rollers

i know from experience with rollers that when you fall off and wreck and crash it'll make a very loud noise.

outside of that and never having a trainer, only pvc (vs aluminum rollers, pvc are harder to pedal or so i was told) rollers, i can't see where one would be louder. perhaps someone with experience with both will chime in.

It really depends upon if you have a resistance device on the rollers and what that device might be. Rollers and trainers with no resistance are very quiet. Either one with wind resistance is going to be very noisy. Magnetic resitance units are still noisy but better than wind resistance units. Fluid resistance units are not very noisy at all. Unfortunately a trainer without a resistance unit is next to useless. Rollers without resistance units, on the other hand, are good for helping you develop your balance and are great for teaching you to hold your line (it is a good idea to practice this a lot, riding the trainer in a doorway or beside a wall before venturing to the middle of the room).

With a fliud trainer or non-resistance rollers, your neighbors should only hear a slight hum coming from above. Or, if you are really worried, move into a ground floor apartment.

Whether you use a trainer or rollers, there will always be a certain amount of vibration and noise produced. It then comes down to the building materials and how well the apartments are isolated from each other.

They may well be well isolated from a noise point of view, but vibrations can be transmitted through wall and floor materials. For example, you may not be able to hear the motor of an electric drill on the other side of a wall, but as soon as it touches the wall you know all about it!

Further to the above, you may be able to get some sort of vibration isolation padding to put under your equipment and reduce vibration transmission to the building materials.

My rollers are pretty damn loud in my opinion. much louder than some of the fluid trainers i've tried out. No resistance module on mine either. metal drums. still love them though...even with all my 'crashes' (tip overs really). the wheels just spin and leave a mark on the floor.

good idea on the mat. maybe some of those rubberized exercise style mats would help.

Fluid trainers are fairly quiet. With my $40 craigslist fluid trainer and the snap-together kid's foam mats under the bike, our baby and toddler have been known to nap while I'm riding just down the hall from their rooms.

I suggest the foam mats regardless of whether you get a trainer or rollers.

backlippy said:

Hello,

I am considering buying some rollers to train on instead of a trainer due to the noise. I live in an apartment complex and am worried that a trainer would be way too loud. Are rollers significantly more quiet?

Thanks for any help you can provide,

Brian

Rollers can be pretty loud, it's the sound of tires on the drums. BUT rollers are much better than stationary trainers, teach to ride straight, in circles plus you have to pay attention so te time goes more quickly. Get metal drums if you do tho. Kreittler are the best.

i've used both, for me my modern day fluid trainer is a gift from heaven !!
doesn't sound louder than your TV (volume set up a just a little higher than you would normally do).

I have a fluid trainer and rollers. The rollers are definitely quieter.

+1 to Roadhouse for pointing out that when you fall off of them... it's loud... and dangerous. :o

All in all, I like training on rollers. Doing so last Winter definitely helped me improve my bike-handling skills this season. As some have pointed out, however, lack of resistance makes it impossible to obtain realistic power gains on rollers. If you're planning on doing any sort of interval training you're better off with a fluid trainer.