Direct drive trainers - Tacx Neo or Elite Drivo, which to choose?

daniel_b

Morning all,

will be on the lookout in the next few months for a direct drive trainer, so my gf can have my Vortex to use.

I was pretty much sold on the Flux, which I can currently get for £535\£570 dependent on the cashback amount through my work.

However reading up loads on all of the belt issues, and looking on the dedicated Tacx Flux facebook page, it seems even new units are having the issues, and their statement that "if it doesn't break in the first hour it will be ok" is not 100% true, as there are people on there, iirc, who see the issue after 1500km.

Noise is not currently an issue, but if we have an extension built, I am planning to move said trainers into the extension during the winter months, just to make my life a bit easier, but this will be by the wall of our neighbours extension, and as I often turbo at unsociable hours, it could become an important factor.

So I can see currently, through work, I could get the allegedly more reliable and quieter still Neo for either £800, or £760, so around £200 more than the Flux, but I'm thinking that could well be money well spent?

I see some people are going through multiple units, and the hassle factor sounds high.

Opinions - anyone had experience of both?

jp1970

I'm sure Shane Miller Aka GPLama has posted some reviews on YouTube. . Also the zwift of podcast has reviewed and discussed the issue.

daniel_b

jp1970 wrote:

I'm sure Shane Miller Aka GPLama has posted some reviews on YouTube. . Also the zwift of podcast has reviewed and discussed the issue.

Thanks jp, will do some research on that tonight :-)

jp1970

Dan... its episode 17 of zwiftcast
http://zwiftcast.podbean.com/mf/feed/wz ... ishMP3.mp3

Cheers

daniel_b

jp1970 wrote:

Dan... its episode 17 of zwiftcast
http://zwiftcast.podbean.com/mf/feed/wz ... ishMP3.mp3

Cheers

Thanks jp. Had a listen, and I'm more swayed towards the Neo now.

Omar Little

If you can afford it then would recommend a Neo, it's a great bit of kit and IMO the money. My fan is noisier than it - and most of the noise is the drive train rather than the turbo itself

StillGoing

I'd go for the Elite Drive if you can afford it and want Real video etc and auto resistance, but otherwise the Elite Kura. Athlete shop have a deal on the Kura at around £470 at the moment.

stueys

Titanium geek did a walk around of the tacx factory a couple of weeks ago where they spoke about the flux early issues and steps taken to rectify. Seems they had a dodgy component which they've improved quality and testing on. So acknowledgement of the flux issues and actions in hand to solve. If you're buying in 2 months time then you should be fairly certain that the dodgy stock had all filtered through as well.

Saying that I've a neo and love it.....it's a great piece of kit ;-)

mechanism

A reconditioned original version Kickr for £650 would be on my shortlist.

daniel_b

Thanks all for your replies.

I appreciate that they have probably got the problems sorted with the Flux, but what concerns me is that they thought they had it all sewn up by serial number 3XXX, but then I see reports of people seeing the same issue on far later serial numbers.

Which strikes me that they think they have fixed it, but perhaps they have partially solved it, only to see it appear further down the line, like the chap who had a failure after 1500km - that's a fair number of hours riding, and I think I would be worried it was about to detonate during a session.

Having said that, I would still have the Vortex as backup, but I'm kind of thinking that the discount on the Flux is minimal, where as there is a healthier chunk off of the Neo, and although it seems to have had issues initially, they seem to have been properly ironed out in the main - I could be wrong, it might be that after 6 months there was a similar situation with the Neo, but I wasn't paying attention then.

The Elite Drivo I had heard of, but had not even considered - it always seems to be the Neo and the Kickr that are compared.

@philthy3 - do you have a Drivo, and if so what made you get it over one of the others?

The reason I am erring away from the Kickr, is I was under the impression, from watching the videos, that it seems to make a louder noise, or is at least higher pitched than the similar volume Drivo (Watched a video on that last night), and this is of course another strong point for the Neo, which is meant to be the quietest.

Initially I thought it would not be an issue in the garage, but thinking about it, my garage is FAR from soundproof, and in the summer neighbours will have their windows open, so don't want to be p1ssing people off with a jumboesque sound at 5.30am on a Saturday, or 22:00 on a Monday really.
This goes even more so, for if I am able to move the setup inside over winter.
If Evans will price match Amazon, I could then get it through work for £808.
Scrub that, as of this morning Amazon is back up to over 1k!
Though I think that specific price is up and down like a yoyo, so probably just need to pick my time.

daniel_b

Bizarre, there was a Neo on Amazon for £679.00, not sure if it is a scam or not - I added it to basket, but then Amazon tells me it is no longer available from that seller :?

Pretty sure I saw someone post up about it at that price before - not sure how much of a risk it could be, as presumably if you pay by CC and are going through Amazon there should be a fair chunk of protection.

Issue would arise, I assume, it you had any problems, ie where you take it to, or who you deal with - assuming it arrived of course!

When I looked up the domain for the e-mail address it mentions, that seems to be listed in the Netherlands, but then the item apparently dispatches from the UK :?

They allegedly have good feedback though - maybe they are reconditioned units being sold as new.

Maybe more hassle that it is worth.

mamil314

Might have been me, i saw a Neo on amazon listed by a german reseller for 750GBP, but the listing disappeared within minutes. This was a few months ago, in the end i went for one on sale at Halfords. They are likely to be cheaper now

daniel_b

mamil314 wrote:

Might have been me, i saw a Neo on amazon listed by a german reseller for 750GBP, but the listing disappeared within minutes. This was a few months ago, in the end i went for one on sale at Halfords. They are likely to be cheaper now

Yes I did a search and found it again!

Bit strange that is keeps popping up for £700 or less, as I say £679.00 this morning, so not sure if they are just being snapped up, OR if it's a con.

I googled to see if anyone has bought one from Amazon for sub £700, and no threads on any forum came up, so not sure.
Might ask on the Tacx Neo Facebook page.

StillGoing

Daniel B wrote:

Thanks all for your replies.

The Elite Drivo I had heard of, but had not even considered - it always seems to be the Neo and the Kickr that are compared.

@philthy3 - do you have a Drivo, and if so what made you get it over one of the others?

The reason I am erring away from the Kickr, is I was under the impression, from watching the videos, that it seems to make a louder noise, or is at least higher pitched than the similar volume Drivo (Watched a video on that last night), and this is of course another strong point for the Neo, which is meant to be the quietest.

No I have just ordered the Elite Kura. I didn't use the virtual reality stuff on my old turbos so saw no need to go to the extra expense of the Drivo for Realtime video. Amazon were doing the Drivo for around £570 yesterday though. I have had 2 Tacx smart turbos with conventional wheel mounting and got frustrated with slippage. With a moody knee, it just made the problem worse. That and the dodgy connections and way out timing with inclines and power etc have turned me away from Tacx. I watched the Shane Miller review of the Drivo and he rates it and noise wise it is comparable with the Neo.

https://youtu.be/rLFutoeEIBo

daniel_b

So they are at at it again - Amazon now back down to £883, but the original one that was on for £679.00 has re-appeared, but lo and behold is out of stock as soon as you add it.

We now have a new player, £691.00 + £26.64 postage - rather randomly.
This seller is called Spray Centre UK.
This one you can add to the cart.

Something doesn't seem to add up to me, the wording in the listings for the two prices are near identical.

I have sent an e-mail but not holding my breath for a reply.

Hello Mark,


I am interested in one of these items, and see you have 3 in stock?


I'm a little confused as to the price, as it is substantially lower than the lowest available elsewhere, so wondered if you could put my mind at rest.


Are the units brand new, or are they perhaps refurbished, reconditioned or perhaps returned units?


I also noticed that there is another seller, but who seems to have the exact same wording as you, namely:

WE CAN'T Dɪsᴘᴀᴛᴄʜ T0 ALL .Aᴅᴅʀᴇssᴇs. BEF0RE
And they have one for sale for £679.00, but as per this morning, as soon as I add it, I am told it is out of stock.

Are they connected to you somehow?

Also, if there are any warranty issues, would I be best to come back to you, or contact Tacx directly?


Look forward to hearing from you,


Thanks


Dan

If this was legit, and warranty issues were not an issue then it would clearly be quite a deal, but something seems fishy to me, and I don't feel inclined to take the risk and end up with either no unit or a dud one that I then struggle with warranty claims.
Am I right to be suspicious?

daniel_b

I'm taking a pass......

We are glad that you are interested in buying our product"Tacx Neo Smart Cycle Trainer - Grey ". The price is £ 691 including shipping taxes. Delivery will be done in 2-3 working days. The product is brand new, sealed in original box and comes with all accessories and with 2 year warranty.
We will do this transaction through Amazon protection program, in this way we are both sure that we get what we want. We will register on Amazon as a purchaser of the product and Amazon will give you a payment invoice. You will pay the money on Amazon account, and they will keep the money until you receive the product and test it.
Then, only with your knowledge, Amazon will release-payment to us if the item is as you expected and you decide to keep it. If for any reason, you will refuse to buy the product, Amazon will refund you 100% and the item will be returned to us at our expense. (But it will certainly not be the case). If you agree and you want to buy this product, we need the following information:
- Your complete name:
- Delivery address correct:
- Telephone number:
We will reserve this item and you will receive shortly the order confirmation from Amazon.
We wait your prompt reply.
Regards,
Marc

dowtcha

Any Amazon shop with WE CAN'T Dɪsᴘᴀᴛᴄʜ T0 ALL .Aᴅᴅʀᴇssᴇs. BEF0RE is a scam. I was looking at a gtx1070 pc which was selling way to cheaply. The emailstarts with ppp62. The shop fronts are getting hacked and that's why they are asking you to email them.

chris_bass

yeah, i messaged the seller and they said it was a false listing, avoid it, if it looks to good to be true.....

daniel_b

Chris Bass wrote:

yeah, i messaged the seller and they said it was a false listing, avoid it, if it looks to good to be true.....

Fair play chaps.

Not a huge shopper on Amazon, but never come across that before.
I see another one now at 705 from a music shop. Obviously!

I think because I saw it in the bargains thread from another forum member, I thought somehow maybe it could be legit. Gut instinct rules again!

daniel_b

With the constant fluctuation on genuine prices for the Neo, plus the supply issue, I am now consdering more seriously the Elite Drivo that someone mentioned above Athlete shop have for sale.
Assuming Evans will price match, I could then get it for just under £800, so no worse than the Neo.

Anyone on here use one and have some feedback?

Just watching some review videos.

chris_bass

Daniel B wrote:

Chris Bass wrote:

yeah, i messaged the seller and they said it was a false listing, avoid it, if it looks to good to be true.....

Fair play chaps.

Not a huge shopper on Amazon, but never come across that before.
I see another one now at 705 from a music shop. Obviously!

I think because I saw it in the bargains thread from another forum member, I thought somehow maybe it could be legit. Gut instinct rules again!

don't worry, i messaged them hoping it was real too!!

daniel_b

Another plus for the drivo is that the power measurement is optical, so allegedly can't be affected by temperature extremes.
In my garage, it could easily get down to -5, and in the height of summer, with a mostly see through roof, reckon it could hit 40c on a sunny hot day.

Additionally, I have read of a few issues on the Neo with clearance for the stays, and it appears the drivo has a slimmer central section.

And searching online for 'elite drivo reliability' appears to turn up very little, if anything at all.
Will have another trawl tonight.

Watched one video (the aussie chap) where he tested it, and carried out a hard 12 second 500w sprint, and to my eye it seemed to move about quite a bit, but he made no mention of it, so assume they all do to some degree.

meesterbond

The Neo is designed to move a few degrees each way... no where near as much as my Kurt Rock n' Roll trainer but enough so that you don't feel you're locked into position. Personally I rather like it but appreciate it's personal preference.

Never had a problem with the stays on the Neo and that's with a TT bike, summer carbon and steel.

Oddly enough though, as I tend to do specific interval sessions on the trainer 90% of the time I actually use the Kurt RnR way more than the Neo. The Neo only tends to come out when it's really raining outside and I need to a couple of hours in, so I hit Zwift.

daniel_b

Ok gents, here's the current crack - we have some developments, and I would appreciate your opinions.

Amazon are not price matched by Evans, I checked on chat and on the phone, bit of a cop out I reckon, as they say it is a 'marketplace' but there we go, so no option there.

Amazon this morning, were down to a new low (genuine) of recent months, namely of £865.

So I have popped one in the basket and 'paid' for it, but it's not due for delivery for 1-2 months, so I have time to cancel if required, but have that as a banker as it were.

At the same time I have checked out Athleteshop for the Drivo, and Evans will pricematch them.

So that is £888 + £7 postage = £893 - Evans have it for £1100, from an RRP of £1200.

Additionally, and not too critical (As I would spend it on something else at some point in the next two years), I also have £135 of Evans vouchers sat on a card ready to go.
These vouchers have cost me 10% less than the face value.
So basically overall, I could buy the Drivo for £803.70 (893 X 0.9) and I already have £135 of that sat there ready to go.
So outlay this minute would be £682.

Has that confused everyone nicely?

Advantages with the Drivo is that I would get it virtually immediately, but in reality it is only £60 less than the Neo.

I'm not in a hurry to get it overly, more worried about getting the best trainer.

So if you were in my shoes, and wanted a direct drive smart trainer, which would you go for?

StillGoing

Daniel B wrote:

At the same time I have checked out Athleteshop for the Drivo, and Evans will pricematch them.

So that is £888 + £7 postage = £893 - Evans have it for £1100, from an RRP or £1200.

Woah! I asked them to price match Athlete Shop against the Kura and they said no. I'm off to the phone for some compo!

daniel_b

philthy3 wrote:

Daniel B wrote:

At the same time I have checked out Athleteshop for the Drivo, and Evans will pricematch them.

So that is £888 + £7 postage = £893 - Evans have it for £1100, from an RRP or £1200.

Woah! I asked them to price match Athlete Shop against the Kura and they said no. I'm off to the phone for some compo!

Blimey, perhaps it was not live then?

I hope you don't wreck my second option!

Dodds49

Hi there,

Picked up my drivo from Evans yesterday, returned it a few hours later !!!.

I think the unit I got from them was a mess up basically. The box looked like it had been opened before, freehub had obviously had a cassette fitted previously and the front leg had somehow been twisted so the unit wouldn't sit squarely. Maybe dropped by somebody ?? Who knows but it just wouldn't sit squarely and the whole body looked twisted to the legs.

I should get a new unit on Sat and try again.

Apart from all that is seemed very good. Looked v sturdy, I set it all up before I worked out it was twisted and the Bluetooth connected to zwift instantly and it was literally plug and play.

Only downside I could see apart from my duffer was the white colour will get pretty mucky fast with the bike going on and off and the mat finish of some parts of the plastic housing would be v hard to wipe clean.

I didn't have any issues with the plastic housing not fitting together neatly as some people have started on early models so fingers crossed when I pick up the new unit on sat. If not a Neo will be on the way I think.

Ohh and it was price matched with athlete shop for £888.13 total.

Will update when the new one arrives.

Cheers.

daniel_b

Thankyou very much Dodds, I will be intrigued to hear what you make of your new, and hopefully perfect replacement!

Advantage of buying from Evans is being able to take back to a physical store I guess.

The white finish does put me off marginally I must admit - it will spend most of it's time in the garage, but then may come in at certain times of year, so then it could be conceivably be advantageous if it didn't look too grubby.

Right, time to watch\read 90 minutes worth of reviews!

Dodds49

No worries, fingers crossed all will go smoothly.

I must admit spending this much on a turbo was a big decision and getting it from a local shop I could pop into if I had any problems was a major must for me. As it turned out that was a good move !!!

If you get any good tips from your research please let me know .

daniel_b

Nice one Dodds, and sure I will do - though I expect you have seen all the videos that I have!

I watched the Shane Miller vids, and very good they are too.


I asked him a direct question about what he would recommend between the Neo at £865 and the Drivo at £800, and he referred me to this overall review page he has done.
On it he gives the Neo 7.5 out of 10, and the Drivo 8 out of 10, so I take it from that he prefers the Drivo - or perhaps this allows for the technically more expensive Neo.

One question I have logged with Tacx, is whether the re-designed Neo still needs a template to check your bike will fit - anyone know?
I'll update when they reply.

I think I am definitely erring towards the Neo - most reviews seem to love it, and it has a little bit of movement which I like the sound of, plus they seem to be developing new features through firmware for it all the time, and not sitting back.
Oh and it's a more practical colour for me too, and I won't mention the coloured led lights!

[poem]
However,
like Joan Armor Plating,
I'm open to persuasion,
and a £65 saving
[/poem]

daniel_b

I'm more confused now - Shane video review man has replied to my query about which one is the better choice with:

The Neo is good... really good. But... that squashy pedal stroke on simulated hills is a real killer for me. It's an edge case sure... but something trainers with flywheels don't suffer from. It's difficult to weight pricing into the score I dish out, pricing is different around the world. It's factored into if it's really cheap, or really expensive 

Anyone come across this 'feature' that he mentions, and I assume it would not affect Trainer Road anyway.