Tacx T2180 Neo Smart Trainer

I had previously been using a Tacx Vortex smart trainer on Zwift that I had been very happy with but being an immature bloke in his late 60's I wanted something better ? I decided it had to be direct drive and the Wahoo Kickr and this Neo Smart were my only considerations. After much research my preference was for the Neo. I admit to being concerned with the abundance of negative feedback on the web but Amazon's legendary (my experience) customer service was my 'comfort blanket' here.Well after owning and using the Neo Smart for almost 3 months and 'cycling' approx 500 miles on Zwift and Tacx Advanced 4 software my findings are all positive. Once set-up, make sure you can install a cassette, I used a 11/32 11 speed 105 Shimano (not supplied) and off I went into the 'world of pain' that is indoor cycling ! (The Neo replicates a 25% gradient . . . ouch) I find the Neo pretty quiet, there is always going to be some mechanical noise from any bike/trainer combination but without the tyre/roller Zizzz that accompanies the Vortex andothers of that 'ilk' I find the Neo much less objectionable. There is an acceptable amount of side to side movement of the bike when working hard i.e standing up but imo this helps with the realism of the cycling experience. I do not have the luxury of a dedicated bike in the trainer butI find removal of my rear wheel and mounting the bike on the trainer a minor inconvenience. So to sum up, the Neo has performed faultlesslyand while a considerable outlay for a poor OAP I have no regrets.Update: Mar 2017. I have completed approx. 2,500 miles on my Neo and I haven't had a single problem. Worth every penny !Update: Dec 2017. 4,000+ miles Sadly the main bearing seems to have failed (Tacx's diagnosis) Still under warranty and Amazon have been brilliant. New Neo received in 5 days. Original was early 2016 model, replacement late 2017 hopefully now with better bearings ? I still think it is the best of it's kind on the market but thank goodness for 2 year warranties.Further update April 2018.Well after 16 months and a few thousand miles my replacement Neo failed ! (Lets call it Neo2) Just DEAD. Presumably a coincidence that Neo1 failed after 16 months ? I was unable to get a replacement under warranty ? although the unit was only 16 months old (2 year warranty) Amazon explained the the warranty does not 'start again' the warranty would be the remaining months of the original purchase, so original failed after 16 months leaving me 8 months warranty on this. In fairness I expected this, I think it is standard practice ?As an Amazon user since 2001 and a Prime member for much of that time I have always had a great 'relationship' with Amazon. I contacted them and 'made my case' that I felt a little hard done by. After consulting with someone on a higher pay grade ? I was offered a very generous 'gift voucher' (I will keep the amount private) Kudos to Amazon, fantastic customer service as usual.Anyway the Neo had fallen in price due to a newer version so using the supplied gift voucher I purchased Neo3 (still the 1st version) at a very attractrive price.Because this is effectively a new purchase I have the benefit of a full 2 years warranty, nevertheless I will be getting nervous around august 2020 (Neo3 will be 16 months old !)I have done a few thousand miles on Neo3 and it has been faultless, but the other 2 were until they weren't (if you know what I mean ?)I still love my Neo, despite my bad luck with it. I know many users (Tacx Neo user forum) who have completed 10's of thousands of miles on their original Neo with no problems.Ok, I'm done here. come back after august 2020 and I will let you how Neo3 is doing.

Review written after 10 hours use.Update: 20 hours - still as good, no issues.Update: 60 hours - still as good, no issues.Update: 100 hours - still as good, no issues. Actually, the resonating noise I heard was caused by my cassette working loose. I adjusted with different spacers to get a better alignment with my road wheel, and now it feels rock steady. One of my best ever purchases.Upgrade from i-Vortex (non ANT+), for two reasons. 1) reduce noise, 2) connectivity to modern ANT+ 3rd party apps.Setup. Getting the rear hub fitted was a little tricky, but not difficult. 5 mins and job done, but you need the correct cassette tools though. Locking rings and spacer rings supplied. In fact, I started with the recommended 2mm spacer and Shimano 1mm spacer, but found this gave a slight different position to my rear wheel, so removed the 2mm.In the box: Just the trainer, front-wheel stand, cassette spacers, and power supply. No ANT+. Weirdly, there is a voucher for the Tacx Smart Upgrade Kit (antenna + Tacx Trainer Software 4), cost £100 (normal £150). So you must buy the trainer first before getting antenna discount! As I was upgrading I already had both TTS Advanced and the ANT+ antenna.In Action: Takes seconds to setup. Unfold the legs, plug in, add bike, job done. Super super quiet; only the noise of the chainset can really be heard at low efforts. When pushing higher watts there is a rumbling whirr, but that’s it. In comparison the i-Vortex Vortex sounded like an aircraft engine at higher wattage – I used to have headphones turned up max just to drown out the noise.Software: I already had TTS4 and various Tacx Films, so no upgrade cost for me. Trainer works very smoothly with the software, and a gives a realistic ride. The uphills really are uphill!Trainer Road: As it’s ANT+ I’ve also started using TrainerRoad, and found this combination to be excellent. TR runs mainly in ERG mode, meaning the software adjusts the resistance to target wattage whatever the cadence/gearing (actually Swift also does this). This means that for workouts it’s simple as selecting a mid-gear then letting the resistance take care of itself; thus the workouts are well targeted. But it also means that stopping pedalling requires big efforts to pick up the cadence again; so better not to stop! The software also changes to Resistance Mode when required to enable variable power outputs. And when changing target power, it’s also pretty seamless – about 1.5 seconds; so the software pre-empts the upcoming change and initiates about 1.5 seconds before.Overall: Delighted with this purchase - worth every penny for the amount of use it will get. I’ve had no issues with reliability after about 10 hours use. Combined with good software (in my case TR + Tacx films) I’ve never had better workouts. Highly recommended. But you’ll need to buy a cassette, tools, ANT+ dongle (or Tacx antenna), software. Also, don’t forget electrolyte salts!

This is a really superb piece of kit. Ordered on Prime after some considerable research, I mainly wanted something for crap weather and long winter evening in the UK. It arrived the next day and had to make a quick trip to the local Evans bike shop for some extras (below) as they weren't available on Prime next day.You will need a cassette, the same as your current bike/chain/dérailleurs are set up for. About £60-80, the most expensive item but essential. Don't pull it apart until you need it, there are a lot of individual rings.You will need a chain whip or tough hands, I went for the former, make sure it is the right on for the number of gears in your cassette (about £10-15).You will need a cassette remover for your cassette, it looks a little like a bolt on one side and the corrugated circle in the other, I got one with a centre pin (about £6-8).That's it.If you are connection to a laptop I recommend getting an ANT+ d'ongle but it it Bluetooth so not essential.I recommend you download the Tacx apps for your phone and update the Neo before you start. My update crashed first time and the Neo worked but didn't apply any resistance. I then plugged the Neo into the wall and ran the update a second time and it worked beautifully. Not sure if it was the app of the Neo that failed first time but no harm done.I had it working with my Cannondale Synapse disc in minutes and clocked up 25km on Zwift within the hour. Looking forward to getting back on it this evening, might try the Tacx training apps too but Zwift is too addictive for now :-)Good luck.