In need of a new bike trainer. I live on the 3rd floor of a 3-family (original structure built in 1895). I really like my downstairs neighbors. Can live without bells and whistles. Will pay for unused bells and whistles if it means quietest (or close to) on the market. Any suggestions for the best trainer in this situation?
In need of a new bike trainer. I live on the 3rd floor of a 3-family (original structure built in 1895). I really like my downstairs neighbors. Can live without bells and whistles. Will pay for unused bells and whistles if it means quietest (or close to) on the market. Any suggestions for the best trainer in this situation?
The Wahoo Kickr is super quiet, really only hear the drivetrain (which can be quite loud fyi on some bikes).
Building on this, a smart bike can be even quieter because they (generally) don’t have a drivetrain. Pretty much all of the new 1k+ trainers are quieter than your drivetrain at this point. Certainly a jump up in price, but likely the lowest overall volume option. Throw some mats under whatever you end up with to help dampen vibration transfers.
I think the KICKR CORE is the least expensive quiet trainer. After that, the KICKR and Tacx Neo are quiet and standard bearers.
You’re not going to be able to beat the new Zwift trainer on price and it is apparently quiet as can be. https://us.zwift.com/pages/zwift-hub
The 4iiii flight trainer is pretty inexpensive and silent. It uses magnets that don’t touch the wheel to generate resistance. I’ve never used one though, I would read the DC Rainmaker review.
If getting a wheel on trainer, get an indoor specific tire which helps dampens the noise and vibration.
look into getting a horse mat or rubber gym floor also.
I live on the 2nd floor of an apt. I sandwiched a few 1/4" rubber spacers between two plywood sheets and placed a horse mat on top.
no complaints from downstairs (Dumb Cyclops Trainer)
On a scale of LeMond Revolution (small airplane in the room with you) to the 4iiii trainer (the sound of your drivetrain), you are probably looking for any modern wheel-off from Tacx or Wahoo. I love my H3, and it is more quiet than my rollers, but it’s not as quiet as those brands. The 4iiii is cool, and if silence is your primary goal it’s probably best, but lots of compromise compared to a Neo/Flux/Kickr-type.
If the budget allows - the Stages SB20 is very quite due to its belt drive
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The H3 is a pretty quiet trainer, and can be found for under 400. I’m happy with it. I went from fluid 2 trainer to this.