So I just got a Nordictrack Commercial 1750 TM and I’m reconfiguring my Pain Cave. The TM is 63" high. I was hoping to buy a tripod for a 43" TV and use it for both the trainer and TM. Unfortunately the height of the TM means the 24" height TV would have to be 87" high. There is no tripod that high.
I’m now thinking tripod with a TV for the trainer and a wall mount and separate TV for the TM. Any suggestions on my best options?
So I just got a Nordictrack Commercial 1750 TM and I’m reconfiguring my Pain Cave. The TM is 63" high. I was hoping to buy a tripod for a 43" TV and use it for both the trainer and TM. Unfortunately the height of the TM means the 24" height TV would have to be 87" high. There is no tripod that high.
I’m now thinking tripod with a TV for the trainer and a wall mount and separate TV for the TM. Any suggestions on my best options?
LED TV’s are so cheap your easiest bet is to buy one for each use.
If you have to have it mobile then there seems to be lots of adjustable height tv carts on Amazon and elsewhere that should work for this use. Not sure if you were literally looking at tripods or you were talking about one of these carts. The cost of these is as much or more than a small tv.
Yup. Couldnt agree more. I even went one step further and got 4. 2 for the tread, and 2 for trainer. that way i can do zwift and apple tv on both set ups. my set up is fairly close to the wall so i just went with 37" ones i believe. might have been 32, cant recall of top of my head. i think i paid 100 each online during thanksgiving. get a HDMI splitter and an apple tv and you are good to go.
I tried to go the tripod route and swivel something back and forth, but the heights were just too far off. and the hassle. this didnt require much of a set up and is so nice not having to mess with anything. just turn them on and go.
I have a sole f80, probably similar sized to your Nordictrac (not sure, but guessing.)
I put a 32" TV on a freestanding metal tripod and it works great. 42" TV would likely work fine too. For mine, the TV is at eye level and I can see it straight over the TM console without looking upwards.
I don’t watch any TV outside of my home pain cave - but that’s sometimes 6-7 hours a week of TV in there if I’m going all indoors! (Zwift is great too.)
I have a sole f80, probably similar sized to your Nordictrac (not sure, but guessing.)
I put a 32" TV on a freestanding metal tripod and it works great. 42" TV would likely work fine too. For mine, the TV is at eye level and I can see it straight over the TM console without looking upwards.
I don’t watch any TV outside of my home pain cave - but that’s sometimes 6-7 hours a week of TV in there if I’m going all indoors! (Zwift is great too.)
Your mill height is 57" or 6" shorter. The 32" is about 17" tall so about 65" to center. Which tripod mount do you own?
I actually have a prototype setup currently for a dual use for a 24" spare TV I have for my pain cave to use in front of my trainer setup and treadmill (an older nordictrack actually).
Haven’t taken pictures yet (my pain cave is kind of a cluttered mess still) but so far I’ve secured a 2x4 stud about 6’ high to the metal support frame of the treadmill. Then mounted a small articulating monitor wall mount to the stud (that has tilt and moves a full 180 side to side). Found that a nice height for the treadmill is way too high for the aerobars on the trainer. So I lowered it to optimize for the bike trainer for now since I’m not running much these days (that will change soon hopefully).
I’m brainstorming ideas to quickly move it up and down though. So far one of the more reliable idea I’ve thought of using spring loaded pop pins and some metal tube with pre punched holes (kind of like how a gym weight machine you move the pulleys).
But again I did this because I ended up with the spare TV and wanted a project to do to keep me occupied besides training. I also am trying to do it for as cheap as possible juts as a challenge. Otherwise I’d design some of of tubular metal and have it cut/welded professionally instead. Trickiest part for me is the TV I’m using doesn’t have a VESA mount. So I had to rig something up to work (and tried to do it as cheaply as possible with stuff I had leftover from other home projects).
For entertainment I kept it minimal and hooked up a Chromecast. Using a set of wired headphones with the 3.5mm jack on the TV for sound. The headphone cord seems just long enough to us on both the trainer and treadmill. But I can always get an extender if I want. Previously I use a Bluetooth receiver unit to get the TV sound to a pair of headphones. But my unit died and I’m trying to minimize the setup time. And find that too many Bluetooth devices messes with my trainer connection for erg mode.
Or you could get an adjustable height table and for the lowest setting have it work out to the height for the trainer and highest for the treadmill. I didn’t do that because of both cost and limited space in my pain cave.
Couple ideas, I dont know what your space looks like, but these might help
Drop tv down from the ceiling with one of these
https://www.amazon.com/Folding-Ceiling-TV-Mount-LCD-CM211/dp/B00PTVC1Y8
Mound tv on a swinging arm (like what you see at a DR office
https://www.amazon.com/WALI-Premium-Adjustable-Capacity-GSDM001/dp/B0779JSRH5/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=TV+arm&qid=1583514037&s=electronics&sr=1-10
One of the coolest things I saw, someone put their TV mount in one of those barn door systems, so that it slid from 1 side to the other. I think they had 2 mounted on top of each other and they moved them between the bike and treadmill.
The space I have for my pain cave it just doesn’t practically work out to do a ceiling mount or move things around to mount on an actual wall. It is more of a section of the basement than it’s own dedicated room. Still need open access to the area in front of both the trainer and treadmill where they currently live. Another orientation just doesn’t work out so well either.
Plus I wanted to do it cheaply as a challenge. So those two options are more than I have into my current setup. Spent less than $35 total so far into my current setup and that includes a new pair of wired headphones for $18 and the wall mount being $13. But it helps a lot of the other things I’ve used I already had on hand leftover from previous projects.
I was able to find an adjustable tv stand with legs and rollers at Walmart.com. It goes up to a height of 77 inches, so it will have clearance for my treadmill.
I don’t like looking at small screens right in front of me on a treadmill or bike trainer. In my pain cave I have a wall mounted 50" TV with soundbar that tilts left to right so as to be visible from any exercise machine I am on on a given day. I don’t know if you have enough room for this but I recommend it if you do.
I finished assembling my Nordictrack Commercial 1750. I’m waiting on my treadmill mat which is coming tomorrow. I ordered a TV stand for $68. The last thing is to get a TV.
Here’s what I went with for a stand.
if it’s facing a wall, you can go with a barn door slider setup like I did. i built a “VESA compatible” tv mount with a scrap piece of plywood to attach to the sliders on the rail.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, especially if you are using a tri bike and plan to be in aero position in the trainer, you almost can’t mount tv low enough for viewing. Otherwise, depending on the distance away, you will have to uncomfortably crook (is that a word?) your neck to view the tv while in aero position.
Easier and cheaper solution:
$40 solid music stand + Bluetooth earbuds + your laptop on the music stand streaming whatever video/shows you want
.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, especially if you are using a tri bike and plan to be in aero position in the trainer, you almost can’t mount tv low enough for viewing. Otherwise, depending on the distance away, you will have to uncomfortably crook (is that a word?) your neck to view the tv while in aero position.
I recommend a laptop at front skewer height. Just push the screen back and all is fine.
Imo the best spot for TV is the floor, just put some spacers underneath to angle it.
I think there is a sweet spot on height. You don’t want it to high so that it makes your neck hurt but if you can mount it at a height that makes it similar to head position on the road, it will help your neck be less sore when you go outside. You can’t mimic the wind effect on the neck but it helps to be used to looking forward though. My buddies struggle the first few weeks of the year with looking up.
Well, yes, I agree and that is my point. That “sweet spot†is lower than one might think, at least in my experience.
Yes, most pictures I see of people’s setups have their screens far too high.
I think the center of mine is a little below the height of my elbow pads and I have it inclined upwards so I’m looking at it more or less straight on with my eyeline pointing maybe 10-15 degrees downwards whether on the extensions or pursuits. The intension is that my neck is less strained than when riding outdoors, but I do have to look up just a little so I don’t completely lose the habit.