Tacx Bike Plus Just Announced!

I think we all knew this was on the horizon. Hopefully a new tacX neo next.

1 Like

My neighbours know all about it too. Ask them about the sprint performance. They would have heard me testing that today. :man_facepalming:t2:

16 Likes
4 Likes

Is it just me or all these v2 bikes (wahoo and this) seem just to be the result of lazy development?

I was expecting more from both to be honest.

3 Likes

Itā€™s definitely not worth retail price difference between the new model and the sale price of the outgoing model. Iā€™m excited about my kickr bike v1 that is on the way for $2300

2 Likes

If you have the old model, it makes little sense to upgrade. The fact that both Garmin and Wahoo are feeling like they need to continue upgrading the smart bikes is a good sign for the industry though. This just means anyone who hasnā€™t bought a smart bike yet gets a refreshed version when they are ready to make the jump.

I think my question to the community would be, what features do you want them to build into the bike that we havenā€™t already seen? For me, the solutions, even the V1 solutions were comprehensive. My main issues for waiting and not being an early adopter was pricing of V1 models and concern that being an early adopter would mean it quickly became inferior or that there was some bugs that would need to be fixed. Given the mildness of the refreshes, seems that most of those fears werenā€™t founded, but waiting did allow me to score a better price.

So what is the untapped feature set?

  • Steering?
  • Fore-aft Rocking?

There is not much I can think of

1 Like

IMO the plastic shell makes it look cheap. The Stages looks more solid but I assume cause its all metal

For me ergonomics would have been a key thing to work on.

The rubbing issue, which seems common among these bikes, is a definite show stopper for me as well.

For the wahoo bike I would have also added a proper screen (similar to the one of the tacx bike).

Whilst in the meantime I do not see why anyone would pick the tacx over the wahoo bike considering the now same sticker price and lack of tilt.

2 Likes

I live where its possible to do majority of training outside all year, however that will change in a few years. What Iā€™m waiting for is a smart bike with real motion. If I had to pull the trigger right now, Iā€™d get the new InsideRide and upgrade to the latest Kickr (my 2017 Kickr doesnā€™t support SRAM freehub). But Iā€™d rather have a dedicated smart bike, with real motion.

2 Likes

yeah that does remind me of the Tacx Magnum, which seemed like an awesome idea. Iā€™ve seen bigger and wider treadmills for bikes and that seems to me to be an ideal solution with an immersive screen, but would probably take up as much room as a golf simulator.

Even if you sidestep the cost and size of something like the Magnum, I honestly donā€™t think that most people would even like it beyond the initial ā€˜funā€™ factor. Just look at rollers and the fact that they are still a tiny minority of devices used for indoor cycling, despite being around for 3+ decades.

Even with the advent of smart rollers & fore-aft motion, weā€™ve not see a wider adoption of these devices. Simply put, they are harder to ride compared to a fixed trainer. When you consider the range of efforts that people do for training and sim racing, the super hard stuff on rollers gets sketchy very quickly. Trying to recover from a sprint or maximal effort on my DIY motion rollers nearly resulted in a handful of crashes. Most people donā€™t want or need that level or realism (or the associated risk).

I see the happy middle ground as something closer to the combo of a rocker plate and smart bike. Saris has some pics of concepts in their patent for the MP1 rocker, and I think that is the right direction to go for the ā€œultimateā€ indoor bike. A hybrid of the best motion platform and smart bike. The Kickr Bike is close with the pitch control, and needs lean at the least, as well as fore-aft for the full package.

We seem to have reached at least some form of ā€˜peak trainerā€™ and I think the addition of different levels motion to trainers and smart bikes is really the next place for progression. That of course assumes the makers fix the list of issues that is far longer than they might want to admit and we sure shouldnā€™t have to accept at this point the the evolution of the smart bike. :stuck_out_tongue:

ETA, Pic from the Saris patent:

2 Likes

yeah, definitely see your point. One of the things Iā€™m looking forward to not having to do with the kickr bike is bike maintenance. oiling the chain, changing the chain, drive train noises, shifting noises. All of those would exist with a treadmill design, so maybe itā€™s not ideal. Iā€™m happy on my rocker currently, but itā€™s a bit bulky even though it is a tank durability-wise. It would be nice to have a realistic solution built into the trainer bike.

1 Like

Have you experienced rubbing? Iā€™ve ridden a few of them, although only the stages for more than a few minutes, and I donā€™t recall having issues with rubbing.

wider crank length options (140 - 180 mm)

adjustable handlebar width (30 - 46 cm)

Why? Because you can. Its not limited by weight and complicated parts as its an indoor bike. Also opens up the option for bikefitters to have one in the store to easily gauge a good position for a customer with tons of adjustability. since there is not much to differentiate between wattbike / wahoo and a tacx why not make this the most adjustable bike, ever.

also quick release mechanism for a seatpost to easily swap out saddles. Theres a brand that does this but unsure of which.

yea, if it had all of these features, Id get it. its not really made for shorter riders. 165 mm shortest crank length just isnā€™t short enough.

2 Likes

The Wahoo Kickr Bike has a the standard seatpost.

An adjustable width handlebar would be interesting

I think what you mean is that Kickr Bike can do this, but you must have an extra seatpost and and extra saddle.

1 Like

Until they can eliminate the rubbing issue, Iā€™ll be sticking to a bike on a trainerā€¦which is a shame. If a guy the size of Shane has issues, I canā€™t imagine how bad it would be for a bigger guy who rides with knees angled in.

Realistically, you can rub on either KICKR Bike or Tacx NEO Bike, pretty easily.

But itā€™s totally going to be a game of luck and position with your height. Taller guys will rub more on the KICKR Bike (me, every pedal stroke), because the top-bar is higher up and thus closer to my thighs. Whereas shorter guys (Shane) have a better chance at rubbing on the Tacx NEO Bike because the wider seat-stay points are lower down, versus the higher points are thinner.

4 Likes

Short!? Iā€™m just more ā€œaeroā€ :joy:

5 Likes