Tacx Neo Bike Smart

molteni_man

Hi all,
Has anyone bought or ridden the Tacx Neo Bike Smart and able to give me/ us first impressions.
I’ve read DC Rainmaker review, but would be good to hear other thoughts.
Currently riding a Wattbike Pro , but am interested in a Smart bike. Looking forward to the upcoming other bikes and hoping prices might drop.
BW

rdt

It'd probably be advisable to wait until these have been out there in the hands of (other!) ̶s̶u̶c̶k̶e̶r̶s̶ customers for at least 3-6 months to see what issues, if any, come to light with software and/or hardware...

The prize for being a very early adopter (aka public beta tester) is often a load of grief, hassle and wasted time! :x

"Patience, (not so-young) grasshopper" is what I always tell myself and I've not regretted it yet!

redvision

I started a thread on the neo bike recently
viewtopic.php?f=40121&t=13101592

The more I've read the more I think they are taking the mickey with the price. I do understand how a static turbo bike is convenient but if you want such a product you can get the wattbike atom far cheaper.

Personally I think either is a bit mad given the price which could buy you a decent road bike and a neo (or other top end smart trainer), with enough left over to buy a proper fan

rdt

redvision wrote:

The more I've read the more I think they are taking the mickey with the price. I do understand how a static turbo bike is convenient but if you want such a product you can get the wattbike atom far cheaper.

You can see my views on that thread

World's full of things that most people don't think are worth the money or aren't for them - the trick is selling things to people who think they are worth the money and are for them!

IMO the Atom has, from my perspective, some key weaknesses which would prevent me personally from buying one (and did prevent me when I was in the market 12 months ago, even though on paper it fitted the bill). I can see it does a job, but it's not for me. Most products aren't for me so it's in good company.

If the Neo Bike is a better engineered product than the Atom, as IMO looks to be the case, and is materially more capable and better matches my wishlist, as it seems, I'd also expect it to cost a fair amount more, which it will. Obviously, the Neo Bike has to "deliver" in order to justify its price to people like me, but if it does deliver, the price seems "appropriate" to me and I'd probably buy one (or a future iteration of it) one day. Of course I'd prefer to pay less just as I would for everything, but the price/value looks "appropriate". That's my logic, but I totally understand how other might view it different. Two views make a market etc!

Having said that, and expanding on what I wrote above, I wouldn't touch a Neo Bike until some respected reviewers (both Ray Maker *and* Shane Miller) had given it a thorough once over, *and* I'd read real-world customer feedback over say 6 months. Eyes wide open!

Road bikes have a range of capabilities and prices, and I'd expect to see the same happen with indoor "smart bikes". Different designs, different technologies, different capabilities, a range of prices. Choice and competition. As someone who spends more total time on a turbo than riding outdoors, it's great for me to see this market sector developing.

FatTed

Why not just buy a Neo Smart and put an old bike on it, money left over for proper screen, Laptop/tablet music and fan

StillGoing

FatTed wrote:

Why not just buy a Neo Smart and put an old bike on it, money left over for proper screen, Laptop/tablet music and fan

This exactly. A Neo 1 for a fraction of the price and able to take most bike types. And when you're not using it, it isn't some great mass of a thing that is in the way.

bsharp77

philthy3 wrote:

FatTed wrote:

Why not just buy a Neo Smart and put an old bike on it, money left over for proper screen, Laptop/tablet music and fan

This exactly. A Neo 1 for a fraction of the price and able to take most bike types. And when you're not using it, it isn't some great mass of a thing that is in the way.

This has been done to death at this stage through different threads.
Everyone has different wants/needs and there is definitely a market out there for a good smart stationary bike at a reasonable cost. Every time it gets mentioned, there are comments saying "just get a turbo" and "takes up too much space".

I have a dedicated space for training, and can't wait for someone to come up with a decent smart stationary bike.
The advantages include no mess or maintenance - this cannot be overstated, if its in the house I don't want to be having to clean and lube chains and index gears etc.
There is also the convenience of quick changing position, so that it can be used by multiple members of the family.

To some people, these things don't matter, and thats perfectly fine - thats why turbos are popular.
For those that actually want a smart stationary bike, the comments about buying a trainer are just taking away from the core of the conversation here. I've been down that route, i've tried everything, I know what I want.

Of course the key factor will be price. For me, the sweet spot is around £1500 - £1800, which is why I tried the Atom (and also sent it back within 3 days due to the "gear change" debacle).
At this price, its not too big a jump from a Neo/Kickr, and I would pay a slight premium for it.

I think we will start to see the sector grow over the coming year, I just wish they would all hurry up.
If someone like Lifefitness got their finger out and adapted their excellent IC range of stationary bikes, they could easily be on a winner.

StillGoing

I too have a dedicated space for training. To counter some of your arguments.

Loobing a chain. You'd presumably loob your chain regularly anyway if you were riding your bike and wanted to keep the drive chain in optimal condition.

The Neo is direct drive so there's little if any loob being sprayed around if you haven't gone overboard with the lubrication.

Changing position easily. There's a train of thought that training on the bike that you intend riding racing on is best. If you're sharing the platform with other users, then they use their bike and not yours.

Speed of set up. Is it really a bind on time to drop the rear wheel out and mount the bike on the turbo?

Price v the Neo. Given the Neo 1 can be picked up for under £800, i'd say that is a significant saving.

User need. I'll agree there's a market for such a thing in gyms etc, but the individual user market I'd say is a drop in the ocean compared to the number using turbos or rollers. With the Wattbike V1 & the Atom being cheaper and doing what the gym user wants, I can't see them stumping up the extra for the Neo Bike.Even the Proform Tour trainers are cheaper.

rdt

philthy3 wrote:

To counter some of your arguments.

Really it should be obvious that trying to persuade or convince someone else that what "works for you" should equally "work for them" too and that they don't really want what they say they want but actually want what you want, is a bit pointless...

If you were talking to uninformed consumers, unfamiliar with a product niche, who'd benefit from useful education then fair enough, but trying to do this with people who are familiar with both the products and their own requirements really is just flogging a dead horse.

Everyone knows they can stick a bike on a trainer, but some people are saying they'd prefer a different all-in-one "solution" (for a range of rational reasons). Unsurprisingly, manufacturers are beginning to respond to that nascent consumer demand, because there's money to be made, but it's still very early days for so-called smart bikes. I'm sure there'll be a bunch of products eventually. Many cyclists spend a fortune on their hobby and some people are going to spend a fortune on their indoor cycling hobby. Deal with it.


When weighing up these choices last year, the key downsides for me of an all-in-one smart bike trainer (besides the unavailability of a suitable product at that time ) were:

i) "logistics": getting the sucker into my "gym room", dealing with any repairs (in situ by service engineer or shipped back to manufacturer/retailer, selling it on afterwards, etc. which has potential to become a right pain the @r5e

ii) obsolescence: having a big lump of money sunk into an integrated item that's software-dependent and whose lifetime may (will) become limited by that dependency, becoming a white elephant sooner than acceptable, leaving you to figure out how to get it to the local tip...

I can imagine subscription models (with minimum contract lengths) being offered for some of these 'bikes' as it may be a more attractive proposition in some cases, addressing some of the issues above, but at a hefty price.

bsharp77

philthy3 wrote:

I too have a dedicated space for training. To counter some of your arguments.

Loobing a chain. You'd presumably loob your chain regularly anyway if you were riding your bike and wanted to keep the drive chain in optimal condition.

The Neo is direct drive so there's little if any loob being sprayed around if you haven't gone overboard with the lubrication.

Changing position easily. There's a train of thought that training on the bike that you intend riding racing on is best. If you're sharing the platform with other users, then they use their bike and not yours.

Speed of set up. Is it really a bind on time to drop the rear wheel out and mount the bike on the turbo?

Price v the Neo. Given the Neo 1 can be picked up for under £800, i'd say that is a significant saving.

User need. I'll agree there's a market for such a thing in gyms etc, but the individual user market I'd say is a drop in the ocean compared to the number using turbos or rollers. With the Wattbike V1 & the Atom being cheaper and doing what the gym user wants, I can't see them stumping up the extra for the Neo Bike.Even the Proform Tour trainers are cheaper.

They weren't arguments as such pilthy, just more points that tip the scale for me in favour of wanting a smart stationary bike and would be prepared to pay a slight premium to get what I want....however the Neo bike premium is too much for nearly anyone to swallow surely!

Fair enough, as you say, the majority of the road community seem pretty happy with sticking their bike on a trainer, I'm in what appears to a be a niche category that the industry don't seem too interested in, as there isn't enough money to be made.

It would be interesting to see what happens if Zwift did as they have mentioned, and make their own smart stationary bike - that would certainly be a step forward if they could bring it in at a reasonable cost with all the features (that work!).

Proform seemed to be way ahead of their time with the TDF trainer, and despite early versions being panned, the newer ones get good reviews from a hardware point of view.
If only they would open it up to work with Zwift/TR etc, I would certainly give one a go.

molteni_man

Hi all again,
Thanks to all for your thoughts -.
Yes agree rdt re the patience bit which is why I was asking as there do not appear to be that many people that have taken the bike up yet hence trying to get some feedback.
I have been really pleased with the ruggedness and reliability of my Wattbike Pro and like you rdt I'm still not totally convinced re the Atom despite some friends saying most issues are improved.
Like you bsharp I think we are on the dawn of quite a few new offerings so it will be interesting to see how it all develops.
Redvision agree re price. All of us as cyclists seem to ignore price when we really want/ need something so it will be interesting to see how other companies pitch their prices. I think there are a few companies waiting to see how Tacx fare with this offering.
I won't get too much into the debate re turbo/bike suffice to say for me and my family the decision to have one bike which was able to fit all was important. Saying that I have been disappointed by the take up. My wife never uses it - I think in the main because she doesn't like it being in the garage and prefers the social side of Spin classes.
I think I will wait to see what develops. The Pro has made me a better cyclist without a doubt. I have loved the accessibility and being able to watch the return of power and balance to my right leg after my accident/ hip replacement 2 years ago was very motivational. I'd really like to have a good trial of the bike before purchasing.
Saying that if I could get somewhere in the region of £1400 for my Pro which is less than two years old I might still be tempted. Life is also complicated for me at the moment so it is not a priority.
Any continued feedback will be much appreciated as it is an interesting market!
BW

rdt

Molteni Man wrote:

there do not appear to be that many people that have taken the bike up yet hence trying to get some feedback.

To the best of my knowledge, it has not yet shipped to any retail customers, hence lack of feedback.

rdt

There's a long-running weight weenies thread covering the familiar "I want one of these. Why do you want one of those?" Neo Bike subject:
https://weightweenies.starbike.com/foru ... 3&t=152475

Seems a bunch of them have Neo Bikes on order so might be a useful thread to keep an eye on for feedback as I think Tacx are supposed to be shipping (in small numbers) soon...

redvision

Even if i wanted such a bike i would not buy one immediately as new high end sporting gadgets always seem to have teething trouble :?

The more i think about the Neo bike and it's (possibly unjustified??) price I think Tacx have probably launched this as a tester, to dip their toes in the water. When wattbike came on the market they were originally targeting gyms, however, gradually it must have become clear to them that there is a demand for such a product for home use, but at a lower price - so the Atom was developed. Tacx must have recognised that and the growth of things like Peloton.

What is interesting though, thorough research indicates other leading smart trainer manufacturers are not considering this market just yet. Granted they all tend to keep their future products very close to their chest, but so far there are no hints or suggestions from any of them or those in the know that they have something in the pipeline. And until they do, i can't see Tacx dropping the price much, unless sales flop.

molteni_man

Just checked Sigma Sports - you can still only pre-order the Neo Bike. Originally they advertised a December release, but it keeps getting put back - now showing as 01.03.19. Is there a problem, or are they shipping out to other countries first? No wonder any reviews out yet and I wouldn't be too pleased if I had put a pre-order in. I know the same thing happened with the Atom when it first came out too.