Hi guys,
I guess some of you are waiting for or thinking about buying the new Tacx Neo. Luckily for me, I managed to snap up one a week ago.
Since it seems hard to get first hand experience about the trainer: Feel free to ask me anything about it!
I’m tempted to get into the “smart” trainer side of things, but am a bit ignorant as to exactly how they work.
For example, when people do “erg” workouts. Do they pre programme a series of intervals and then the trainer provides the right amount resistance regardless of cadence or bike gearing?
Also, how does the ride feel compared to:
a) Any previous trainers you’ve had (with examples)
b) TT efforts on the road
Where did you snap yours up from, you in the USA?
Is the Neo far better than any trainer you have used before, what trainers have you used?
I’ve heard bad things about Tacx software, how has your experince been thus far.
Is it making you “enjoy” indoor riding?
Thanks.
How much side to side motion does it provide?
Got mine in Germany from an online retailer where I live (last unit, he told me they are selling right as they come in).
Side to side movement: Just a bit, I wouldn’t say that it is much more than my old Tacx Satori.
Software: So far only rode it on Zwift, which works really well. I’ll try TrainerRoad + Sufferfest videos soon and report back, but I already heard that resistance onset is delayed in TR.
Comparison with my old trainer (Tacx Satori):
First of all: MUCH more quiet. I wouldn’t say that it is “whisper silent” though, but the majority of the sound is the chain + some light humming from the device itself. Quiet enough to not have to turn up the TV volume.
It is my first smart trainer with automatic resistance control, which I really love.
Feel free to ask me anything about it!
Can you check if it runs ok with our software? We’ve tested it with other FE-C smart trainer from Tacx (iVortex Smart that works just fine) but we did not yet test it with NEO ourselves.
I’ll try TrainerRoad + Sufferfest videos soon and report back, but I already heard that resistance onset is delayed in TR.
Can you elaborate on the resistance onset delay? Is this in issue with TrainerRoad or is the Neo just slow to change the resistance in Erg mode?
Why is it so freaking huge?
Why is it so freaking huge?
.
My main question would be around ease of setup. I avoided the old Tacx trainers because of lengthy setup and s/w reliability issues. I wound up purchasing a Kickr which I love but it is loud . . . or at least so my wife says. The second question would be really how loud it is. It is hard to measure this from the on the trainer. It would be interesting to hear from a third party (spouse, neighbor, etc.)
Can you elaborate on the resistance onset delay? Is this in issue with TrainerRoad or is the Neo just slow to change the resistance in Erg mode?
Although I don’t yet own a Neo, posts from the Tacx user forums indicate that that issues exist in which resistance can take a long as 30-seconds to ramp/adjust/stabilize following a a change in a wattage segment. Tacx has acknowledged the issue with the resistance ramp taking longer than normal with their iOS cycling app and an update has been submitted to the Apple store. TrainerRoad has also indicated tweaks are required for its implementation of support for the Neo but will not be able to address the issue until they receive a Neo trainer from Tacx’s US importer.
My main question would be around ease of setup. I avoided the old Tacx trainers because of lengthy setup and s/w reliability issues. I wound up purchasing a Kickr which I love but it is loud . . . or at least so my wife says. The second question would be really how loud it is. It is hard to measure this from the on the trainer. It would be interesting to hear from a third party (spouse, neighbor, etc.)
Re: noise, check this out if you haven’t already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2iGV6VYBKY
Can you elaborate on the resistance onset delay? Is this in issue with TrainerRoad or is the Neo just slow to change the resistance in Erg mode?
Although I don’t yet own a Neo, posts from the Tacx user forums indicate that that issues exist in which resistance can take a long as 30-seconds to ramp/adjust/stabilize following a a change in a wattage segment. Tacx has acknowledged the issue with the resistance ramp taking longer than normal with their iOS cycling app and an update has been submitted to the Apple store. TrainerRoad has also indicated tweaks are required for its implementation of support for the Neo but will not be able to address the issue until they receive a Neo trainer from Tacx’s US importer.
It’s sounding like a software issue then and not a hardware limitation. Just odd then that both the iOS app and trainerroad suffer the same bug in their implementation.
My main question would be around ease of setup. I avoided the old Tacx trainers because of lengthy setup and s/w reliability issues. I wound up purchasing a Kickr which I love but it is loud . . . or at least so my wife says. The second question would be really how loud it is. It is hard to measure this from the on the trainer. It would be interesting to hear from a third party (spouse, neighbor, etc.)
Re: noise, check this out if you haven’t already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2iGV6VYBKY
I did see that. It sounds almost as loud to me in that video although I know DC Rainmaker clarified that the iPad wasn’t the best measuring device and he was in a bit of a sound chamber. That is why I’m curious about real-world results. It is really hard to tell how loud it is from the trainer.
Gotcha, here’s another impression from a separate thread that discusses the noise in practice. I have not ridden the Neo, but it seems obvious from the first impressions, videos and common sense that of course it is not a “silent” trainer. There is no belt noise like the KICKR and there may be lower overall noise, but there will certainly still be noise from the chain, cassette, flywheel and I’m sure some amount of noise and vibration from the Neo itself.
It seems to be a big improvement but as with any product I would try to keep my expectations somewhat grounded.
I got the Neo last week and have gotten in a few short rides on it. Some initial impressions:
Assembly:
- Make sure you have a chain-whip and a Campagnolo cassette nut handy. Link
- The manual is very very short, and could have been slightly more elaborate regarding the cassette assembly part, as I wasn’t able to find any mention of the extra spacer needed to mount a 10 spd cassette. Perhaps it’s something obvious for the more experienced mechanic.
- Apart from that, everything else was self explanatory, and I was able to start riding right away.
Initial impressions while riding:
- The ride feel is very good, much better than my old Tacx Flow.
- The freewheel is ridiculously loud. I find it weird that a trainer this silent can sound like one of those ratchet noisemaker toys when coasting. Here’s what someone wrote on the Tacx Forum. “The freewheel is the loudest sound the Neo makes. It’s music to Campa-wheel-owners’ ears. Note to others: Campa freewheels double as bicycle bell.” Link Additional note to others: While you may be able to ride the neo without waking up your family, the ratcheting sound will definitely wake them up when you stop.
- While I don’t have a separate power meter and can’t really comment on accuracy, the power readings are in line with what I was expecting (I’ve ridden with a Stages meter a few times, so I have a good idea of where my wattage was supposed to be).
- While riding, the trainer is much more silent than any trainer I’ve seen/ridden before. When starting with low watts and gradually increasing power you sometimes feel like you’re in ERG mode with constant power, as you can’t really hear the added speed. After my regular trainer rides with increasing intensity I’ve had to double check on Garmin Connect that both speed and power were actually going up during the ride, as I just didn’t feel like I was increasing my effort during the ride.
- My first ride was on the Zwift Richmond course, really hammering away on the hill sections, and afterwards my wife complained to me that she could hear the trainer resonating downstairs. This was a real disappointment, as the main reason for buying the Neo was its lack of noise. However, when I was riding in normal trainer mode the next few times (0 gradient) at steady 200ish watts she told me she couldn’t hear a thing downstairs. So perhaps the tough hill sections (=high wattage) caused some additional structural vibration, who knows. I did, however, add extra rubber feet under the trainer after my first ride, so those might have made the difference. I still intend to do additional sound testing later.
- I wasn’t really able to ride out of the saddle on the Zwift Richmond hills, it felt almost like the wheel was slipping. I noted that someone on the Tacx forum had a similar experience: “When climbing (>5%) it feels as if the back wheel is slipping.” Link However, I might have been in the wrong gears or something, didn’t really have a chance to do any thorough testing/optimization.
- When riding the Zwift Worlds course, I simultaneously recorded my effort with a 920XT. After the ride I was astonished to find that the 920XT was showing 15.34 km, while Zwift claimed 18.07 km! The average and max speeds were equally much off. Not sure what’s going on here, as I expected the motor to accurately simulate the downhill sections, hence having both the transmitted ANT+ and Zwift speeds being more aligned. Perhaps someone with more Smart/FE-C experience can comment on this discrepancy?
Hi
We have:
a KICKR
a SRM Trainer
a proprietary Trainer with a induction brake from a Daum 8008 and a big flywheel
and since 2 weeks a Neo
Noise:
Proprietary Trainer < SRM Trainer < Neo << KICKR
We setted up the Neo with a “dedicated” bike, the Neo is louder than the chain above some power
Feel:
Proprietary Trainer = SRM Trainer = Kickr > Neo
Nothing beats a high inertia flywheel
Software:
Use the Neo up to now with the Tacx App, the App has some minor bugs and the control in erg modus is verry conservative i.e. it takes long time
Pros of Neo:
Not as loud as the Kickr and as most trainers out there
Works without connection to the electric net
Cons of Neo:
Is louder than we hoped
Software can be improved
Are you using the Neo in ERG mode yet??
I am very interested to see if the power numbers are accurate as compared to an external power meter.
I have a KICKR and use my SRM to control it (which is now working well).
If the NEO proves to be accurate I might consider jumping on board so I would not need my SRM to control the KICKR.
Noise in not an issue for me… as my Pain Cave is in the basement.
As some of you alluded to, we’re currently having some challenges with how we receive/interpret data from the Neo. We’re working with Tacx to get a unit so that our developers can get this resolved as quickly as possible. Stay tuned!
Are you using the Neo in ERG mode yet??
I am very interested to see if the power numbers are accurate as compared to an external power meter.
I have a KICKR and use my SRM to control it (which is now working well).
If the NEO proves to be accurate I might consider jumping on board so I would not need my SRM to control the KICKR.
Noise in not an issue for me… as my Pain Cave is in the basement.
From my experience riding in Zwift (Neo Power displayed on Zwift, Stages Power displayed on Garmin): Neo reads about 20W higher than my stages - consistently.
…
What I notice on my unit: On low cadence, I can feel some sort of “vibration” on the pedals - the resistance is not entirely smooth then.
Do you get the same?