I think @steverob has one
Looks tempting. Will wait for real world feedback but it's still on my radar.
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Looks tempting. Will wait for real world feedback but it's still on my radar.
BurningLegs
Guru
Are you unhappy with the neo?I think @steverob has one
Looks tempting. Will wait for real world feedback but it's still on my radar.
No, I'm unhappy with my mechanical skills to fix the bike that sits on the NEO
I also like the idea of a dedicated exercise bike and not need to keep the Boardman. I was 50/50 Atom / NEO when I bought the NEO and only rejected the Atom back then because of the bugs (that now seem to be fixed).
Wattbike have changed the resistance unit to match the likes of Wahoo and Tacx. This allegedly has addressed slow resistance changes within Zwift and normalised gear change speeds.
Some original owners are kicking up a fuss on some forum requesting upgrades to their original trainers.
I would wait for a period, await feedback. By next year I expect to see prices come down on all these bike/trainer combo units
Some original owners are kicking up a fuss on some forum requesting upgrades to their original trainers.
I would wait for a period, await feedback. By next year I expect to see prices come down on all these bike/trainer combo units
steverob
Guru
- Location
- Buckinghamshire
I still have my Atom and am fairly happy with it. But then I'm not really a fair judge on this, because I'd never had any other bike trainer beforehand - I'd been umming and ahhing for a while about whether to shell out for a wheel-on controllable one, just at the time when the Atom first came on the market and so I decided just to take the plunge and buy that instead.I think @steverob has one
Looks tempting. Will wait for real world feedback but it's still on my radar.
So without any other experiences to compare it to, the biggest issues with the Atom such as gear change/resistance lags, to me they're just a slight annoyance that you can get used to (and admittedly they have been improved a bit with firmware updates) whereas someone who'd used other trainers might say that the experience was terrible and a real deal-breaker and look to go back to a normal trainer again.
Last edited:
Aleman
Knees are FUBAR but I don't like to mention it
- Location
- Blackpool UK
Ok, all I have a problem. I did mention this just before the start of the TTT last night but I'm not sure if anyone saw it / was paying attention.
We all know that for true happiness the N+1 rule applies, as long as N+1<S-1, so if I buy a tandem does this count as N+1 or N+0.5?
This is further complicated by the fact that "I" already own a tandem, and She has a unicycle!
While I know my bike stable is no where near the size / capacity of some / many on here, trying to avoid the N>S is a delicate game.
Edit: This is what the cave of pain looks like
We all know that for true happiness the N+1 rule applies, as long as N+1<S-1, so if I buy a tandem does this count as N+1 or N+0.5?
This is further complicated by the fact that "I" already own a tandem, and She has a unicycle!
While I know my bike stable is no where near the size / capacity of some / many on here, trying to avoid the N>S is a delicate game.
Edit: This is what the cave of pain looks like
mjd1988
Guru
Yeah hopefully it's not too long before we see price drops. There are now enough competitors to make it happen soon I'd think.
So wait, you are buying a second tandem?
Can you tie the unicycle to the back of your bike?
JuhaL
Guru
About your pain cave Tony, no hard feelings but it's like watching American Pickers from History channel.
Thanks Tony. I've finally found someone with a messier/more cluttered painvcave than me!
I can now refer to yours whenever Mrs R demands I have a clear out
Aleman
Knees are FUBAR but I don't like to mention it
- Location
- Blackpool UK
Well potentially ... I converted our drop bar tandem to Flats a month ago, and She has got back into riding again, after three years off because of health issues. That gave me the green light to continue with the second phase of the Frankenbike project, adding the rohloff hub and a rear disk brake. The forks also need replacing as they don't have the V-Brake posts at the required 80mm for the Magura Hydraulic Rim Brakes I want to use ... actually even standard V-Brakes are a difficult fit
. Then all the cable guides would need to be replaced, and either a new rear triangle (in oversize 725) with Rohloff dropouts and an ISO disk mount, or the existing dropouts removed, Rohloffs and disk mount fitted. Then the frame would need the respray. When you start adding it all up the cost become silly money (Rohloff hub is £1200, Hope Tech 3 Duo V4, brake is £350, and the Rohloff 203mm floating ventilated Hope rotor is £105, alone, before you start adding frame mods).The other issue, is that with the flat bar conversion, my saddle position is 40-50mm higher than it should be, this is causing me to hyper extend my legs and giving me knee pain, the only real solution is a new frame and as I was browsing the various frame builder / Tandem websites, I stumbled across a couple of tandems at a stupid price. Although the frames are technically a bit smaller than ideal for us, that compromise is much better than continuing to ride the one that is too big. So I contacted the place to see what they recommended, and it turns out that they have a perfect sized frame in stock, but not built up, and offered to supply me with the frame, and a complete "box of parts" to build it up myself ... at a discount obviously. I've sort of bit his hand off, we are just discussing options at the moment, but nothing is finalised.
I'm going to continue the Frankenbike build though. Might be able to make some money on it on the bay of E.
I have suggested this, but the three wheels makes for awkward handling
Aleman
Knees are FUBAR but I don't like to mention it
- Location
- Blackpool UK
Difficult to believe that that space is 16 by 12 isn't it
I do drop hints in her ear about getting another 16 by 12 to make some 'space', but she keeps pointing out that I already have 4 sheds "Full Of Junk"
what possible use could I have for another one?? 
<Tommy>
Illegitimi non carborundum
- Location
- Camden, London
Thanks Tony. I've finally found someone with a messier/more cluttered painvcave than me!
I can now refer to yours whenever Mrs R demands I have a clear out
Difficult to believe that that space is 16 by 12 isn't it
😄
I think from now on two should be referred to as Steptoe and son! You can fight it out amongst yourselves to decide who is who 👍
<Tommy>
Illegitimi non carborundum
- Location
- Camden, London
Michael I’m not sure how big an issue the Q factor is. Dcrainmaker makes the point that mountain bikes have a wider Q factor too. And generally people don’t say they have a problem switching from one to the other. In my case I started getting knee pain after using the atom so I couldn’t rule it out. But there were other factors regarding resistance changes that could well of been the root of my problem, so I’m not sure that’s a reason not to get the bike. I’d definitely wait for some proper in depth reviews obviously. If the shifting and gear transitions have improved then it’ll probably come down to smaller things that make you choose one over the other.
If we put reliability of all the bikes to one side as the jury’s still out on all of them. There were things about the neo that are superior to the atom. The levers on the neo are better. I think the general consensus is Wattbike skrimped a bit to get it under a certain price point. They feel spongy to the touch, and when you change gear you don’t get any feedback like a click or similar. With the neo you do get feedback, and also the levers are more rigid and better made. Having said that the wahoo levers look a direct replica of normal bike levers and look the best of the bunch.
The noise factor. Another deal breaker for me personally but might not be an issue for you depending on where your bikes set up. The neo is about as quiet as I think you could get. Just a smooth whirring noise. The atom is noisier and also creates vibration you don’t get on the neo.
The neo has a power display screen in front of you and charger points in front of you which are both genuinely really useful. My atom had neither but the new one might? Zwift then changed the dashboard design so atom users had gear display on screen which makes it better. But I still think the atom has the least user options out of the 3 bikes. Again might nor be a deal breaker
I don’t have any first hand experience of the new atom, so it might well be that they’ve ironed out the creases. My gut tells me the neo is going to be superior in terms of function. It’s also still the benchmark in terms of power readings. And it’s not that much more expensive is it?
Regarding the prices coming down I’m not sure about that at all to be honest. How much lower do you think they’ll go? It might be that the price of older models go down as they stop being produced to make way for new models for a small window of opportunity. But generally I don’t see prices going down in fact I assume they’ll go up over time relative to inflation and manufacturing costs.
If we put reliability of all the bikes to one side as the jury’s still out on all of them. There were things about the neo that are superior to the atom. The levers on the neo are better. I think the general consensus is Wattbike skrimped a bit to get it under a certain price point. They feel spongy to the touch, and when you change gear you don’t get any feedback like a click or similar. With the neo you do get feedback, and also the levers are more rigid and better made. Having said that the wahoo levers look a direct replica of normal bike levers and look the best of the bunch.
The noise factor. Another deal breaker for me personally but might not be an issue for you depending on where your bikes set up. The neo is about as quiet as I think you could get. Just a smooth whirring noise. The atom is noisier and also creates vibration you don’t get on the neo.
The neo has a power display screen in front of you and charger points in front of you which are both genuinely really useful. My atom had neither but the new one might? Zwift then changed the dashboard design so atom users had gear display on screen which makes it better. But I still think the atom has the least user options out of the 3 bikes. Again might nor be a deal breaker
I don’t have any first hand experience of the new atom, so it might well be that they’ve ironed out the creases. My gut tells me the neo is going to be superior in terms of function. It’s also still the benchmark in terms of power readings. And it’s not that much more expensive is it?
Regarding the prices coming down I’m not sure about that at all to be honest. How much lower do you think they’ll go? It might be that the price of older models go down as they stop being produced to make way for new models for a small window of opportunity. But generally I don’t see prices going down in fact I assume they’ll go up over time relative to inflation and manufacturing costs.
