Quick Check - Tacx Neo, Flux, Wahoo Kickr, Elite

[mike001100]

Hi,

any recommendations on which high-end trainer to get, as of now?

I like Wahoo's climb, but I don't like the trainer itself...

The Neo seems like the most sophisticated of the lot...

The Flux is half price to the Neo, but uses belt drive, cannot be stowed as easily, requires power...

Elite Direto - heard good things, but is it really in the same ballpark as the other two... Or the Drivo perhaps?

Any help welcome

[PinaF8]

Been using the Neo for about a year and no problem what so ever. Whatever you do please do not join the “Tacx Neo Group” on Facebook. They have nothing but complaints about the trainer and mostly operator error and ding dongs always trying to compare their stages reading against the Neo and complains about inconsistencies. Btw, the Neo is very quiet and nothing wears out due to its direct drive magnet design.

[TurboKoo]

I’ve been really happy with my Drivo. Quiet, stable and consistent power compared to Shimano 9100-P and Garmin pedals.

[angrylegs]

After a ton of reading and pondering I'm going with the Neo. Very quiet and doesn't need a power supply. The others seemed noisy to me or had a high pitch. I'm also thinking the lack of a belt will help ambient vibration some. Plus it looks like it's straight out of Star Wars and who doesn't need to hear the Imperial March every now and again? I can report on it in a week or two after it's set up and I have a few rides on it.

[ms6073]

mostly operator error and ding dongs always trying to compare their stages reading against the Neo and complains about inconsistencies.

Wife and I each have a Tacx Neo and I have never understood why the Stages crowd have such issues as our Neo's are very consistent and have always been within 1-2 watts of our DA 9000 SRM's.

[Wormiez]

Besides the smart trainers how about smart rollers like the Inside Ride - E-Motion Rollers?

Would you guys recommend this for Zwift?

[ms6073]

E-Motion Rollers would probably provide the most engaging training session but at $1200 US for the Smart Trainer option, you are really not that far off the cost of Tacx Neo.

[Hamfist]

May I ask why you don't like the Kickr? I just got one and happen to love it, FWIW. I also have e-Motion rollers and would agree they're more engaging but, TBH, rollers take a little too much concentration when putting out >700 or 800w. Being locked into a stationary does have its benefits.

[Hellgate]

I have a set of Elite Arion Smart rollers. They pretty good. Not massive watts, ~400, but for my indoor needs it's fine.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[angrylegs]

Got the Neo Smart. Coming off the CycleOps Magnus wheel-on trainer. Oh. My. God. The difference is night and day. The feel on the Neo is amazing. I'm honestly not sure if all direct drive trainers feel that good, but I could not possibly be happier. Worth what I spent to revamp the pain cave.

[ms6073]

We have only owned Tacx trainers but when the Neo was introduced, I did a side-by-side comparison and the noise difference alone sold me on the Neo. I will readily admit that Wahoo is a lot more public/pro-active in dealing with issues, but the Neo has has no calibration, no need to compensate for thermal drift, and most importantly, no belt to adjust or wear out. Sure there are some people who have had bad experiences with the Neo, the same holds true for the Kickr, but for the most part, a Neo works right out out of the box, and if it doesn't, you replace it with one that does.