedroom.

Background noise 46 db

Riding at 18 mph 155 watts 86db

TV on to listen over the trainer 91 db

Just for reference:
Soft whisper about 45 db (guess that's subjective)
Normal conversation about 60db
Traffic around my place when Hines drive is closed 89 db
My loudest electric drill 103 db
My cordless drill 72 db
I don't own a hair dryer, my hair is 3/4 inch long

Measurements taken with a B&K 2260 Investigator

jaretj

thanks