A turbo trainer mat, a fan and a front wheel riser block are the three accessories every indoor cyclist needs. Total cost: approximately £60-80. Halfords, BikeRadar and every cycling forum consistently list these as non-negotiable. A trainer-specific tyre is essential for wheel-on trainers — it reduces noise and prevents your road tyre from shredding.
Beyond the essentials, most accessories are optional upgrades. The Wahoo KICKR Headwind fan (£230) is excellent but a £15 desk fan works. A sweat guard (£10) protects your headset bearings. Matt ranks every accessory below by how much it actually improves your indoor riding — based on 15 winters of coaching and real feedback from cycling forums.
Turbo Trainer Accessories: Priority Ranking
Ranked by impact on your indoor training experience. Buy essentials first.
Training Mats: Why You Cannot Skip This
Sweat contains salt. Salt corrodes metal and stains wood floors. A single hour on a turbo trainer produces more sweat than two hours outdoors — there is no wind to evaporate it. Without a mat, your floor takes the damage.
A trainer mat also reduces vibration noise. Singletrack World forum users confirmed “a mat made a small but noticeable difference” to vibration levels. If you train upstairs or in a flat with neighbours below, a mat is non-negotiable.
“A mat made a small but noticeable difference. Wall-mounted carpet offcuts also helped reduce resonance.”
— stevious, Singletrack World Forum
Which Mat?
BEST OVERALL
Wahoo KICKR Trainer Mat
~£55-70
Large enough for any trainer + bike setup. Thick PVC absorbs vibration. Non-slip base. The standard recommendation across cycling forums.
BUDGET ALTERNATIVE
Elite Training Mat
~£35
Smaller than the Wahoo but covers the trainer footprint. Thinner — less vibration dampening. Adequate for ground-floor rooms.
Forum hack: lunge on Singletrack World recommends layering a yoga mat over a camping mat for noise reduction on a budget. This works — but a proper trainer mat lasts years and resists sweat better than yoga mats.
Fans: The Most Underrated Accessory
Outdoors, airflow cools you naturally. Indoors, there is none. Your core temperature rises faster than your body can manage. Without a fan, performance drops within 10 minutes and sweat output doubles.
A desk fan or floor fan positioned at chest height is the minimum. BikeRadar listed it in their top 10 essential accessories. Halfords recommends placing it directly in front of you at handlebar height.
Fan options by budget:
- £15 — desk fan from any supermarket. Works for sessions under 45 minutes.
- £30-50 — floor fan with oscillation. Better airflow for longer sessions.
- £230 — Wahoo KICKR Headwind. Connects to your trainer via ANT+ and increases fan speed as your power output rises. Genuinely useful for hard interval sessions but expensive.
Matt’s recommendation: buy a £30 floor fan. If you train three or more times per week through winter and find overheating limits your sessions, upgrade to the Wahoo KICKR Headwind.
Front Wheel Riser Block
A turbo trainer raises your rear wheel 2-4 inches. Without a riser block, your front wheel sits lower — tilting your body forward and putting extra pressure on your wrists and lower back.
A riser block typically has three grooves — each lifting the front wheel to a different height so you can level the bike. They cost £8-15 and last forever. Most have a non-slip base that also prevents the front wheel from rolling.
Direct drive trainers (KICKR Core 2, JetBlack Victory, Saris H3) remove the rear wheel entirely. The height difference is smaller but still exists. A riser block remains useful for comfort on sessions over 30 minutes.
Trainer Tyres: Essential for Wheel-On Trainers
Wheel-on trainers press a roller against your rear tyre. Regular road tyres are not designed for this — they overheat, wear unevenly and leave rubber residue on the roller. A trainer-specific tyre solves all three problems.
BEST SELLER
Continental Hometrainer II
~£25-36
Blue compound designed specifically for trainer rollers. Lasts significantly longer than road tyres. Reduces noise and improves grip on the roller.
BUDGET OPTION
Vittoria Zaffiro Pro Home Trainer
~£20-32
Cheaper alternative to the Continental. Slightly less durable but works well for occasional training (1-2 sessions per week).
Direct drive trainer owners do not need a trainer tyre — the rear wheel is removed entirely. This is one of the key advantages of direct drive: zero tyre cost, zero tyre noise.
Noise Reduction Tips From Forum Users
Noise is the most common turbo trainer complaint on cycling forums. Singletrack World and TrainerRoad threads consistently recommend these solutions.
- Use a trainer mat — absorbs vibration that transmits through floors and walls
- Switch to a trainer tyre — smoother compound reduces tyre-on-roller noise
- Check bearings — dry bearings cause escalating noise. Grease fixes it.
- Use smaller chainring — 34T is noticeably quieter than 50T on direct drive
- Consider rollers — “much more tolerable than the turbo” according to forum users
“Dry bearing was cause of escalating noise. Packing with grease made trainer almost silent in comparison.”
— bhill22, Singletrack World Forum
“Rollers are much more tolerable than the turbo — I can listen to the radio without headphones at moderate intensity.”
— jamesoz, Singletrack World Forum
Accessories FAQ
Do I need a riser block with a direct drive trainer?
Not strictly — the height difference is smaller than with wheel-on trainers. However, most direct drive trainers still raise the rear slightly. For sessions over 30 minutes, a riser block improves comfort by levelling your body position. At £8, it is worth having.
Can I use a yoga mat instead of a trainer mat?
Yes — a yoga mat protects your floor from sweat. It is thinner than a dedicated trainer mat, so vibration dampening is limited. Singletrack forum user lunge recommends layering a yoga mat over a camping mat for better results. A proper trainer mat resists sweat better and lasts longer.
Is the Wahoo KICKR Headwind worth £230?
The Headwind connects to your trainer via ANT+ and adjusts fan speed based on your power output or heart rate. It genuinely improves the experience during hard interval sessions. A £30 floor fan covers 80% of the benefit at 13% of the cost. Buy the Headwind only if you train 4+ times per week and find overheating limits your performance.
What is a sweat guard and do I need one?
A sweat guard is a fabric strip that stretches from stem to seatpost, catching drips before they reach your headset, stem bolts and top tube. Sweat corrodes alloy parts and can seize headset bearings over a single winter. At £10-20, it prevents hundreds of pounds in bike repairs. Use one alongside a towel draped over the bars.
Matt’s accessories verdict: Buy a Wahoo trainer mat (£55), a riser block (£8), a floor fan (£30) and a Continental trainer tyre (£25, wheel-on only). Total: £93-118. These four items make indoor training comfortable, protect your floor and bike, and reduce noise for anyone nearby.
Matt Hargreaves
Level 2 British Cycling Coach | Zwift Certified | BSc Sport Science
Matt has destroyed two headsets with sweat damage — he now uses a sweat guard and towel on every indoor session. His current setup uses a Wahoo mat, JetBlack riser block and a floor fan from Argos.