I recently made a version of the rocket launcher rocker plate. For the little money I spent on it I’m finding that it is 100% worth the effort despite well documented shortcomings in providing a completely analogous experience to being out of the saddle on the road. My is very grateful perineum, as well as the folks in the apartment below me, are very grateful (noise dampening was a secondary goal of the project).
There are some tweaks I want to make to the rocker plate but while watching my wife on it this morning noticed how much bounce is going on at the base of the plate (See video here) and wondered how much power is being lost in that vertical movement. Has anyone pondered this? Additionally what have other people tried to do with noise/vibration dampening with the Wahoo Kickr 2018 with or without a rocker plate?
I have additional foam on the base of the rocker plate in addition to the pad on the floor to aid in vibration/noise dampening (which have entirely eliminated noise traveling through the floor). The spring in this additional foam is the main cause of purely vertical movement and the most significant potential power loss. I assume if any power is lost in the tilt of the upper base of the plate that mimics potential power lost by the same movement on the road and does not warrant concern. I guess at the end of the day though it doesn’t really matter, does it? If I have to train 5-10 watts higher all the time what’s the worst that could happen, I get stronger? That’s not the worst outcome. Either way, curious about other folks’ noise-canceling techniques that don’t consist of shelling out $1400 for a Tacx Neo 2 or New Kickr.
The vertical movement in your video is minimal, IMHO. I have seen much worse. Even with your situation, it is a non-issue for the purpose of training. You are getting all the demand from your body, regardless of the minimal bounce.
If your are doing Zwift races, that is a different matter. The power loss my impact your peak and average power over a Z race.
I’ll use the small ring for steady efforts below ftp and it is very quiet but for sprints I find that the trainer is able to ratchet resistance faster and I am able to achieve the target power more quickly. It also feels quite a bit better to be ina larger ring with the kickr.
That is a mixed answer. Some rocker plate and trainer combos actually make sound and vibration noise worse. Rockr Indoor uses special rubber mat pressed on their decks to control this issue.
The “simple” approach for many is to make sure to use a thick trainer mat under any trainer or rocker, to aid isolation if at all possible. Adding rubber to the rocker deck can work, but not all rubbers do the same job of fixing that noise and vibration issue.
I absolutely LOVE my rocker (thank you @mcneese.chad ), but I would not buy one just for noise dampening. That’s a big expense that could probably be better solved with a trainer mat or something.
I should add, that there is at least one “rocker plate” design that some people claim is best at sound and vibe control. A “tennis ball rocker” that is a top deck, supported entirely by tennis balls is noted to help isolate some vibrations. That is opposed to the other options like mechanical pivots or even rubber mounts. Something about the pressurized nature of the pure spring support MAY just be better than other rockers.
But as mentioned, if pure sound & vibe control is the goal, I think mats may be the better solution in many cases.