Tacx NEO Bike Plus bringing the outdoors, indoors
Garmin says the Tacx NEO Bike Plus offers “the most accurate, realistic and quiet indoor riding experiences“.
The Tacx NEO Bike Plus is an all-in-one smart bike that’s super quiet and can accommodate multiple users. Like the Wattbike we have been testing, the NEO Bike Plus is an indoor smart bike; so no need to use your own bike. Based on the NEO Bike Smart, the NEO Bike Plus uses the same virtual flywheel as the highly regarded NEO 2T.
Improvements
Improvements include bike set-up that allows different users to recreate their real-world bike position. So there are millimetre scales on the contact points and easily adjustable levers for fixing positions. Oversize cranks allow you to run five different crank lengths from 165 to 175mm. These features will make it easier for multiple riders to use the bike. A feature that I would never thought necessary until other members of my family wanted to start using the turbo! The levers have a new shape and you can set them up to imitate road groupsets from Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo via the Tacx Utility app. The new levers look a lot nicer to use and more like what you would be used to on a road bike.
Power and accuracy
With a maximum power output of 2,200 watts, the ability to simulate a gradient of 25 per cent and a claimed accuracy rating of +/- 1 per cent, the NEO Bike Plus is more than capable; let’s be honest who amongst us is going to get anywhere near 2000 watts!
Once you’re on the NEO Bike Plus you’ll be looking at twin fans, a 4.5″ built-in screen, tablet holder, somewhere to keep your stuff and twin USB chargers. The virtual flywheel will allow you to feel different surfaces, like cobblestones and gravel when paired with the Tacx Training app or a compatible 3rd party app.
And it’s quiet!
As well as being adjustable and customisable, Garmin says it’s one of the most quiet indoor trainers around. The last is a pretty important factor, having to fit your training into acceptable times can be a pain. One of the major bonuses of a smart bike is the ability to swap between users. I’m currently using a Tacx FLUX S Smart Trainer, which is shared between three of us. Having a single bike that can be easily adjusted for multiple users would be great.
The elephant in the room when buying a smart-bike is the cost, £3499 in this instance. For the cost of the NEO Bike Plus you could buy a “real” bike, or two. Find a finance deal and you can have one for the cost of a fancy gym membership. Take a look on the Garmin site now!
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