Garmin has been in acquisition mode for quite a while, their auto business is shrinking as the need for car GPS drops with built-in and smartphones eating their lunch. They did many acquisitions in the Aviation segment.
I had no issues with my original Tacx Flow but my Vortex had the “whine” where the metal sleeve was moving on it’s urethane core and had to apply the superglue and then the epoxy fix to make it quiet. It’s also limited on centering on the spindle because there is only adjustment from the drive side. Spare parts, forget that. You basically have to replace the entire brake unit. A lot of people don’t like the locking mechanism in general.
As you say, all of these things have been around for a number years and don’t seem to have been addressed by Tacx.
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I’m not sure what sort of market there is for that type of product… It’s really a niche within a niche. Most people who care about the feature set can plop a bike on a high-end smart trainer.
I really like their golf stuff . First handheld and now watches. I think there is better value out there in the bike GPS market than Garmin for head units and sensors
The golf market is also shrinking. No millenial will lose half a day walking outside.
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I wonder as the e-sport side of Zwift continues in popularity if we will ever see a Zwift-specific bike like a Peloton
TIL the company is named after the CEO and founder, Koos Tacx. Never realized Tacx could be someone’s name (silly American)! Is it pronounced “Tax?” or “Tack-ex” or…?
Yeah - but that’s like saying Ford can compete with Uber because they make cars. Peloton is not a bike trainer company, they’re a fitness service company. Having a bike does not create a competitive offering.
I think this is not necessarily good news. Garmin is known of their poor quality of software and I am not sure if I am willing to buy a trainer with Garmin sw inside. It is actually quite sad to follow the discussions on the Garmin forums, for example the vector 3 and edge 520 related: there are so many ways the company has screwed up their products and it seems that every new sw version brings new issues.
Ford does compete with Uber though 
Either way, there is a long line of pre-orders for the Neo Bike, myself included, that stretches into August or September at this point so I would wager it’s a bit less niche than you think
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Let’s just agree that Tacx isn’t quite known as a great software house either.
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Honest curiosity - what are the key features that make it attractive to you?
- No wear and tear on my road bike
- No drivetrain cleaning
- No putting my bike on and off the trainer
- Adjustable gearing where I don’t have to fiddle with a cassette/noise/chainline
- More stable platform (making an assumption here)
Most importantly though, my SO has been wanting to get into training with TrainerRoad since she has a running overuse injury, so having an adjustable smart bike makes it really convenient for the both of us to train at our apartment. We won’t have the space for more than one setup at a time and she isn’t a cyclist but enjoys being on the stationary bike.
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Interesting, thanks. I cover the first 4 of these bullets by having a dedicated bike on the trainer (and the amount of wear on the drivetrain of a bike that is permanently inside is incredibly low, just did a drivetrain job on it yesterday, first time in years…), but I see your last point (multiple users) as a key feature. I’ve seen that requirement a number of times from friends.
What? And replace all those fancy magazine stands in hotel gyms commonly referred to as recumbent bikes?
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I’m almost positive to cancel my order now. Anything Garmin is a no go for me.
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There goes the neighborhood.
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I’d seriously consider getting one if my wife ever commits to cycling for cardio and all the great riding in the mountains.
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I’d buy anything for my wife if she ever committed to cycling… in fact, I bought an e-bike setup for gravel (fat 29ers, front shock drop bars, massive battery) and it was ridden thrice (once to commute to work, which was a good thing) and once on a ride with me. Maybe after winter…
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