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TECH NEWS
Tacx’s new NEO Smart direct drive turbo trainer promises realistic road feel and silent operation
Turbo trainer specialist Tacx has just lifted the lid off its new Neo Smart direct driver trainer, which uses a fully electronic design - there is no flywheel - and is claimed to be silent with a realistic road feel.
The Neo Smart shares a direct drive design similar to the Wahoo Kickr we tested last winter. You remove the rear wheel and the bicycle frame mounts directly to the trainer, with a cassette locked onto the freehub. It’s compatible with Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo.
There the similarities with the Wahoo stop. The Neo Smart has no heavy flywheel, instead it’s a virtual flywheel, using electronics to control the resistance. The sleek and futuristic looking trainer houses a motor with 32 Neodymium magnets that rotate around 30 coils, and control of the current passing through these coils adjusts the resistance. The larger the magnetic force, the higher the braking power. It’s effectively an electronic brake.
The two benefits of this design that will most appeal to indoor training fans, is the realistic road feel and silent operation the company is claiming. The Neo Smart can handle up to 2,200W and provides a high resistance level even at low speeds, and can simulate up to 25% inclines. Ideal for hill training then.
With ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart compatibility the Neo Smart can be paired with speed, cadence and heart rate sensors, and easily synced with a smartphone, tablet or computer, which allows you to easily control the resistance.
This resistance control via a smartphone or tablet was one of the most appealing, and useful, aspects of the Wahoo Kickr trainer. The main drawback of the Kickr was a dependency on mains power. The Neo Smart can be used with or without mains power, which makes it a lot more flexible.
- Buyers Guide to turbo trainers - finding the best indoor trainer for you
Alberto Contador has been using one this season, and sounds impressed.
He says: “I experienced the Tacx NEO in my warmups and cooling down during the Tour de France. It really is the ideal trainer: widely compatible, no sound, no maintenance and above all extremely powerful and accurate. It will definitely become part of my standard training equipment as it is the best fit for my needs.”
So there you go, looks interesting, and we'll try and get one in for review soon. We don’t have a UK price yet, just that we know it’ll cost €1,400. As for availability, that is expected to be September. More info at www.tacx.com/en/products/trainers/neo-smart
David worked on the road.cc tech team from 2012-2020. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds, and you can now find him over on his own YouTube channel David Arthur - Just Ride Bikes.
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23 comments
i've written a blow by blow show down of the Wahoo KICKR and the TacX Neo including the much desired noise comparison video.
The link to TitaniumGeek is here:
http://www.titaniumgeek.com/gear-reviews/tacx-neo-vs-wahoo-kickr/
IMG_6015.JPG
I've done a preview of the TacX Neo from the Birmingham Cycle show yesterday, including a video showing how noisy, or not it is.
It appears that TacX has managed to do something very clever with the watts you produce as well...converting the Watts into electricity!
Have a look at the TitaniumGeek preview:
http://www.titaniumgeek.com/gear-reviews/tacx-neo-preview/
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DC Rainmaker has a pretty detailed 'first impressions' post up including sound test videos. Interesting read...
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/09/trainer-everything-wanted.html
So, if you are designing a turbo trainer that is direct drive, why do you need the front tyre block? The trainer should have just been shorter
Perhaps to allow for different wheel Sizes? Doesn't appear to have height adjustment like the kickr.
Having just got comfortable with these prices I was just about to buy the Kickr and saw the announcement. Now I will have to wait until some user reviews give feedback.
Having just got comfortable with these prices I was just about to buy the Kickr and saw the announcement. Now I will have to wait until some user reviews give feedback.
How apt your name then
Even if the tacx neo ends up with the usual tacx issues tacx has done us a favour. The neo launch should (I hope) make Wahoo realise they have been caught napping and they will have to reconsider the Kickr pricing point which will them knock on to impact the pricing of the Snap. Oh "Snap"was probably the first words used by Wahoo when they saw the release.
Even if the tacx neo ends up with the usual tacx issues tacx has done us a favour. The neo launch should (I hope) make Wahoo realise they have been caught napping and they will have to reconsider the Kickr pricing point which will them knock on to impact the pricing of the Snap. Oh "Snap"was probably the first words used by Wahoo when they saw the release.
Got my Kickr delivered on the same day that I heard about the Tacx. Oh well, was probably better to wait until after Eurobike before making that kind of investment.
It is brilliant though. In the first two weeks with Trainerroad I have put myself into to some very dark places that I would have never done through normal training rides.
If the Tacx works with apps like TR, it should be software glitch free and well worth the investment if your after some good pain/improvements.
Thanks for the reply F. The only thing that tempts me with the Neo is the potentially very low noise. But that's a big point. Kickr seems to be a known quantity and very highly respected indeed. And not that noisy either.
Hopefully DCR will review the Neo soon (if he hasn't already) and give a full run down.
The Kickr isn't terribly noisy to be honest. And it works superbly. I've owned one for a good few months now, and I love it. Along with TrainerRoad, it's superb. I get on the Kickr before work, and out on the bike after work. Great combo.
Isn't it the Tacx trainers that DCRainmaker always complains about never syncing devices as they should, taking ages to setup, dropping connections randomly ?
And the big selling point of the KickR is the open development interface. Does this new device have this (I believe previous Tacx devices have been closed) ? If not then you'll get nowhere near the level of integration and control through with 3rd party apps like TrainerRoad and Zwift / etc.
I'm considering the KickR at the moment so interested in this, but sceptical so far.
Finally. Can I attach Thru Axle bikes to it ? You can't attach my Rose Raod bike (Disc brakes and 10mm TA's) to the Kickr and there are no plans to be able to do so.!
They certainly have their idiosyncrasies - hardware reliability, signal drop and close interfaces being the main ones normally noted. That said they do make some very nice trainers and things seem to be getting better on the HW and SW side.
The newer Tacx 'Smart' trainers all support the ANT+ FE-C profile so can be controlled by 3rd party applications such as Kinomap, TrainerRoad, Zwift, Veloreality and BKool.
Both look good and with FE-C support there's less differentiation - Kickr is a known quantity and apart from a couple of wee quirks (e.g. power reading) seems pretty bullet-proof and very well thought of - also a bit cheaper than the Neo if you look around. Tacx has TTS and a large library of extremely good RLVs and this machine looks pretty future-proof and claimed to be extremely quiet.. although you can always buy TTS separately and control the Kickr from that I guess. The Tacx Neo and Genius also seem to have more power at lower speeds than the Kickr apparently, which (if true) would make them more suitable for simulating tough climbs.
Either look good - if I had to bet on reliability, for historical reasons i'd go with the Kickr (and i'm a Tacx Genius user) but for the claimed features, noise and sheer power i'd probably give the nod to the Neo... nice choice to have
This Tacx machine looks like an even better implementation of the Kickr. I bit the bullet at Christmas to get a Kickr and use it with TrainerRoad. It's quiet and effective, with no slippage or tyre wear, and does things like measure your FTP, if you have the courage to bury yourself for 20 minutes...knowing that the higher you set your FTP, the harder all your subsequent training sessions will be...
Expensive, though- and you need to factor in the peripherals- additional apps, videos, ipad or iphone, HR belt and cadence sensor, possibly a computer for the VR videos.
Really really tempted. It's a similar price to a power meter and some lighter wheels, but I'm willing to bet it would be much more effective in improving my power and endurance - especially over the winter. Plus the idea of hooking it up to Zwift is very appealing...
Rose Bikes have it available for delivery in two weeks time at £1030.00
It might be a bit of a recipe for Chain/Chainset wear - I guess it depends how diligent people are about changing their chains/chainsets together.
Bit surprising we haven't seen something similar before really...
Think I'll stick with my Lemond even though it's a bit noisy! Although this does look pretty cool.
Might have a re-think on my first comment........
Yeah, I've had my eye on this for a while.
The massive selling point for me is the claimed silence, which would be a godsend for those that live in built up areas with downstairs neighbours.
I'm actually kinda tossing up between this and a new winter bike.
£1200 and available mid-late September according to the distributors website.
I am liking the look of that.
looks like it's going to be a toss up between the kickr and this (as long as they dont take a pish with the pricing)