Review on Tacx Smart Direct Drive Trainer by Jayshawn Cuatlayol

Initial review: I bought a Kickr Core that smelled like belt chemicals (when I returned it the smell had gone down a bit) and had a flywheel that was causing strong vibrations. . In Wahoo's defense, I think they'll take care of me eventually, but I just got it back to REI with a description of the massive flywheel vibration. 180-200W FTP. I think the Tacx Flux S works great on an 11-28 cassette. Of course, if I reproduced steep mountains on another cassette, it wouldn't work. Core can easily beat me at 100% difficulty on Zwift (let's say 15% hillclimbing in 28T gear results in a REALLY SLOW cadence). Pros: Surprisingly stable and I have it on a rocker plate. It just feels like it was made for this setup. The flux feels stable from hill to hill, as if the device were laser-focused on measuring your performance and caring about nothing else. Very quiet (as quiet as the Kickr until you really run the flywheel) and the flywheel is perfectly balanced with literally zero vibration throughout the unit. Looks very well built, unlike the Kickr Core everything fits together precisely. I have a feeling it will work in any ERG mode, although some reviews say otherwise. I'll report back when I try. Doesn't fly over sprints like my wheel (nor does the Core). Bad, or at least not very good: The actual ride feels a little sticky compared to the Kickr Core (same feel as the GP Lama but to a lesser degree). after more miles see my update below) and if anything made me want to bring it back it's this fact. It doesn't seem to let go on descents like you can spin a big flywheel. In fact, part of me wonders if they didn't do it on purpose to make it look like a small Tacx Neo (tried in store) but without downhill acceleration. Responds slightly slower to resistance changes than the core, but nothing to worry about. Overall: 4 stars considering the price, it works exactly as described. It actually got me pushing the bike quite hard. That being said I'm a little confused about the condition of direct drive trainers at this price point (maybe I need to spend more). What I really want is this shoe with the feel and responsiveness of the Core. Personally I might be tempted to use the Wahoo again but a few specific things like the good collaboration with my rocker plate and the overall exact feel will probably keep me here for 2-3 years. The fact that this is the cheapest direct drive trainer on the market, despite being built in the Netherlands, mitigates that in many ways. It helps that it actually came out of the box in perfect condition with no defects. I think I would have liked the Saris H3 but it was the most expensive and didn't match my existing Rocker Plate. I also don't really want to try another trainer in the middle of a pandemic. 10+ more rides updates: I actually like it better and have done some ERG work. I think working with ERG has helped me understand some of the really small limitations of coaching. The lower end of the powerband is also limited. So it affects his ability to, for lack of a better word for "let go" on descents. After I downshifted (the easier hill descent) slowing the flywheel, everything felt like a descent. In other words, if you want more realistic indoor workouts, I think the Neo is for you. but it is expensive. Everything else vibrates too. Maybe it overlaps a bit because it feels smoother, or maybe I'm just getting used to it (less like sand buffing, maybe some online testers didn't get enough miles). I like it more every time I ride. Hill limits on a 34-28 downshift bike at my horsepower just don't matter. It's very responsive to sprints (same as Core) and faster than Kickr Snap on gradient changes. Gradient changes are smoother and more realistic than in Core, it's like a road where inertia makes small hills smooth. Can't speak to long term reliability yet but initial quality seems great and unless I improve my FTP by 30 or 40% I think it will last even at my weight (which is probably 20lbs lighter will if I improve FTP by that much unless I've eaten a lot of cookies). I'd say if you're heavy (I'm 190) or strong I'd probably go for the Flux 2 just for more flywheel control. It wasn't worth worrying about for me at the moment and I love the coach. I keep a solid 4 stars. Unless I have other revelation, I'll probably leave the review untouched.