Same question here. Sorry I don't have answers, but I can at least share what I have learned.
I have two areas unknowns: feel and compatibility. On feel, I would indeed like to hear what people say after riding them. The seat looks good. The cockpit looks ok, but a little bit cheesy and static. I'm hopeful that if it is crappy we can rig something to let us put real handlebars on it. I'm disappointed they didn't just put a normal steerer tube or stem so you could swap in real bars - esp for triathletes. The other oddity is that I read it has 170mm cranks. Not too crazy or the end of the world, but again it would be nice if they were changeable or, ideally, were 172.5mm which i would consider the most common. Perhaps I'm wrong on that? The only other big feel unknown is the general flexibility etc. Even on a kickr a carbon bike moves a little and flexes during sprinting and general yanking like a real bike (since it is one) and if this thing feels like a pile of concrete and iron pipes that might be disappointing. Time will tell.
On compatibility, I want to use this with Trainerroad, PerfPro Studio, Zwift, and similar software via PC or mobile device. It has the raw protocol support: ANT+ and Bluetooth. Great. The issue is the ability to control resistance. There is a new standard for that - Fitness Equipment Control (FE-C). I'm not seeing any indication it supports that. Chatter in reviews on Amazon makes it seem like it used to support some sort of resistance control when it was the 300/400 series but no longer does unless one uses their proprietary software.
THAT SAID...
I called CycleOps yesterday and spoke with a tech who recently got trained on supporting third-party sw etc. He said "they" were in and showed Zwift and Trainerroad via PC with the Phantom 5 right there in the office. SO... that sounds awfully hopeful.
Please catalog anything you learn on these areas and I'll do the same. If nothing else changes I expect I'll have one of these to test in October some time. Hoping to know more before then.

So based on what you are saying it seems that the Pro 400 models would be the most compatible with third party platforms.
We are considering between the Phantom 5, Pro 410 or Pro 420.
This is based on requests from clients, but I am still not clear on the pros and cons versus this.
Can you tell me if I am correct about this:
The 410 seems to be the easiest to use while also allowing you to set-up tablets etc. if someone desires.
The 420 seems to do all controls via a tablet so it actually provides less variability.
The phantom 5 is the newer model but provides the least compatibility with 3rd party programs.

Ideally we want something that someone can warm-up on while also providing our serious cycling clients with the option to do their virtual training.
From what I can tell the 410 is the way to go though it is now the most expensive.
From a performance perspective I thought they made some changes to the Phantom series. Do you know if these were improvements?
Did you end up getting the phantoms? Thoughts?

I am going to bump this up to the top to see if anyone else has experience with this bike and applications like TrainerRoad. I am thinking about buying a new bike and they specifically say that it cannot be used on a trainer so I am looking at alternatives.

I'm not sure about the Phantom 5, but I've got the older 300 and 400 Pro and they work great with Trainerroad. They are fantastically built indoor cycles. I got them both used and liked the 300 so much I bought a 400 when I found a deal on Craigslist.

They both have build in powertaps, but the 400 adds electronically controlled resistance (like the Phantom 5). Using it in erg mode with Trainerroad is so much easier than constantly adjusting the power output. That's not a big deal on the 300 for longer intervals, but a PIA for workouts with shorter intervals. I'm very happy I found a deal on a used 400, and my dad is happy with my old 300. I never buy used bikes, but these are rock solid with little to go wrong I wouldn't give it a second thought.

I haven's seen any more than what is posted above about the Phantom 5 and Trainerroad. Maybe ask in the Trainerroad thread or contact either company? Here are their instructions for setting up the 300/400 with TR:
http://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/201410330-CycleOps-Indoor-Cycle-300-400


A couple issues to be aware of:


a) The Powertap in the 300/400 puts out a proprietary ANT+ signal so you can't record the power to your Garmin, etc (I know, ridiculous). Only the Cycleops Joule head units can read it, except Trainerroad (and maybe others?) got the secret sauce and interfaces nicely. I think the newer Phantoms put out a standard ANT+ signal that garmin and others can read. I don't know if the resistance control on the Phantom 5 changed from the 400 Pro or not.


b) The cadence coming off the Powertap sucks. It's both wrong and noisy, which I believe is the case with all Powertap hubs as it's not able to directly measure your cadence. This caused an occasional issue with Trainerroad annoyingly pausing when I soft pedaled and the Powertap reported zero cadence. Adding a garmin cadence sensor fixed that and now I get accurate cadence too!

What is exactly the difference between the Phantom 5 and the 420 Pro?

Dual Ant+ and Bluetooth

So if you use Trainer Road, every time you start a new interval the resistance automatically changes? What if you aren't using TR? How do you change the resistance? One of the reviewers on the Cycleops site says you can't just turn the knob, that you have to be using either their Virtural Training software or some other software platform. From the review:

1. Most frustrating is that the bike resistance cannot be adjusted without a widget such as a tablet, phone, or PC. The hardware is essentially useless without at least one of these or without the purchase of a remote for an additional $60 on already $2200+ indoor bike. Whether you have the widget or not do not plan on being able to just get on the bike and ride.


Also, has anyone gotten into an aero position on one of these?

I used to have one at work for a research project but the project got killed before we really got to use it much. It essentially works like Computrainer, Kickr etc but I agree it is really strange that the bike is essentially inoperable without spending additional money on monthly fees to trainerroad, or even Cycleops Virtual Trainer. (I have used Virtual Trainer only). I know they recently lowered their prices but it still kinda pisses me off as a user.

I haven't ridden it in aero but you can definitely add aero clip-ons if you want to go for that. Pretty sure you can replace the entire handlebar as well though you'd want to use an aluminum replacement rather than a carbon one.

Good news, the Phantom 5 is specifically supported by TraineRoad. I checked in the devices setup section of the windows app and it now says "Cycleops 400/420/Phantom 5" as opposed to the video instructions that just say 400. There is also an option for Cycleops 300/Phantom 3. Again, I've only used the 300 and 400, but it's great to see the Phantoms listed in the app even though they are not mentioned on the website.

Benv wrote:

I agree it is really strange that the bike is essentially inoperable without spending additional money on monthly fees to trainerroad, or even Cycleops Virtual Trainer.

It's not true you need to pay monthly fees to control the resistance. You do need something electronic to control the resistance on the 400/410/420/Phantom 5's (the knob is only a brake), but there are options without monthly fees.

My 400 Pro came with a Joule 3.0 which has a joystick thingy to control the resistance or virtually shift gears. Looking through the manuals, I believe most of the Joule computers can wirelessly control the resistance of the 400/410/420/Phantom 5 indoor bikes. I believe one of the differences between all those models is the electronics they came stock with, or not. A less expensive option mentioned above is this $56 remote control:
https://www.cycleops.com/product/o-synce-multiremote


As for aero position, the Cycleops indoor bikes used to come with TT style handlebars. The newer ones come with road style bars. My older 300 Pro has the TT bars and they work well for aero position, not the same as my TT bike, but close enough and plenty comfortable. I believe you can buy either style of handlebars from Cycleops if you want to swap.

The Phantom 5 I got came with nothing and there was no mention anywhere it could be controlled with a Joule. Not saying it's possible - just saying it is not obvious to a buyer. The website clearly states it's intended to be used with a PC or laptop and Cycleops Virtual Training. I still think that is annoying because even if it does work with a Joule, you either need to fork over another couple bucks for the Joule, or otherwise pay the monthly fee, compared to a Kickr that gives you a free app.

For info not possible to control with PerfPro Studio.

Yeah, I agree it's not cool if there is no way to control the Phantom without a subscription. I'm extrapolating the a Joule can control it since it works on the 400/410/420, but I'd want to confirm with Cycleops before relying on it for a Phantom.

One of the things that was attractive about the 400/Joule 3.0 combo I've got is the ability to create structured erg controlled workouts without a subscription to anything. I'm using TrainerRoad now, but might suspend that in the summer and just create a few of my favorite workouts and run them from the Joule.

Update:
So now we have some Phantom 5's and I just did my first full workout after a couple of weeks with a few experimental sessions. I have a lot more to learn but here are my initial notes:

Summary: I got a great hour & a half sufferfest workout in and feel pretty beat-up; it kicked my ass and will be a useful training tool but I don't think it will be great for sprint training.

- My background is Kickr and Computrainers on the hardware side, trainerroad, Computrainer Racermate, PerfPro Studio, Zwift and a few other oddballs on the software side.

Physical:
The bike feels pretty good once I put my road bike next to it and adjusted it to match. The settings I ended up with are pretty extreme despite my road bike being pretty average, I think, so I think this the spectrum of adjustment points is a bit off. I had to move the seat as far forward as possible on the "seat tube" adjustment and then also slide it forward on the rails to get to my road setup versus the crank location. Otherwise by default you are way too far behind the crank. I expect it to be even worse for triathletes so I'm curious for some feedback from them. With that side all the way up, I also had to slide the bars all the way to just about the stops and drop them almost all the way down. I have maybe another half centimeter on reach and drop if I want it, so I am comfortable, but at 5'9" I could see a lot of riders not being able to accomodate their fit without something custom. I wish they would offer aftermarket or CycleOps replacement bars and seat tubes to offer some additional reach/drop and seat tube effective angles. Maybe they do - anyone know?
Note the whole bike is about 3" taller than your road bike due to the stand it is on. Not a bad thing at all, but don't come in with a tape measurer from the ground. So long as you measure relative to the crank spindle you will be ok.
Otherwise the feel isn't bad. I'm not crazy about the saddle but others will like it; it is fairly generic and swappable anyway. For me it is a bit too curved and to feel good riding it feels too sloped forward when sitting up. Not a big deal. The bars feel better than I expected. Yes they are made of "gymnasium" but they feel bulletproof and will last forever while feeling good on the hoods, drops, and tops. I bet clip-on aerobars would fit fine if you wanted and grip very well.
The flex/mobility isn't the same as a bike but that's ok. I have my most doubts about how it would be for out of the saddle sprinting, but I don't think the resistance mechanism will really support that kind of training so it might not matter.
On that note... The resistance is a fabric pad forcibly pressed against the flywheel. That makes it akin to a brake and that's how it feels. It isn't as good as magnetic resistance which has a springier more realistic feel. It isn't terrible and it works just fine for long workouts and threshold work. It takes a bit to ramp up - up to 10 seconds to really settle in from a recovery interval into intensity. I can't wait to see what happens on workouts with 10s sprints, but I'm not too hopeful. I also can't imagine this method working well for sprint-level resistance as the friction-based approach likely isn't very smooth at extreme values.

Software:
I'm using an iPad Pro with bluetooth. This has limitations. I'd like to run trainerroad, but it will not control this thing via bluetooth on a tablet. I believe it will work with a PC + ANT+ and I'll try that sooner or later. For now, the convenience of BT + iPad is worth it. As a result I'm limited to the CycleOps "Virtual Training" software. It is a little better than I expected but is no replacement for trainerroad.
- you CAN use this for free with some basic functionality like manual power, but I quickly opted to pay to get some canned workouts.
- The on-screen fields don't look to be configurable, and they aren't ideal. Target wattage v. actual is just shown as %FTP so you don't see raw target in watts. Not a huge deal but annoying. No clock/time-of-day. No macro/micro view of the intervals to see exactly where you are and no zoom.
- You can skip the current interval but can't move to an arbitrary spot in the workout as far as I can tell (also a limitation of TR I believe)
- Biggest grip: you can't change your FTP during the ride - just during a single interval. So if you drop it down when you start a 30s interval, it's coming back in 30s and you will have to change it again.. and again.. and again... This is particularly troubling when you are first getting used to it and don't know where to set your FTP.
- I found I had to drop my FTP about 40w compared to the kickr. Not the end of the world but annoying if you start in the wrong FTP (see above).
- Cadence is wrong. This is apparently common on all CycleOps hub-based measurements but why did they use that? And if it is so bad why doesn't CycleOps fix it? Silly. 90rpm reads as about 106rpm in the app. (and in your saved ride data).

When I am not mistaken PerfPro can now control the Phantom 5, maybe worthwhile to check with Drew.

Phantom 5 control (one to many) is there now. If you have any questions on it please let me know.

Thanks,
Drew.

This is an old post - but i'll answer this in case anyone is searching the forum.

300 series - similar to 400 series/Phantom 5 - but resistance is controlled manually by a knob on the trainer - (on the 400 series and Phantom 5, the knob is a break only).

400/410/420 are all the same physical bike - from what i've seen, all are labeled "400Pro" on above the flywheel.

1. 400 includes a joule 3.0 unit, and with the joule you can manually change the resistance, or (and i haven't tried this), you could ride with the Joule 3.0 (if you have a wireless powertap) outside, record the ride, and then "play" it back on the trainer. According to reviews, the Joule 3.0 will wear out after a while, and cycleops no longer will sell a replacement. You can use ANT+ smart software with this bike (Trainer Road, Cycleops Virtual Trainer), but you need to connect to a computer/tablet via ANT+ (the Joule 3.0 can not be anywhere near while using the software, otherwise it will connect instead of the computer/tablet - this information is no where in the documentation).
2. 410 same as 400 - except it contained what was then a ~$300 add-on that included an (old) version of Cycleops Virtual Trainer and an ANT+ USB dongle for the computer. The old version of Cycleops Virtual Trainer is still usable (i think), but you are locked into whatever features were in the software at the time it was for sale.
3. 420 - same trainer as the 400/410 - but the Joule 3.0 unit was no longer included - In order to control the resistance you need to connect it to a Computer/tablet via ANT+.

If you are just using smart software, you don't need the Joule 3.0 - but then you need a subscription to some software (TR, CVT,,, i haven't tried GoldenCheetah yet).

400 series ANT+ compatibility chart http://virtualtraining.eu/...lity-list/#ic400_ant

Phantom 5 - Same or very similar bike to the 400 series -No Joule 3.0 - but this model includes Bluetooth support in addition to ANT+
http://virtualtraining.eu/en/tour/how-it-works/compatibility-list/#powerbeam_ble


If you are using a computer/tablet - the controls to change the resistance are on the tablet/computer - so you may need an ANT+ remote to control the resistance https://www.cycleops.com/product/o-synce-multiremote.... or if you are using a computer, a keyboard (that you wouldn't mind getting all sweaty).


I bought a 410 unit off Craigslist - got a great deal, and it was barely used. The thing is built like a tank --- it's heavy AF ---