Wahoo Kickr or Tacx Neo

zntrx

So I was eying up both the Kickr and Neo all winter but could never really justify the cost. Now it's gotten to summertime and if life was fair I would just be out riding my bike and not worrying about turbos for months. Life's not fair though as I've just dislocated my shoulder and will be off the road for a while. I've not been to the physio yet but am guessing a turbo will be the better way to get back training in the short term.

Assuming the physio/consultants agree I will buy one of the above in the next week or so.

Is there one that is recommended over the other. I see that the Neo is now cheaper than the Kickr (10% voucher on CRC) but not significantly so. I'm attracted by the supposed lower noise of the Neo but would counter this by stating that I sweat loads on the rollers indoors and so use an industrial size fan which I guess may rival the noise of the Kickr.

Googling briefly its seems there may be some QC issues with the Neo but not so clear that this is the case with the Kickr.

Anything else I should be considering?

markhewitt1978

The Neo is superior to the Kickr in every way*. And if it's cheaper then the answer is obvious.

The noise with the Kickr isn't just the volume ,it's a high pitched whining noise which I find very off putting, so it's not like your fans would drown it out. The Neo is just pretty much silent - your drivetrain is going to be way louder.

Plus it can handle steeper gradients, has more intertia and has downhill drive, which once you've used it you'll realise that it isn't a gimmick!

There were some QC issues with very early units - unfortunately people do like banging on about them like every unit is faulty forever.

*The Kickr can be used without a front wheel stand. Also you'll need to buy a cassette for the Neo but it comes with the Kickr.

mallorcajeff

If you can read it all go on dc rainmaker there is a very in depth review of both. Im just trying to decide which to buy myself im leaning towards the wahoo though

markhewitt1978

mallorcajeff wrote:

If you can read it all go on dc rainmaker there is a very in depth review of both. Im just trying to decide which to buy myself im leaning towards the wahoo though

Why are you leaning towards the Kickr, may I ask?

markhewitt1978

There's been a development in the whole Neo vs Kickr thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxlifKX ... e=youtu.be

paulmon

markhewitt1978 wrote:

There's been a development in the whole Neo vs Kickr thing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxlifKX ... e=youtu.be

Pointless feature is pointless. A bit like the rumble feature in game controllers. Simulating terrain on a trainer wont make you any better or prepare you for riding on that terrain. I can just imagine someone preparing for the Paris-Roubaix using this feature and then within 10 metres of the first section realising it was pointless.

If for whatever reason you are unable to ride a bike in the real world then this would bring some relief to tedium that comes with using indoor trainers but to push it as training tool is laughable.

fat daddy

its not pointless ..... its enhancing the gamification of indoor exersize .... I bought a kickr snap, had I waited a month I would have discovered the Neo and the "realistic" road feel .... and I would have paid another £500 to get that.

yes it doesn't make you any better, what it does though is make turbo training simulators that slightly more interesting which makes you want to use them more .. which in turn ha s positive effect on your training.

Now if you are a person that can sit on a trainer watching a bar graph tell you to pedal at 300w for 4 mins then 90 w for 2 mins then 300w for zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz yawn ..... then it probably is a pointless feature.

but for those like myself that need some form of gamification in the form of racing strangers, and AI, then having a trainer that can change to feel when you go over cobbles or hit the wooden bridge, makes it even more fun ...... I just hope that Wahoo bringout a rain simulator so when it rains in the Game, you get water sprayed at you ! ... I could probably rig this up with an old shower and a handlebar button myself ???

markhewitt1978

That's the thing. If you think of indoor riding with the very narrow focus of it only being about training and absolutely nothing else, then of course it's pointless. But with the likes of Zwift it's more than that, it's about making indoor cycling fun and interesting, and the road feel is all part of that. I've had a go of it and yes it's nothing like rough surfaces in real life, but that doesn't matter.

vinnymarsden

Having just got myself a Kickr I can honestly say it's AWESOME!
I'm not going to praise it over the Neo because quite simply I have never ridden on the Neo , so I am totally unqualified to pitch them against each other.
All I will say is that if the Neo rides like the Kickr then buying either will be a safe bet.
I had a Bushido, the latest smart ANT but got rid because it didn't feel remotely real, the difference with the Kickr is like night and day.
I use Perfpro and Zwift, the resistance on Box Hill is pretty realistic too, never ridden it for real, but from what I've read etc the Zwift replication combined with the Kickr had me stood up like it was real!!
I'm actually not dreading winter in the man cave this year !!!

markhewitt1978

The last few days have seen trainer prices bump up about £100 each, for each of the Tacx ones anyway.

It might because of the announcement of the Tacx Flux. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBS-UpeS8fo

gaffer_slow

^ yep, before the Flux 'leak' the Neo could be had for ~£850

tazmon

It's been a load of hassle but after two weeks and a replacement unit I now have my Tacx Neo. Ended up costing me £514 after 20% cash back from Barclays and a 20% refund from Amazon as the first unit was DOA.

mamil314

Where are you finding Neos so cheap? Cheapest i see is 960 at Slane. I figured i'd get a second hand one off ebay for about 750 but now think it's too risky without a warranty so will have to keep saving.

redvision

I am following this thread with interest as i am looking to get a smart turbo for this winter.

I have been reading just about every review on both and, following testing the Kickr at a demo event last week, i did have my mind made up that i would get the Neo purely because of the noise - i hated the sound of the Kickr - but then the price went up and now i'm back to square one.

I really want a direct drive trainer, so that does limit the options. I'm just hoping that Eurobike has some new alternatives.

markhewitt1978

The Flux is supposed to have the same noise characteristics as the Neo

cyclingsheep

The Neo is awesome. Things it has over the Kicker are, can be ridden without needing to be plugged in (useful if you warm up before races), simulates tougher gradients, quieter, and can use shimano campag and sram cassettes so if you use different bikes on the turbo that can be useful. The downside is the Tacx software which is garbage but if you use a third party like trainer road, Zwift or Suffer fest then this is irrelevant.

markhewitt1978

The Tacx software isn't terrible. I've used the videos and the VR simulation things, I think if Zwift wasn't around I'd probably be using that all the time!

It's right that the Neo is certainly quiet, what with my fans, the radio, noises from Zwift etc, you certainly can't hear the trainer at all.

mallorcajeff

How many people moaning about price rises voted out of the eu by interest? Thats why the proces have gone up as they are imported.

mechanism

Buy the British owned and manufactured smart trainers! Umm...

gaffer_slow

wonder when the inflation figures come in .... i imagine they will be fairly big.