Can you quiet down an older Kickr (2016 V2)?

I’m not talking about the freehub noise while coasting. I mean make it quieter while pedaling.

I saw a video on youtube about tightening the belt. Would tightening the belt quiet things down? I’m sure my belt has never been tightened.

Unless it is loose enough that you are getting actual belt slipping on the cogs, adjusting tension won’t help much with noise. The sound you get is unavoidable from the cogged pulley & belt (grooves across the width). It’s the reason Wahoo and others switched to the ribbed pulley & belt designs (grooves along the width) to get quieter operation.

At this point with that old of a trainer, your real best option would be to get the new Kickr Core at the discounted $600 USD price if sound is that much of a priority. It is quiet and as good or better than your older Kickr in most ways (other than the folding & height adjustable frame).

And since you mention belt tension, keep in mind that altering it can potentially impact power data measurement. I’d suggest contacting Wahoo or using official support info if heading down that road, and likely doing a “factory spindown” to get it back to best operation.

Thanks Chad. Most likely I’ll get riding it until it dies. It just seemed a little noisier than usual today and I was wondering if there was any solution.

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Probably can’t hurt to dig into tension a bit, but I wouldn’t expect a major improvement for sound unless something is well out of spec.

Ironically with the timing of this thread… I took my wife’s bike off her trainer for an outdoor ride and then back on. When putting it back on I noticed spinning the flywheel had a “sticky” sound to it and then noticed when pedaling it also sounds a bit strange / louder than mine (both are v2, 2016).

I may take the belt cover off and see if the belt looks ok or if things look really dirty like one video I also found (which indicated merely cleaning up some of the pulleys in there could help)

I should add that for my Hammer/H2, I used some belt conditioner at one point that it got “squeaky”. The one linked below removed my issue when I sprayed a small amount through the vent holes in the frame, right on the belt.

Maybe that could be worth a try here too? I never had a similar issue with my Wahoo Kickr 2017 V3 (old belt & cog like yours) despite using it for longer than the Hammer’s I had. May well be that the Wahoo belts are better than the Hammer ones since I know I got this spray solution as a result of discussion with other Hammer owners.

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Thanks for the idea, I was actually considering the same once I look at the cleanliness under the cover. I actually have an old can of the stuff in my trainer room that I experimented with spraying on an old trainer tire a few times (with a wheel-on kinetic road machine) to see if it would make a difference in that setup like 10 years ago :slight_smile:

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In my experience with car fan belts, if you have to spray it to quiet it down then it needs to be replaced. The spray also doesn’t last and taking the cover off/on would be a bit annoying.

The pitch and volume of noise from a toothed belt can be affected by tension. Assuming it has got looser over time, you could try tightening it a little to see if it helps.

Don’t overdo it though - the belt on my Kickr V1 broke a few weeks after I (over) tightened it.

You could even replace the belt for $28 (plus shipping) if you think the trainer still has some life in it…

I’m vacillating between taking it apart and/or installing a new belt and leaving well enough alone since it’s working fine. :slight_smile: