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Buying a Neo 2T

ptw2001
over 4 years ago

I am invested in Garmin ecosystem - my wife and I have Fenix watches, my kids have Forerunner and vivoactive; I have several HR straps, and Edge 1030 and speed and cadence sensors.  I currently have a Tacx Flow Smart wheel-on turbo, and am about to press the button on wiggle and buy the Neo 2T.  Just doing a quick sanity check.  I have two bikes that will go on it - a Canyon Speedmax and a Ribble Sportive Racing R872.  I will be using an Ultegra 11-28 cassette.  The Flow Smart is great, but it keeps dying when I push hard on the Alpe du Zwift or ven top climbs, i.e. when I push my max watts on a sustained climb where the Zwift gradient is higher than the unit can handle.  I think I'm starting to exceed what the Smart Flow can deliver.  So I'm hoping the Neo 2T will allow me to sprint harder and get a more realistic and accurate climb experience.  I'm also excited re. the left/right balance metric like I have seen on the Wattbike in my local gym (which is shut).  Can you guys give me some pros and cons that you are seeing with this model?  Are you happy with your purchase?  Are there problems one should be aware of?  Reviews are mixed - lots of positives, some complaints about the plastic unit rattling and ant+ connectivity being poor.  The latter doesn't bother me - I think I can handle that within my setup, but I don't want to splunk out over a grand for something nice and quiet that creaks and groans.  Oh, and my Tacx Flow Smart is 20+ months old and has seen somewhere in the region of 16,000-20,000 km and I expect the neo 2t to more than triple that.  Cheers.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Although not a direct answer to your question, I'm in the same boat as you.  I can pretty much mirror all your comments, save that I'm using a Tacx Bushido instead of a Flow.

    I have a friend who is selling their six month old Neo 2T as they move to the full Neo bike, so some of this feedback is based on my conversations with him, some on the reviews I've read.

    I think the main upgrades are its silent running, quick changes when in ERG mode, lifelike road feel, durability and the fact you don't have to calibrate it.  It's obviously the top end of trainers, so this should last a long time for most people.

    Hopefully I'll get it this week, so will let your know if the reality meets the expectation.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to moakesy

    Can't seem to like your response, so here it is... <Like>
    Let me know what it's like please.  I'm still waiting on it to come into stock in my preferred shop.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to ptw2001

    The L/R balance in the Neo2 family is not true balance just an estimation (i dont recommend to watch it, it will mislead You). Other features are great and one of the best on the market, its power accuracy is perfect (probably You will notice a FTP drop coming from Flow, that is heavily overmeasure the power, apprx with 10-15% for sure, so prepare yourself for it in advance! Slight smile), on the E-Sport WC the riders rode on 2Ts for equal chance (because it doesnt need user calibration and always show tha same power day by day, the others are not really even in the 1K+ EUR league...) . The noise level is extremely low if You have clean and perfect drivetrain, your fans will be louder for sure. I'm using Neo1 since the 1st release ( sept 2015 ) as one of the 1st customer, it was one of my best cycling purchase (the other is the Power2Max NG bike powermeters for my bikes). The Neo Bike is not a good choice now, it has many problems, its power accuracy is much worse due to the belt system and heat problem, there is significant temp drift in power, so maybe a Neo Bike 2 will be good somewhen but not now. I have 2018 SpeedMax SLXs too (S and M frames), both fitted perfectly onto the Neo, if your Ribble is rim version, i think no problem with that neither, if disc version, maybe the brake will touch the plastic (or must be removed for use) so You must check it 1st at purchase if possible. A few 2T units have overheating issue and the trainer is shutting down suddenly during a ride,  these customers need to replace their unit which is a painful thing during the winter due to shortage and long waiting but the stocks will be better and better within weeks i think. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Luko79

    Thank you good answer.  Little unhappy re. my flow over-estimating power, was hoping it was the opposite and my FTP was about to rocket upwards!  Joy

    Off-topic a little, but you mention you have Small and Medium Speedmax frames.  Which do you think fits you better?  I'm 175cm tall and the Canyon web site recommended the S, which I bought, based on my height and inside leg, but I have this nagging doubt I should have gone M because of the toe-rub and how far forward I might end up as I adjust to my position.  I'm going to have to buy new Di2 cables and new aero bars to allow me to lean forward more now that I've raised my seat/saddle height.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to ptw2001

    My GF is 164cm with shorter legs, she has S size (there are 3 frame sizes from SLX, S, M and L) with short stem (60mm) and A shaped handlebar, i'm 186.4cm and i have M size with longer stem (85mm as i know, these 2 stems size are available) and flat handlebar, my saddle height is ~78cm from BB so i have average leg lenght i think. Probably You got the S size with 85mm longer stem, i think it is more aero with higher saddle2pad drop, with M size this drop is less if the saddle heigh is low/er/. The toe rub could be an issue but these frames are longer than usual with ~3cm , if i try my GF's bike (165mm crank) than my shoe (45) is touching the tyre when i'm cornering but the size difference between me and her is significant so probably not a good example.

  • +1 over 4 years ago in reply to moakesy

    might be a bit late with my reply now, as the device took longer to get than anticipated.

    Basically, it’s great.  If you’re still on the fence, just get off it and order one!!! Slight smile

    It’s a big upgrade to the Bushido and the ‘road feel’ element is both utterly pointless and totally great on Zwift.   No calibration needed, just works and very, very happy with it. Very quiet too.

    Haven’t really bothered with the right/left leg balance thing, as just too busy enjoying it.  I did wonder if a turbo could be worth over a grand brand new, but I’d say it is.  A lower price turbo will do the job just fine, but this one feels built to last and bullet proof.

    The only negative is that it’s heavy, but to honest I only move it once a week when the space is required for yoga, so it’s not a problem.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    As a long duration user of Neo (1st generation) broken in an "unfixable" way (returned & refunded to Amazon) I tend to say that since Garmin acquired Tacx, this is no longer an equipment you can trust. Simply - Garmin does not have a good process to handle support of Tacx products. My local Garmin support wasn't even interested in fixing a simple bearing problem and requested to turn back to my seller. Good it was amazon who didn't make any problems and after 22 (!!) months refunded full price.

    I'd say - for smart trainers either get a Tacx from a seller who you can trust (Amazon, Decathlon; not a cheap reseller from ebuy) or get a Wahoo.

    Best regards,
    Jarek

    PS: This is my personal opinion, based on experience from one country. In your place this might be different.

  • +1 over 4 years ago

    FWIW I bought the Neo 2T as soon as I could get it from wiggle.co.uk (it came into stock and went out quickly three times - fourth time lucky).  I love it.  It's awesome!  I had a few issues properly installing the spacers to stop my derailleur rubbing, but that's because I'm hopeless at mechanical stuff, and the instructions are too basic for me.  I've been getting about 7-10 hours a week on there swapping between my road bike and my TT bike, mostly using Zwift, but also TrainerRoad.  I love it.  It's super quiet.  It feels great.  I really like the road feel in Zwift too.  There are only two "issues", which aren't really issue at all - (1) it's more accurate and responsive than my previous trainer, so my FTP has dropped, and I find steeper climbs in Zwift harder, LOL; (2) it is super responsive, almost too responsive, so I find TrainerRoad ERG workouts harder.  When doing intervals it's like hitting a wall!  Also, my power graph/timeline isn't as smooth as before, and my cadence fluctuates more as I try and hold steady watts.  But like I said, these aren't really problems, and after the dip in my power numbers and w/kg on Zwift things are improving again.  I really do love it though!  The weather is improving here in South Wales yet I'm still happily on the turbo, and will continue to race and do intervals, etc. throughout spring and summer.  The only downside here is I'm getting stronger, and my bike handling is either stagnating (where it is already poor) or diminishing (which is a worry).  If you're on the fence, my advice is buy one.  It's epic!  Happy customer! 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to ptw2001

    " I really like the road feel in Zwift too" : your bearings and gears do not!

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Case

    What do you mean?  Care to elaborate?  Thanks