My wife has expressed some interest in getting into cycling to lose some weight. She doesn’t need a bike, yet, but would like to use a trainer in the garden shed. I already have a Neo 2, which i really like, but i would like to get a bike instead.
Which of the following bikes will meet the requirement Wattbike Atom (next gen), Wahoo Kikr Bike or Tacx Neo Bike?
Requirements in order of importance:
Has to fit my 5ft2, and me 6ft2 wife, and is easy enough to change fit.
I have bought the Kickr Bike for this very purpose in the last month. It has been great. Very adjustable, works well with my trainer road workouts and some zwift racing. It is expensive, but I think its worth it.
Just bought the Tacx Neo Bike Smart and it’s a bit big for my daughter who is 5’ 2’’ at the lowest saddle height so I’d recommend trying it before you buy if you can
I was an early adapter of the Tacx Neo Bike-- primarily to manage multiple riders, and it was the only one available at the time–it works great for me (6’0"), my wife (6’2") and my sons (6’5" and 6’7") but not sure about the other extreme. Works very well with TR and Zwift (although there are a few quirks in Erg mode).
Is the power mismatch issues on the wahoo kikr bike sorted? My FTP is around 340 and i’d hate to do a ramp test on this bike and it go down to 320 or so.
Out of interest, why the specific requirement for a “whole bike” trainer? If you have significantly different builds, then swapping bikes on/off a trainer like a Neo seems the quickest way? (quicker than adjusting position on something like a Neo Bike I’d wager, plus you get to keep things like your own saddle, own bar setup, etc)
I still think the stationary bike would be faster, and more importantly, less finicky, no greasy chain, and you don’t have to deal with having bikes inside the house.
And of course if the OP and his wife have different axles and cassettes, it’s a nonstarter.
I’m interested in hearing about this. I’ve considered replacing my BikeErg with one of these bikes (or the Stages one), but DCR reviews of each of them seem to end with similar comments of power accuracy being spot on, but ERG stability needing a lot of work.
I just got the Stages SB20 last week and it’s great. Me and the GF both use it with Zwift. Sturdy and adjustments are easy. The Kickr Bike seemed a little flimsy when I rode it. 5’-9", 175 lbs. I’m coming from a 2018 Kickr V4 with my old Domane on it.
It takes less than a minute to adjust the positions on the Neo Bike, which, at least for me, is substantially quicker than swapping out bikes on a wheel-off trainer (even assuming everyone has the same cassette). My sons and I use the same saddle and I purchased a separate rail for my wife’s, which takes 30 seconds to swap out. Shared bar setup hasn’t bothered anyone.
Rollers… cheap, easy to swap bikes… and for loosing weight high intensity work and resistance are anyway not the way to go, rather longer low intensity workouts… so, rollers fit this bill
An interesting suggestion, but not without issues too.
As mentioned, his wife doesn’t even have a bike yet. This choice would move that purchase up vs the smart bike option, which may be possible but we don’t know the reason behind her not having a bike yet.
Proper use of rollers means adjusting the front roller position relative to the wheel. Considering the height difference between them, their bike wheelbases are certain to be different. Some rollers are easy to adjust (quick release) while others are a pain (tools). Again, possible to overcome, but a consideration more than just picking a set without these details handled.
As much as I love rollers, the reality is that they are really only best for a narrow range of riders. maybe these two would love them, but there are pro’s and con’s to rollers that may lead to them not being a great fit here. Hard to know without more info.
Friends have an Atom and both use it and love it - he is 6’1 or 6’2 and she is a lot shorter, but maybe a little over 5’2, I’m not sure but we are seing them later so will ask
I did see the seatpost settings they had marked for him and her the other day though, and hers was nowhere near fully down though, so I’d be fairly confident it would fit both.
I’d love to hear if anyone in the last year and a half in a similar situation has purchased a smart bike. I’m 5’0" and my partner is 6’6", and I think the only smart bike we fall into the height ranges for is the Stages bike (but just barely). We’ve been using a Peloton with a DFC for TR for the past few months (so who knows how accurate the power measurements are, but it seems accurate enough relative to itself - we’ve had it for four years, got bored with the Peloton content, now it’s starting to have bearing issues so might as well get something a little more useful for TR and occasional Zwift or something) and in general would describe ourselves as non-competitive mountain bikers who don’t care enough to ride with power outside but like having productive workouts inside.
I’m 6’5”, wife is 5’2”. We went with the Stages SB20 to accommodate the range and be quick to adjust. The only thing that isn’t quick is the crank length, which requires moving the pedals around.
