Stationary Bike (2nd floor)

[oogabooga]

I recently moved, long story short, getting to my gym (or any gym really) is a pain in the ass now thanks to traffic around where I am and when I could go to the gym.

I live on the second floor of my building and I was wondering if an exercise bike would make a lot of noise for the people below me? And if not, any recommendations on a good exercise bike? Wouldn't want to spend too much (aiming for around 300). Indifferent to sit up or recumbent.

 

[sdifox]

why would the exercise bike generate a lot of noise for the people below you?

 

[amicold]

Find a solid one, and throw down some el-cheapo rubber mats from walmart to further dampen vibration. When I read this title I thought you were going to be deadlifting some diesel weight on a second story which would be a terrible idea.

 

[Invisible Evil]

Maybe some vibration but that's about it. My house is on stilts because I am on a lake my treadmill shook the floor badly, I put in rubber mats and that helped a lot.

 

[oogabooga]

Originally posted by: sdifox
why would the exercise bike generate a lot of noise for the people below you?

I would assume it wouldn't, but as I haven't lived above people before, I don't want to just assume and become that annoying neighbor upstairs. I haven't really used a stationary bike at home since the only place I use one is the gym, and it's always loud in a gym.

 

[Scarpozzi]

It all depends on the way the building is constructed and what materials are used. I have a 1upUSA bike trainer. When I get on it, the floor vibrates a good deal....wood floors with a basement below me. The sound resonates.

The rubber mat idea will help a little, but if the bike weighs anything the vibration will still make it down there. You might want to exercise not earlier than 5am and not later than 10pm and forget about the neighbors. If it bothers them, they might let you know....just be ready to adjust to be neighborly.

 

[imported_Imp]

As long as you don't do wheelies...

Honestly, just make sure the bike is stable. The POS I use has short legs that cause it to vibrate and bob around if I ride it too "hard". To be sure, go to Ikea and get a $10 carpet/doormat to go under it.

 

[oogabooga]

So am I looking for a lighter or heavier bike? And how will I determine if it's stable, like if I ride it it's smooth without a lot of vibration or is there another factor I should look at?

 

[911paramedic]

I would set up a racquetball court downstairs and only play at night if you did that above me.

 

[Swagman]

Floor construction will greatly effect the potential for resonance. Some floors that have no squeeks generated anywhere from foot traffic, can still easily pick up the vibration from a stationary bike.

The weight of the bike will be a relatively unimportant percentage of the total, when you are on it.

I helped two different people with the same concerns, who had experienced no luck with the 'simple' solutions.

A slab of 2" memory foam mattress topper from Target was used, along with 1/2" thick sound board from Lowes. The board came in 4' x 8' sheets, and was located in the building materials section, very near to where the sheets of white styrofoam insulation boards were standing in vertical racks. The board is slightly 'fuzzy', and has the appearance of many splinters of wood compressed and adhered as a sheet. Cost was maybe only $10, and I never found it listed on their website.

The foam and board were cut to about 6" larger than the footprint of the bike's feet, partly to spread the load, and partly because the board is not very strong and could somewhat easily break if the feet were too close to the edge.

The people below said no noise from the bikes could be heard, after the padding.