Turbo Trainer noise/vibration reduction?

[scubadude]

I realise Turbo Trainers make noise and it doesn't bother me, since being forced to use it again by the weather I feel obliged to do my best to reduce the transmitted noise/vibration though the floor, anyone experimented with different carpet/foam etc under the trainer to stop the buzz spreading around the house?

FWIW The "road" buzz on the Turbo seems much worse than the road itself, my backside protests much sooner on the Turbo, perhaps the roller being held against the tyre by a big spring means you feel every mm of the tyre.

[Bobley]

The noise is accentuated by the high contact pressure on the small contact patch. Rollers are much quieter in that respect and more forgiving of std road tyres.

If you need to shut the drumming up then put the turbo assembly on a cheap yoga mat and a piece of 3/4" ply on top. You may want to put the front riser block on solid mounts to give a bit of stability.

Not sure on the saddle comfort side of things but I would hypothesise that the lack of lateral movement of the bike is to blame. Having the turbo on the gel yoga mat would give you back a small amount of movement which would not only allow your seat/bum interface to waggle more naturally but would also reduce the unwanted stress applied to the seat/chainstays due to the rear axle being locked in place.

(BTW I haven't tried the above yet but I do have a cheap unused yoga mat in the cupboard so I could in theory give it a try.)

Edited by Bobley on Monday 6th January 09:55

Edited by Bobley on Monday 6th January 09:55

[Accelebrate]

Not sure if you're using one already but I've heard claims that turbo-specific tyres reduce noise. I picked up a Vittoria trainer tyre from Decathlon for £12 at the weekend, I'll report back once I've fitted it.