Tacx Neo Bike Plus Trainer review - excellent, but expensive

The Tacx Neo Bike Plus brings a raft of incremental improvements along with its substantial increase in price. It is very, very good, but also now further out of reach for many

Image shows the Tacx Neo Bike Plus
(Image credit: Future)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

A very high end – but very high spec – smart bike. It performs perfectly whatever is thrown at it, with the resistance application and changes being class leading. The only 'nit-picking' criticisms I can come up with are that the fans are not powerful enough for me and that the bike doesn't tilt to better simulate the virtual gradients. But the first can be solved with a floor fan - as is the case with most off smart bikes - and the second is still more of a novelty than necessity. And aside from those aspects, the Tacx Neo Bike Plus performed perfectly. It is expensive, but if you have the money to consider buying one, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Very stable

  • +

    Incredibly smooth

  • +

    New shifters are perfect

  • +

    Tablet mount and fans included

  • +

    Superb adjustability

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Very expensive

  • -

    Fans not quite powerful enough

  • -

    Thigh still hits the seatpost in some positions

  • -

    Heavy - two people preferable for set-up

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Tacx, now owned by US tech giant Garmin, is a Dutch company that has a long history of producing indoor training devices, from entry-level wheel-on trainers and rollers to the highly advanced Tacx Neo and Neo bikes. 

Tacx smart trainers have repeatedly ranked amongst the best and are a common site at many world tour races for warm ups or cool downs, with the likes of Canyon-SRAM, SD Worx, Quick Step Alpha-Vinyl, Jumbo Visma, and Ineos all using the full complement of Tacx products.  

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