# Trainer mats and vibration



## Love Commander (Aug 20, 2009)

I have my trainer set up in the back room of my apartment. I'm on the 2nd floor, and the back room is elevated above the patio of the apartment below. This seems to set up some pretty good resonance, because the entire back half of the apartment rumbles when I get on the trainer. Freaked my poor neighbor out when I tried the first time. It's pretty loud.

Anyone have any before/after experience with the rubber floor mats and how much they reduce vibration and noise? I figure there's still going to be some noise, but what I get right now is unacceptable.

Thanks.


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## NCLRACER (Dec 3, 2009)

A mat will definately help, but I'm not sure how much.


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## Love Commander (Aug 20, 2009)

That's kind of what I figure. But I'd hate to spend the $50-$60 to get a mat made specifically for this only to find out that it's still unacceptably loud.


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## NCLRACER (Dec 3, 2009)

Hopefully someone else with before/after experience will chime in. When i bought my trainer the LBS told me if I was in an apartment or using the trainer where there was no carpet, that a mat was a must. I use it in the basement so its not a problem.


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## tommyrhodes (Aug 19, 2009)

I live on the first floor, theres a basement under me. There is wood flooring beneath my trainer and theres almost no vibration. And I've got a pretty junky trainer. maybe try the local flooring store for some thick carpet samples? Or even just a towel to see if that helps at all......


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

Yes; I dealt with the precise situation you're experiencing.

When my employer moved too far away so that commuting was no longer practical, I had to buy a trainer. Since I too, live on the second floor, my first concern was offending the neighbors below. Since my apartment is a loft style, I could experiment by having a friend ride the trainer in the loft bedroom while I listened from the lower level or out in the hall.

The vibration we both experienced is not from the style of trainer or a faulty trainer; I tried both a Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer and Kreitler rollers-the smoothest and quietest two training tools you can find. The vibration is from the combination of tolerances in roundness of the trainer's roller and your tire. Typical trainer rollers can be out of round by about 0.003". Typical tolerances on a tire are ten times that. That's what sets up the vibration, which I learned after talking to the helpful people at Kurt Kinetic. You won't find a more round tire to reduce the vibration.

There are several factors which will affect the amplitude of the vibration:
Distance, stiffness, damping, and mass.

Distance-get the trainer as far away from your neighbors.
Stiffness- Stiffen up the floor of your back room so it won't vibrate. Not practical in either of our situations.

Damping-Place the trainer on a surface that will absorb the vibration. I tried vibration damping feet that are usually placed under electric pumps and motors.

Mass-Make the surface on which your trainer sits so heavy that the energy created by riding it isn't sufficient to cause the floor to vibrate. My experience was you would have to line the entire floor of your room with patio blocks to create a mass too heavy for your trainer energy to vibrate. My guess is, it would have to be a factor of your combined body/bike/trainer weight. Let's say you and your stuff weighs 200lbs. The vibration is present. You would have to add a minimum of 200lbs. of mass under the trainer to damp the vibration "x". Any increase in vibration damping of additional factor "x" would require a multiple of 200lbs.-200lbs., 400lbs., 600lbs., etc.

I personally invested $200 in trying to squelch my problem with no success, on a carpeted floor to begin with. The typical trainer mat was useless. I tried a thick foam mat under a sheet of plywood but the trainer was unstable. I purchased special vibration damping blocks, a vibration damping mat, and a lead mat. I even filled the hollow tubes of the trainer with lead shot-60 lbs. worth. Nothing would reduce the vibration to a satisfactory level.

I bought my materials from soundproofing.org. Lots of information and products available. You could try them but I personally didn't have any luck. In fact, I still have the mat and pads; I'll sell them to you cheap.


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## Love Commander (Aug 20, 2009)

Lots of good info. Thanks, Peter P. Sounds exactly like my situation. Sorry to hear you had to blow through $200 without finding a solution.

I guess I'll go with plan b. There's an awning over a stone patio outside my back door. If it's raining and I can't or don't want to ride, I can always set up on there and tough it out if it's cold.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Vibration damping*



Love Commander said:


> Anyone have any before/after experience with the rubber floor mats and how much they reduce vibration and noise? I figure there's still going to be some noise, but what I get right now is unacceptable.


You can do a really cheap sound damping with carpet remnants sandwiched between a couple of sheets of OSB. Throw in a sheet of foam insulation, and you can cut a huge amount of noise.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

Take a look in Target, KMart or similar for a Yoga mat. They come rolled up in plastic. They are basically a huge computer mouse pad - .25 to .33' thick foam rubber with a good covering so they won't crumble. I found one for ~ $10-15. They measure about 2.5' wide x 6.5' long. They work like a charm.


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## DieselDan (Sep 14, 2002)

Thanks everyone. I just bought a trainer and live in a house that is slightly elevated(3') and the rumbling and vibration is more then I expected. I'll check around for yoga mat idea before saw and cutting OSB board and carpet.


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## Peter P. (Dec 30, 2006)

Love Commander... said:


> Trust me on this one; it doesn't matter how cold it is. You will generate so much heat you'll be stripping off balaclavas, jackets, gloves, and maybe more, even when the temps are in the 20's.
> 
> A few times during the winter I set up my rollers in the parking lot. Heck; I was sweating!


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

Peter P. said:


> A few times during the winter I set up my rollers in the parking lot. Heck; I was sweating!


Huh. I just put the studs on and ride my bike. Works up a sweat for me too.


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## Wheelman55 (Jul 10, 2009)

Peter P. said:


> Stiffness- Stiffen up the floor of your back room so it won't vibrate. Not practical in either of our situations.
> 
> Mass-Make the surface on which your trainer sits so heavy that the energy created by riding it isn't sufficient to cause the floor to vibrate. My experience was you would have to line the entire floor of your room with patio blocks to create a mass too heavy for your trainer energy to vibrate. My guess is, it would have to be a factor of your combined body/bike/trainer weight. Let's say you and your stuff weighs 200lbs. The vibration is present. You would have to add a minimum of 200lbs. of mass under the trainer to damp the vibration "x". Any increase in vibration damping of additional factor "x" would require a multiple of 200lbs.-200lbs., 400lbs., 600lbs., etc.
> 
> ...


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

I have my rollers on 2 pieces of carpet and I still have some vibration when I get the speed cranked. No one has complained yet so I guess it's quiet enough!


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## MANTEIGA (Sep 26, 2008)

*...*

i had this problem too.

i solved it by going to my local car audio store and picked up a few feet of dyna-mat sound dampening sheets... make sure it's the one with asphalt on one side and the "tinfoil" on the other side. once you stick it , it is very hard to remove so put it somewhere good or less effectively, don't stick it at all and use it as a portable mat, but it worked great. 
if it can keep those lowered-rat- fast and the furious- 85' honda civics from rattling at 150 decibles, it will silence your fluid trainer.:thumbsup:


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Distribute the surface your trainer sits on over a larger area. My brother plays drums.. For a while he used a wooden platform filled with old pillows and such to dampen the rumble through our parents house.. Now he just doesn't care and plays in the middle of the "band room". 

I know for a fact the larger surface area helped. Maybe a larger piece of plywood with some stiff foam under it will help.


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