Turbo trainers

Tacx Neo

'Futuristic' turbo trainer packed with smart technology and features

Riding your bike indoors means one of two things – either you’re very dedicated or a bit mad. And if you like to ride indoors all bets are off: you’re mad.

They can be a necessary evil at times though, so if you are the crazy sort who likes to turn the pedals while going nowhere or need to clock some turbo time as part of your training plan, then you’re in luck. There are some turbo trainers on the market now the likes of which you’d never have believed five years ago.

One of these is Dutch company Tacx’s newest creation: the Neo. Now neo means new, but it also happens to be the name of the main character in The Matrix, which is pretty apt because the Neo is one of the most futuristic trainers on the market at the moment. It looks pretty damn Sci-Fi, and it’s loaded with next gen tech as well.

It sits atop a range packed with great Smart Interactive trainers, like the Genius, Bushido and Vortex, but the Neo takes things to a new level.

The turbo trainer market is changing and, while it represents a big investment, the Neo has placed Tacx firmly at the front of the new generation of turbos

And that really smart stuff is on the inside. Unlike conventional resistance trainers – fluid, magnetic and so on – resistance here is a virtual flywheel controlled by an internal motor, in other words, the trainer calculates what a flywheel would do and does it.

It makes those calculations quickly, too, over 1000 of them every second to try and predict the movement of a rider. To slow down, the trainer has an inbuilt brake that alters the movement of your rear wheel so if your course says you’re approaching a hill, it’ll feel like it when you push the pedals.

If you’re worried about how much power you could put through one of these, don’t be. Maximum resistance is 2,200 watts which is a number even the best sprinters would struggle to hold for more than a few seconds. Unless you’re planning on asking Robert ‘Quadzilla’ Förstemann over for a session, you’ll probably be okay.

Price: £1,199.99
Website: Tacx
UK distributor: Fisher Outdoor

They also reckon it can simulate gradients up to 25 per cent, so if you match that up with a training video from Flèche Wallonne you’ll almost be able to see just how nasty the Mur de Huy really is.

The trainer has ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart connectivity, and you can control it from a desktop, tablet or mobile, and the compatible Tacx apps. They’ve also ensured the trainer can communicate with third party apps, so you can ride with Zwift, train with Trainer Road or Kinomap and even use Bkool’s videos with the Neo. That’s good, because increasingly riders are finding themselves able to buy one company’s products and not find themselves eternally wedded to only the few apps that work with it.

The turbo trainer market is changing and, while it represents a big investment, the Neo has placed Tacx firmly at the front of the new generation of turbos.