The Tacx turbo trainer range gives you sophisticated tech at a wide range of prices

Riders who are taking to their turbo trainers to avoid the winter weather and dark still want an enjoyable, immersive experience with a realistic ride feel, whether they’re doing structured workouts or riding or racing in the virtual worlds of Zwift, the Tacx App, and other training games.

Trainers are getting ever more sophisticated and the Tacx Neo trainers are the pinnacle of trainer tech. Tacx offers lower priced alternatives, and there’s also the Tacx Neo Bike if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution.

Tacx is owned by Garmin, so you get great connectivity to its cycling computers for your workout data and Garmin bike computers can also act as controllers for Tacx trainers. You can use the full range of other control options for Tacx smart trainers like smartphones and tablets as well.

Here’s a run through of the Tacx trainer range and the technology that each offers.

Tacx Neo 2 and Neo 2T

The range-topping Tacx Neo 2 and Tacx Neo 2T trainers give you amazing tech to make your workouts more interesting. At their core is a virtual flywheel. Rather than relying on a large rotating mass, this uses an electric motor to generate resistance as you pedal. Both have powerful electromagnetic resistance, with the Neo 2T adding even stronger electromagnets than the Neo 2 to provide a more linear power curve.

As well as supplying resistance, the virtual flywheel motor can also drive the unit to simulate descents. It can increase realism by simulating the inertia that your weight provides when riding outdoors and it will give a different feel when you’re riding at high speed to when you’re climbing.

Using a virtual flywheel rather than a physical one opens up a range of other innovative features.

To start with, the Road Feel feature can mimic the effect of riding over cobbles, mud, gravel and other surfaces using changes in the motor’s resistance when using Tacx’s software and compatible apps such as Zwift and others.

The Neo trainers can simulate climbs of up to 25 per cent and have a maximum resistance of 2,200 watts. Their power measurement is calibration-free and very accurate too, down to +/- 1 per cent. You can add Tacx Neo Motion Plates to Neo trainers, which let you rock the trainer from side to side, again improving realism.

The virtual flywheel also makes the Tacx Neo 2 and Tacx Neo 2T very quiet, as it connects directly to your bike rather than needing gearing to increase the flywheel’s speed. The advanced design allows the Neo 2T trainer to accurately measure both cadence and position of your legs. It uses this for pedal stroke and left/right balance analysis so you can work on perfecting your pedalling. 

The result of all this tech is a great, realistic ride feel that really gives the feeling of riding outdoors when using the Tacx App and other indoor training tools. 

You can hook the Neo trainers up via Bluetooth or ANT+ to the whole range of head units to control them, including smartphones, tablets or a Garmin cycle computer. They come with a freehub body for Shimano 11-speed and you can buy SRAM XDR, Campagnolo and Shimano Microspline bodies. There’s compatibility with quick releases and thru-axles, including Boost.

To get the full range of functionality, you need to have an external power source, but you can also use the Neo trainers unpowered. The side legs fold away neatly, and the trainers weigh 21.5kg, so they’re easy to move around and store. 

Tacx Flux 2 and Tacx Flux S

The Tacx Flux direct drive smart trainers use a more traditional flywheel, but are still impressively quiet and free of vibration. They use magnetic resistance to provide up to 2,000 watts resistance in the Flux 2 and 1,500 watts in the Flux S. The Flux 2 can simulate climbs of up to 16 per cent and both trainers provide power accuracy of under three per cent and work with the full range of cassettes and rear axle configurations.

With BLE and ANT+ connectivity to a full range of control units including smartphones and Garmin cycling computers, they provide a cheaper direct drive alternative to the Neo trainers that still provides all the functionality you need for immersive training and racing.

Tacx Flow trainers

Tacx doesn’t only sell top-end trainers either. The Tacx Flow is an affordable wheel-on trainer that still gives you smart control, so that you can hook up to the Tacx App and other gaming platforms and to training tools like TrainerRoad.  

The sturdy, stable build lets you put down power of up to 800 watts and it can simulate gradients of up to 6 per cent, with the compact, 1.6kg flywheel having an inertia equivalent to one of 11.8kg, in an overall trainer weight of just 9.4kg. It’s also one of the smoothest, quietest wheel-on turbos available, with an accuracy of better than 5 per cent.

The Tacx Boost drops the price even more but forgoes smart features, while the Tacx Galaxia advanced rollers and Tacx Antares basic rollers help you to perfect your pedalling technique and improve your balance when riding.

If you have a dedicated indoor training space, the Tacx Neo Bike and the latest Tacx Neo Bike Plus give you all the functionality of the Neo trainers without having to hook up your outdoor bike, so it’s quick to get riding with zero set-up. In-built fans help keep you cooler and the Tacx Neo Bikes even simulate the shifting patterns of Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo drivetrains.

Take a look at the whole Tacx trainer line on Garmin’s Tacx home page.