- What's up, this is Tariq here
from SMARTBikeTrainers.com.
It's been over two years since the NEO bikes
started shipping here in the US
and I've had this bike for over a year now,
and we haven't seen many updates to this bike,
so is it still worth buying?
So I'm going to talk about my experience with this bike.
What changed, is it still accurate,
and my general thoughts on the bike
and if you should buy yourself one
or stick to a regular smart trainer.
Let's talk about what changed first.
Only a couple of minor firmware updates were released
since I last reviewed the bike.
One of these updates allows for gear switching
in all training modes, including ERG mode.
So in ERG mode,
you can set it to be in a small gear or a big gear
if you prefer, where in the past,
that option was not available.
Also the app change.
And now all bike customizations are done inside
the TACX training app, rather than the TACX utility app.
Other than that,
everything is still the same and works the same way.
And if you are wondering, still no steering.
And by the way, if you find this video helpful,
please take a quick second to hit the like button.
It helps the video and the channel quite a bit,
and I really appreciate it.
Okay, let's dig into all the details of the NEO smart bike.
TACX designed the NEO smart bike
to create an immersive and realistic ride experience
with integrated interactive fans
that can adjust to your speed, power,
or heart rate, geometry and adjustability
to duplicate your road bike,
or tri bike configurations and fit.
A virtual and customizable drive terrain
with smooth, realistic shifting.
A virtual flywheel controlled by 32 neodymium magnets.
The NEO bike can simulate the sense and road surfaces
to experience a feeling of riding on cobblestones
and different road patterns.
This bike is quiet, accurate,
can simulate up to 25% incline and up to 2200 watts.
And my favorite features,
other than the multi-color LED lights, it is self-powered.
You do not have to plug it into a power outlet
for it to work and everything just work.
Even the LED lights.
The only thing that does not work when not plugged
into power is that downhill simulation.
But other than that, ERG mode works, the fan works,
road simulation works,
even the USB chargers work.
And speaking of things that did not change, the price.
You can still have the NEO smart bike for 3,200 US dollars.
Let's talk about the bike fit.
Adjustability is one of the pros
of having a dedicated indoor bike.
And the NEO bike is designed to fit a wide range of riders.
There is a wide range of adjustments you can do
with reach, saddle to bar length, bar height, saddle height,
and crank length.
Adjustabilities should be plenty
for the vast majority of riders.
All can be quickly adjusted using a hex wrench.
If you have a road bike that fits you well,
take your bike measurement
and just apply it to the NEO smart bike.
The bike does come with a saddle
that I found to be reasonably comfortable,
but you can change it if you want.
There are few things you can do to customize your bike
in the TACX training app.
Virtual gears, this is where you can customize
your gearing and number of sprockets.
You have a wide range of adjustments you can do,
the fan settings,
the two small fans on the bike can be operated
and controlled by your speed, power, heart rate,
or just a fixed speed.
Or you can turn it off altogether.
The display, there isn't much you can do with the display
other than setting your preferred power average intervals
and speed unit.
Finally, the road feel.
Here, you can set the intensity of the road feel,
but it doesn't really matter
because it does not apply it to other apps.
So if you use the bike with Zwift
and you want to turn road feel off,
you still have to go to Zwift settings
and turn it off there.
But if you use the TACX training app
or just want to test out what road feel is like,
you can do it here.
Speaking of things that changed,
TACX removed the isokinetic and isotonic modes.
These modes were introduced
to the TACX NEO direct drive trainer about four years ago
and was also available on the NEO smart bike.
But since they don't offer any workouts
that utilize these modes, Garmin decided to remove it.
The shifting on the bike is controlled
by buttons positioned on the brake levers or shifters,
just like your road bike.
These buttons are textured,
but they are rigid and do not provide any feedback
like real bikes.
You'll feel feedbacks in your pedals as you shift.
And the gear indicator on the display will show
which gear you are on.
The bike also has brakes.
You can apply the brakes by pulling on the brake levers,
and that will stop the flywheel.
These brakes do not work on Zwift or any app that I know of.
So their only function is to stop the flywheel
if it keeps spinning, which can happen
if you end the ride on a descent.
The flywheel will keep spinning for a while,
or you can use the brakes to stop it.
Then there are two small blue buttons
on the inside of the handlebars.
These are there to adjust the incline.
The right one will increase the incline
and the left one will decrease it
by up to a negative 5% slope.
So they basically works to increase or decrease resistance.
And here's a little tidbit for you.
If you put the bike on a negative slope
and slightly move the cranks,
the flywheel will just spend on its own.
Again, these buttons only work
if you use the bike on its own
without pairing it to a third party app
like Zwift, for example.
The bike has two low power USB chargers
under the main console.
Great for charging your phone or tablet.
The USB power is very low, and I mean really low.
On an hour ride,
you might get a few percent charge or no charge at all
depending on what's running on the tablet.
I feel like this is an area
where they could easily improve on
and also include a USB-C or even wireless charging.
Can you imagine if that center tray has a wireless charger
and charges your phone when you put your phone on it?
That would be pretty cool,
but the USB ports also work even when the bike is unplugged,
even though Garmin's manuals say they do not.
You just need to keep peddling for them to function.
I got like 1% charge on my iPad
maybe after about five minutes of pedaling,
without it being plugged into power.
So you still can charge your tablet or phone if you want.
The 4 1/2 inch display puts metrics such as power,
speed, cadence, incline, gear ratio, and heart rate,
right in front of you.
The bike will also automatically detect and pair
to any ANT+ heart rate sensor or monitor close by.
The bike has a very good ride feel.
If you've ever been on a NEO,
it feels similar but much smoother
because unlike a direct drive trainer,
there is no gear or derailleur adjustment to worry about.
It's a very smooth experience and very quiet.
This is a stationary bike and just like many other
stationary bikes, it can feel a bit stiff,
which can lead to discomfort after a long ride.
I find myself having to get out of the saddle a lot more
when riding it than when riding my own bike
on a regular trainer.
The NEO direct track trainer also has a little side to side
sway, where this bike does not have that.
As for power accuracy, I put a lot of miles on this bike.
The power measurement is always spot on with my pedometer.
It's just good.
You will see a little discrepancy here and there,
but overall, it was just really good.
There is nothing else to say about it.
I'm not going to go into details
because the results is just the same as my previous test.
And I will link to my original post
if you want to look at the data,
but not going to bore you here with all that information,
other than it just works.
In ERG mode, the bikes works.
It's smooth and response to intervals
changes pretty quickly.
I constantly saw three to four seconds
ramp up to target power if I keep my cadence consistent.
If you have quick short sprint intervals,
you should be able to quickly ramp up to power
with an increase in your cadence.
Cadence measurement was also spot on
and nothing really to talk about here.
(bike whirring)
As for noise,
the bike is really quiet and you'll find it quieter
than any direct drive trainer out there
because you do not have to deal with your drive terrain,
chain, and all the noises that come
from having a dirty drive terrain.
(fans whirring)
However, the fans do produce some vibration
and they are, they can be loud.
I'm not sure why or maybe I have a loose bolt somewhere,
but this can be eliminated if you just turn the fans off
in the TACX utility app or in the TACX training app.
Also, I found that if you have the fan set to heart rate
and you leave the bike plugged into power source,
it will randomly pick what looks like a heart rate signal
from time to time.
And the fan will just randomly start running.
So I just tend to unplug the bike from power
to prevent the fan from randomly turning on.
Okay, having a stationary smart bike is great
if you want to have a dedicated training area,
keep your bike clean and leave it for racing
or outside rides only.
It's also great
if you have more than one member in your household
who wants to ride as well.
It's also great to play around with different fitting.
For example, if you want to try out different crank length,
you can easily do that with stationary bike.
If you want to try out different saddle heights,
you can do that.
From a riding perspective, I like it
and it's a pleasure to ride and use.
The ride feel, virtual gearing, road feel simulation
and the quiet ride is just awesome.
The tablet holder, also nice to have a tray
to keep your phone.
The tablet holder is a little finicky though,
and you will find your tablet sliding from time to time.
Would be nice if they add some kind of an anti slippery type
material to prevent the tablet from sliding.
The low power USB ports can be weak,
but also nice to know they are there
when you realize your tablet does not have much charge in it
as you are getting ready to work out.
But yeah, I would like to see Garmin add a high power USB
and a USB type C port too would be nice.
So if you are looking for a dedicated indoor bike,
this is definitely worth taking a look at.
I had no issues with it whatsoever.
Other than the loud fans, it just works.
And if you are a triathlete,
you can always get a clip-on aerobars
and try to adjust your fit to resemble your tri bike.
And depending on how aggressive your tri bike fit is,
you might be able to duplicate it.
Okay, I think I covered everything here.
If I missed anything or have any question,
please go ahead and ask in the comments.
If you are interested in this bike,
make sure to check out
the SMARTBikeTrainers.com price tracker.
I usually keep my eyes on,
on all trainer prices and deals and update the website
throughout the year.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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Thank you for watching and see you guys in the next video.
(machine buzzing)
(air whooshing)