Gym flooring squares are better than a trainer mat for the bike

Triathlon Forum
1

Just a pointer/opinion based on my own personal experience that may be helpful for others

I have a Wahoo Kickr setup than mainly lives in my garage, but I pull it out into the house on Saturdays when my wife works and I can’t leave my 8-yr old alone in the house (garage doesn’t connect directly to the house.)

I had a regular bike trainer mat that I’d used for awhile, but it was honestly annoying as heck to move it around, lay it out, clean it, as it gets floppy and unwieldy. I ended up using towels under the bike for awhile, which do work ok.

I however recently placed interlocking puzzle-style gym flooring in my garage, which I love. I had 3 extra pieces (You get 6 pieces for $25 on Amazon under their house brand), and I’ve been using them in the house when I setup the bike/Kickr inside. It feels a lot easier to carry, move around, and clean since they break apart easily, and they’re thicker.

I ended up throwing away my bike mat altogether, and I just bust out those 3 extra foam pieces any time I need to bike. They also come in a thin box, so you can easily store them along the wall.

Just a potentially helpful tip/option for anyone else who’s looking for something to put under their bike, esp if it’s just a temporary situation.

2

What are the dimensions of each piece, do they stay flat, and are they firm enough to support your trainer entirely while inside? Looking for something to set up my rollers on inside that won’t squish too much while set up on carpet.

3

Facts.

4

I like gym squares for their ease of use and have an entire room floored with them, however their interlocking design allows water and dirt to get down into between them. The squares expand too based on time and pressure which causes the interlocking gaps to become wider and wider. The dirt is no biggie but the water could cause a problem depending on what type of flooring you have underneath. For my trainer, which is stationary, I still prefer a mat.

5

I doubt they’ll be firm enough to not deform a little on carpet. I use mine on a hard floor indoors so I don’t have that problem. You’d probably have to lay something hard down on your carpet for more stability, I’d guess.