BIKE TEST
Andy Turner gets up to speed with a state-of-the-smart bike
If you do a lot of indoor training, a smart bike arguably offers the smoothest, most practical, and best training experience. The Neo Bike Plus is at the higher end of smart bike prices – and with the launch of this latest model, the price has gone up over £1,000. The outgoing Tacx Neo Bike Smart had a RRP of £2,299.99.
Construction
Packaged up in its (very nice) box, the bike weighs 60kg. But after you and a team of (hopefully) willing volunteers have manoeuvred it into its final location, everything fits together as a one-person job – and all the necessary tools are supplied, along with a towel, bottle, bottle cage and sweat cover.
Setting up your position on the bike is also a lot easier now that millimetre measurements have been added, whereas on the last Neo Bike it was in centimetres. A narrower seatpost also reduces the chance of thigh rub.
Choosing your crank length is also easy, with the latest Neo offering five different holes for the pedals, going from 165 to 175mm.
The bike can be used with or without an external power supply. Pretty much everything except the fans, the charging ports, road vibration and downhill simulation will work without a power source.
A data screen displays the gear you are in, RPM, speed and threesecond average power. You can also change the resistance/gradient, or the fan setting, using the shifters’ inner buttons.
The fans themselves have three settings and are reasonably powerful.
Resistance is produced via 32 neodymium magnets in the virtual flywheel, offering mass inertia of up to 125kg. The flywheel also lights up along with a light projecting on the floor and changes from blue to red as effort level increases. It’s a bit gimmicky, but I love it! Maximum power/ resistance is 2,200 watts, which only the strongest track sprinters would exceed.
Gradient simulation is also in line with the industry best at 25%. Accuracy is <1% and testing would suggest that this is genuine.
