I am going to set up a room with a good space, about 25sqm, as training room/pain cave. I will put a 50inches TV dedicated to Zwift to use the indoor trainer (got the Tacx Neo 2T).
The idea is to have another space dedicated to a treadmill to make it possible to have brick workouts indoor, maybe with another TV?.
I’d also like to have a Vasa Trainer but here in Europe is either impossible to find or too expensive (600 bucks shipping).
So I will place a good fan in front of the bike, the idea is to setup a mirror at the side to check the position while training, and to install in the room a dehumidifer since the room is in the basement and has got just two little windows. The idea is also to decor the wall with medals, stickers, and motivational phrases.
Any other suggestion for designing a good space for training?
I’m trying to figure out a tv mount that I can move across the wall. So I don’t need multiple TVs. I would like it to move up and down as well as left and right. That way I can put it in the perfect spot. But something that advanced, might as well just get another TV.
You need to think about flooring and cleanup. I sweat real bad. And even with a towel on my bike, the floor needs wiped up after.
I would consider a projector for zwift as it can throw a large image and be portable, paint the wall white and you are good to go. I think I would wire the room for cat5 network cable, speaker wire and make sure I have enough outlets for any electrical items i could possibly need.And instead of a mirror a tripod and mount for a video camera or phone. Also I am not sure a fan right in front of you is most efficient, if you are training in a aero position you are effectively trying to hide from the fan, so I would angle it to one side.
Invest in a decent soundbar for your TV as well. My TV’s sound was terrible and way too quiet for when I was working out on my Kickr. Once I got a good soundbar, I could crank that baby up to get crystal clear audio from whatever I was watching.
Another thing I got was a generic desk (about 1/3rd the price of the wahoo one) that I have my laptop on. I use that for Zwift/TrainerRoad and watch my Netflix on the TV. But what’s really cool, is that if I’m just doing a recovery ride, I can easily reply to e-mail, browse ST, or whatever from that laptop as well. Love my little desk.
You are going to want to think about ventilation or else the room will literally stink. Flooring will be a key part of the design phase. Trainer pads/yoga matts/rubberized gym flooring are great at isolating noise and protecting the floor but they can also soak up the smell. The also soak up cleaning products to just cleaning them with industrial chemicals isn’t a good soluton. You want to get something that won’t absorb sweat and is easy to clean.
I’m trying to figure out a tv mount that I can move across the wall. So I don’t need multiple TVs. I would like it to move up and down as well as left and right. That way I can put it in the perfect spot. But something that advanced, might as well just get another TV.
I want to look into a barn door slider with long enough cords and high mounted outlets. You can put the slider against a sofit down the middle of the room or against a wall as you would typically see it. You’ll have to rig something up for the TV mount but if you put it against wall you’ll never see behind it anyway. I’m thinking of doing this against a soffit I have in the unfinished part of my basement and moving my whole setup over there. I need to dig more but there are a lot of variations for the slider and the weight wouldn’t be an issues cus new TVs weigh nothing now.
The barn door idea is a great one.
I was talking to a friend last night about this, he does home automation and all this cool type stuff.
He said for our type of use, the cheapest option might even be buying multiple TVs. You might spend a few hundred on mounts and such, just get a Black Friday deal on another tv instead.
It seems foolish to line up TVs right next to each other though. So wasteful but if it’s the cheapest it sure would look cool.
Its not foolish. Best money I spend on my pain cave. I set up my brothers and just got done setting mine up. It was such a PIA trying to move TVs for various heights to accommodate a road bike, TT bike, and treadmill. The last set up I just got 4 cheap 32" tvs. I put two in front of the bike and two in front of treadmill. That way I can run zwift on one and apple tv on the other. can easily switch the inputs if i want to change what is what. tvs and mounts are pretty cheap now. well worth it in my opinion.
Multiple TV’s work great. I have a 50 inch for zwift and a 32 inch for treadmill and vasa. I move the 32 incher but I’m on the verge of just getting a 3rd.since TV’s are so inexpensive now.
Or a bigger TV. Treadmill next to trainer. 85-inches and you should be able to see the TV from both.
I’m trying to figure out a tv mount that I can move across the wall. So I don’t need multiple TVs. I would like it to move up and down as well as left and right. That way I can put it in the perfect spot. But something that advanced, might as well just get another TV.
I want to look into a barn door slider with long enough cords and high mounted outlets. You can put the slider against a sofit down the middle of the room or against a wall as you would typically see it. You’ll have to rig something up for the TV mount but if you put it against wall you’ll never see behind it anyway. I’m thinking of doing this against a soffit I have in the unfinished part of my basement and moving my whole setup over there. I need to dig more but there are a lot of variations for the slider and the weight wouldn’t be an issues cus new TVs weigh nothing now.
TVs cost about nothing now
One thing to consider…if you are riding in the tri position, you almost can mount/set out tv low enough to the ground (depending on size of room)…you don’t want to set it up too high and make it so you have to cock your head upward to view it. I’ve made this mistake before. I have trainer diagonally at farthest point in the room away from tv in a 11*11 room and, at least for me, tv could almost be set on the ground for ideal viewing height.
I just finished a room in my basement and did this exact thing. Things I love about it:
- 30+ inch tv about 12" off the ground for viewing in aero
- same size tv immediately above with TR mirroring my Ipad
- Treadmill next to bike, but I have a 50" tv at eye level. I decided it’s impossible to comfortably view a tv in aero and on a treadmill. Just buy the extra TV!
- Rubber floor tiles from an online retailer that are awesome and easy to install
- 10’x3’ closet for all my tri stuff. Wheel bags, pump, shoes, cycling apparel, bags, etc.
- Wall mounts for bikes not in use
Let me know if you want to see any photos and I can include them.
Ok, i’m gonna need a bit of clarification on this one.
Are you talking about 'Smart Tv’s ’ that would connect directly to a wireless router, or computer monitors that display, hdmi, off of your laptop/computer ?
Thanks
db
On the two TV set up for cycling, I have a Smart tv on the lower one, and then I wired an HDMI cable through the studs and that goes from iPad to the upper non-smart tv to broadcast my Trainerroad. The treadmill tv is smart too.
This is fairly close to what I ended up with except a single bike TV up a bit higher and TR on the laptop nearby. This bike tv is also on a swing out mount so I can watch it while working on bikes. I have some rubber ‘stall mats’ from the local farm store instead of the higher priced (and nice) rubber tiles.
I see some recommendations for soundbars, but things get so loud once you factor in a couple of fans and a trainer. Headphones are so much nicer for you and everybody else in the residence. Roku has an app where you can stream whatever your Roku tv or Roku stick is playing through your phone and into your headphones. Sound latency is not uncommon though. The Amazon Fire Stick allows you to pair your bluetooth headphones directly to the Fire Stick and there is minimal, if any Latency.
I just finished a room in my basement and did this exact thing. Things I love about it:
- 30+ inch tv about 12" off the ground for viewing in aero
- same size tv immediately above with TR mirroring my Ipad
- Treadmill next to bike, but I have a 50" tv at eye level. I decided it’s impossible to comfortably view a tv in aero and on a treadmill. Just buy the extra TV!
- Rubber floor tiles from an online retailer that are awesome and easy to install
- 10’x3’ closet for all my tri stuff. Wheel bags, pump, shoes, cycling apparel, bags, etc.
- Wall mounts for bikes not in use
Let me know if you want to see any photos and I can include them.
sounds pretty cool!
I built mine up last year. Room is about 12’x12’. Trainer in one corner, treadmill in the other.
Laptop on stand directly in front of the trainer.
51" tv, with Roku, on the wall right across from the trainer.
When on the treadmill, I have to turn my head to the right a bit but it’s fine. There is a staircase in front of the treadmill so no spare TV there.
I used wireless headphones connected to the TV so there is no TV noise to bother anyone else.
I bought three rolls of dense rubber flooring. Same as used in a gym. Rolls were 4’ x 7’. You can get longer rolls if you wanted too. They run from wall to wall from the trainer to the treadmill. The 4-5’ in front of the rubber floor is hardwood.
The rubber flooring is supposedly non absorbing. Although after a year, I noticed it was stinking a bit under the bike. (I sweat a lot). Took the rolls out this summer and scrubbed them with car wash soap and water in the driveway. Smell back to normal.
Before we did the basement over, I used to have the 2’x2’ or 3’x3’ rubber tiles that interlock. They work ok but I found the sweat would seep through where the interlock and ruin everything under them. With the rubber rolls I bought, at 4’ wide I have a solid piece under the bike so nowhere for the sweat to go.
Smells haven’t been too bad. There are two entry/exit points which I think helps dissipate the smell. Stairwell going up stairs and a set of doors going into the rest of the basement. After a hard workout the room is a bit sweaty smelling but by 1/2 hr later it’s gone.
Mattr, where did you buy your rolls and how much did they cost? How squishy are they? I have interlocking squares right now, and they compress enough that my bike wheel will rub unless I put a piece of plywood on top of the mat. I guess I should just put my rocker plate back in now.
I would add my vote for multiple TVs over a movable one. TVs are pretty cheap these days, and mounts are dirt cheap on amazon.