I have done a couple of rides on the motion plates at this point.
First, yes they are absurdly expensive, but are a niche product, and to be honest we spend plenty of money on bicycle parts and add ons that are of questionable value. In my case, I built a DIY side to side rocker plate a while ago, but found that with my limited ceiling height it was less than ideal. I settled for the slight side to side motion provided by the Neo 2T, and just became disciplined on regularly getting OTS.
These plates take up no more room than the dampening pads I had under the trainer. The fore/aft motion is fairly subtle, but the effect is to create a decent range of motion, and interestingly with the new front block and this motion, there seems to now be more side to side motion. For seated efforts the plates work well to reduce seat fatigue (I rode an hour without any OTS to validate this), as the effort level goes up the movement increases. The only issue I have is the OTS motion, which feels a little alarming if your cadence is even remotely high. It could be this is just something that one needs to get used to, but I chose to drop the cadence more than usual to address this issue.
Overall, I am happy with the addition and if it reduces fatigue and therefore makes it easier to spend more time on the trainer, it will have been a good investment.
I found that a cadence in the low to mid 60’s was best, and anything over 70 seemed to create instability, I plan to play with it more as it might just require one to be smoother than I typically am in order to not create excessive motion. Typically for harder efforts my cadence would be in the 60’s, but I regularly hop OTS and ride at around 80+ just to shake out and alter my position for a while.
Interesting. For reference, I do LOTS of standing at 60-75 rpm on my E-Flex. I am using only half the fore-aft centering springs as the stock unit, because I like a more “free” motion. Depending on your upper body use, it can get a but out of hand at higher cadence, but that is fairly individual.
The look of the Neo motion plates is a shorter range of motion, and seems loose just off center, but I suspect it either ramps up shortly off center. That or people pushing the limits will hit the hard stop which is more likely to lead to odd sensations vs the motion leading to that rapid stop of motion.
That said, centering forces related to fore-aft are sure tricky from my testing and can impact the experience greatly if they don’t align well with the rider and their preferences.
I was back and forth about getting them, then with 12% off @ wiggle and some bday vouchers, just thought what the hell, agree with you, they are totally over priced (but cheaper and smaller than the alternatives) but thats part and parcel with being into cycling
I did notice that even when seated they are affected by pedal smoothness, hopefully this will encourage / help me sort mine out, as it has been getting worse
I struggle with OTS on Turbo, and with limited experience, it did seem a little easier, again with little experience, it did seem to reduce fatigue
Have used the motion plate w the Tacx 2 for a month. They were given to me as a gift. I’m not sure I would have purchased them on my own before however I can say after a month I would pay for them for two reasons
Comfort on the bike. I was really getting saddle fatigue. The lack of motion on the trainer I think was the issue. This is now gone. I didn’t expect that
The motion plate reveals where your peddle stroke sucks. As soon as you stabilize the peddle stroke the motion plate settles - when you start neglecting quadrants - perceptible motion (undesired) picks up. I’ve found this pretty helpful.
Ok I know they are expensive but what isn’t in cycling? I think im a convert. Especially bc indoor training is almost my exclusive training for 4-5 mo of a year
Just thought I would update this thread with some additional information. There are some great deals out there on the NEO 2T now that it is in the process of being rebranded under Garmin. There is also a deal where you can currently get the motion plates for free with the purchase of a NEO 2T through Sept 30th. I suppose this is more relevant to the Deals thread. This does mean I was able to buy a 2nd NEO 2T along with motion plates for my wife who has now joined me in Trainerroad for $999.
My wife noticed an immediate improvement in comfort with the motion plates. I haven ridden them for a number of months now, think they are a very solid addition to the trainer, and I would not use it without them.
So the rebate on motion plates will expire on September 30th. Reasonable to believe its designed to clear out inventory of both the Neo 2T and motion plates.
Which leads me to speculate around the launch date of the “Neo 3” and that it will include built-in additional motion.
Good speculation considering Garmin still hasn’t made an announcement such as the Wahoo one (bike v2 and kickr v6). Personally, I’m eager to hear about Neo bike v2.
