Question on how loud airdyne/bikes are

[shadowforum]

I'm looking to buy an Assault airbike or Schwinn airdyne for apartment use and I wanted to know how loud they were. I've used them before but it only at gyms and couldn't tell how loud they really were. I'm not so much worried about the neighbors to my side (My apartment is in the corner on the top floor) I'm more worried about how it would effect my neighbors below me. Anyone have any experience with owning one inside an apartment? Are certain models quieter than others? Thanks in advance guys.

[CliveWarren]

Are we talking about a modern high-rise with poured concrete or a brownstone or duplex/triplex with wooden floors?

I suppose if you picked up something for the right price off Craigslist you could trial the thing and if it proves to be too loud, get rid of it without any money lost.

[shadowforum]

It's definitely not a modern high rise, it's a 3 story apartment that is carpeted. I believe under the carpet there is this (foam layer) that protects it against the concrete that is the base floor). Not planning on using it at night or anything, probably just during the day or early evening if that makes any such difference.

[matchsprint]

Noisy enough that you will have trouble watching TV when using it, and the vibration will go through the floor and be noticeable below you. Upstairs might or might not hear it.

Those of us who happen to race bikes as well (bicycles) steer away from them like the plague. Anything with a fan makes noise and vibration. A few better suggestions: Get a magnetic trainer and find a cheap Craigslist bike on it (get the bike to fit you and don't worry about condition because you'll sweat all over it and corrode it. Second, if you want something really nice, get a Wahoo Kickr and again, find an inexpensive bike and install it on it. The Wahoo lets you connect to an iPhone or iPad and have complete control over wattage and every other variable. The Wahoo is the hot way to train seriously indoors these days among bike racers, but it is definitely expensive -- just if you're spending money on an Airdyne you are a good part of the way to a Wahoo and definitely you've got a trainer like a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine or 1Up trainer. Plus you have a bike to ride on the roads when the weather is nice and you want to get your exercise in the open air. For these and other devices, check out reviews on the dcrainmaker website. It's the big review site, very highly regarded, for all kinds of this kind of equipment.

[trimble006]

Noisy enough that you will have trouble watching TV when using it, and the vibration will go through the floor and be noticeable below you. Upstairs might or might not hear it.

Those of us who happen to race bikes as well (bicycles) steer away from them like the plague. Anything with a fan makes noise and vibration. A few better suggestions: Get a magnetic trainer and find a cheap Craigslist bike on it (get the bike to fit you and don't worry about condition because you'll sweat all over it and corrode it. Second, if you want something really nice, get a Wahoo Kickr and again, find an inexpensive bike and install it on it. The Wahoo lets you connect to an iPhone or iPad and have complete control over wattage and every other variable. The Wahoo is the hot way to train seriously indoors these days among bike racers, but it is definitely expensive -- just if you're spending money on an Airdyne you are a good part of the way to a Wahoo and definitely you've got a trainer like a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine or 1Up trainer. Plus you have a bike to ride on the roads when the weather is nice and you want to get your exercise in the open air. For these and other devices, check out reviews on the dcrainmaker website. It's the big review site, very highly regarded, for all kinds of this kind of equipment.

A spin bike and an airdyne aren't even comparable. Completely different training goals, styles, etc.

[matchsprint]

A spin bike and an airdyne aren't even comparable. Completely different training goals, styles, etc.

I didn't say anything in my post about a spin bike, so I don't know why this response.

The point, now that you brought up spin bikes, is true, which is why my recommendations are a magnetic trainer or a Wahoo Kickr. However, the OP didn't indicate what he was actually trying to train for, and if it's aerobic capacity he can still do that fairly effectively with a spin bike. Many people don't really understand what an airdyne is good for or not, and since he didn't indicate his intended use, I might offer other suggestions that work.

[shadowforum]

Hey guys, sorry I didn't mention what I was going to be using the airbike for, I was just merely wanting to do some Tabata intervals on it. I remember my old gym had one and it was the best cardio machine I had ever used, since then I moved pretty far away and the gyms around my area don't have any airbikes. The few gyms that do have it are Crossfit gyms and I have no intention of joining one of those. Hope that clears it up, and I have no living above me, I am the upper most unit in my complex.

@Matchsprint - Thanks for you suggestion for the magnetic trainer and Wahoo Kickr but it's not really what I'm looking for.

[trimble006]

I didn't say anything in my post about a spin bike, so I don't know why this response.

The point, now that you brought up spin bikes, is true, which is why my recommendations are a magnetic trainer or a Wahoo Kickr. However, the OP didn't indicate what he was actually trying to train for, and if it's aerobic capacity he can still do that fairly effectively with a spin bike. Many people don't really understand what an airdyne is good for or not, and since he didn't indicate his intended use, I might offer other suggestions that work.

Change spin bike to magnetic bike. There isn't a magnetic bike that's comparable to an Airdyne, that I'm aware of.

[matchsprint]

Change spin bike to magnetic bike. There isn't a magnetic bike that's comparable to an Airdyne, that I'm aware of.

The LeMond uses a fan with the same idea in mind as the Airdyne, but it's still noisier, more vibration, and less control than one can get with a Wahoo Kickr or even with a Kurt Kinetic, 1Up, etc. But the heart of the issue is that the mechanism of producing resistance may be different, but the result from a workout perspective can be the same, or better, and environmental conditions can be better as well (noise/vibration/etc). Advanced and professional cyclists are swapping out of old fan-based devices into magnetic ones that offer better control, less noise, and have better and more consistent application of resistance. For Tabatas, in particular, a Wahoo Kickr is superb and its own control software actually lets you do Tabatas really well -- instant increase in power/resistance rather than spending half your interval just trying to get your cadence up to speed, and so on.

And to be clear, even newer spin bikes are being built with magnetic controls and interfacing via ANT+ or BT4.0 to tablets, phones, or computers for sophisticated control and analysis. It's all in what you do with it.

[FelthRogan]

I have an assault air bike. I love the bike. The interval training sessions and that beast have been amazing. Sound wise the bike just sounds like a big fan while your going hard but the monitor actually beeps for every second during the rest portion of the interval. So if you're doing 30 secs on/ 1 min off for like 15 rounds or something you'll get 1 min of beeping. It's kind of loud but after you start going for awhile you tune it out. Not sure if the neighbors could tune it out though. My assault bike is out in my garage though so I don't have to worry about it. You could always unplug the wire going to the monitor though but you won't get any of the information like calories burned or distance traveled and you'll have to use your own timer. Great piece of equipment for HIIT.

[cmarti063]

Monark bikes are the actual bikes used in the Wingate protocol. They use actual brakes to provide resistance, meaning they are much quieter than the Airdyne. The 828E is a good model.

http://www.amazon.com/Monark-Exercis.../dp/B000UU9WKY

[matchsprint]

Yes. If you have the $, they are superb and you can find 828E's on sale used quite frequently and for very good prices. However, if you have the interest and want something to control and interface from your phone or computer, I'd still recommend you check out the Wahoo Kickr. It's taking the cycling/triathlon world by storm and has your computer doing all the programming and analysis. You'll find it's difficult to tune a Monark to be as smooth as a Kickr. You can do all the wattage you want and control it in ways it would take a big additional investment to match on a Monark.

[GreatOldOne]

I'm looking to buy an Assault airbike or Schwinn airdyne for apartment use and I wanted to know how loud they were. I've used them before but it only at gyms and couldn't tell how loud they really were. I'm not so much worried about the neighbors to my side (My apartment is in the corner on the top floor) I'm more worried about how it would effect my neighbors below me. Anyone have any experience with owning one inside an apartment? Are certain models quieter than others? Thanks in advance guys.

I have one (an airdyne) and would say they're pretty loud. I couldn't say if it would bother neighbors in a floor below you but you won't be able to hear a TV very well in the same room if at all. They model of resistance is based on air friction so...they're going to be somewhat loud.

Depending on your location keep in mind if you buy used at ~150 it will retain that value. You could buy it and if you're neighbor complains sell it with no loss except your effort. I'm pretty happy with mine, but I don't have to worry about the noise.