Tacx Neo 3M smart trainer review: class-leading data accuracy but missing features are unforgivable at this price

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With its £1,749.99 / €1,999.99 / $1,999.99 price tag, the Tacx Neo 3M is one of the most expensive smart trainers available.

Building on the highly rated Neo 2T, the Tacx Neo 3M offers excellent ride feel, data accuracy and ERG mode performance, married to a spec sheet capable of matching the most powerful riders.

However, it’s missing far too many key quality-of-life features, and the added movement doesn’t always feel like an improvement.

As a result, the Tacx Neo 3M simply doesn't do enough to justify its steep price compared to the competition.

Tacx Neo 3M specification

The Tacx Neo 3M looks almost identical to its predecessor, the Neo 2T.

Rather than copying the template laid down by the first Wahoo Kickr back in 2012 – which has since spawned all manner of copycats – the Neo 3M has a distinctive appearance, almost like something you’d see fighting a space battle in Star Wars.

At 630x800mm, ready to ride, its footprint is huge compared to most smart trainers, and although the legs fold in for storage, its hefty 23.6kg weight makes moving it around quite tricky.

Still, though, it’s smaller and lighter than the Wahoo Kickr Move (£1,149.99 / $1,299.99), which measures 686x880mm and weighs a whopping 29.5kg.

Unlike the Wahoo Kickr V6 (£849.99 / $999.99) and the Kickr Move, the Neo 3M uses a mostly plastic outer shell. It’s fair to say a metal exterior would almost certainly add significant weight, so perhaps it's for the best.

In terms of maximum power output and simulated gradients, the Neo 3M has – as you’d expect at this price – an extremely high ceiling.

Like the Kickr V6 and Kickr Move, maximum power is rated at a whopping 2,200 watts, but the Neo 3M extends to simulated gradients of 25 per cent.

That’s 5 per cent steeper than Wahoo’s best offerings, although whether anyone needs such enormous levels of resistance is another matter.

More usefully, accuracy for the in-built power meter is rated at “within one per cent” and, assuming it doesn’t get damaged, Tacx says it will never require calibration. It doesn’t even give you the option to perform a classic spin-down calibration.

The Neo 3M can also simulate descents – powering the virtual flywheel to give the impression of accelerating downhill – and the vibrations caused by various road surfaces, such as tarmac, gravel, cobbles, wooden boards and more.

You need to be connected to an indoor cycling app, such as Zwift, that supports this feature, but it’s a unique feature not present on any other line of smart trainers as things stand.

Virtual flywheel

While most smart trainers use a physical flywheel, which spins up and stores energy as you pedal (helping to create a feeling of inertia), the Neo 3M simulates a virtual flywheel using magnets.

Tacx claims this enables the Neo 3M to adjust the level of inertia according to the virtual terrain you’re riding on – so climbing at slow speeds should feel different from riding fast on the flat, for example.

The brand also says it can simulate a “mass inertia of 125kg”, which vastly surpasses the Kickr V6’s 7.3kg flywheel on paper.

Stuck on 11

The Tacx Neo 3M comes with an 11-speed, 11-28t Shimano HG-compatible cassette.

Here in 2025, where the big three groupset manufacturers have moved to 12-speed with their mid- to high-end offerings across practically all disciplines, that seems a curious decision.

Doubtless, there’s a larger number of riders with 11-speed groupsets out there (simply because those have been around for many more years), but given the Neo 3M’s positioning as a super-high-end option, it feels out of step with current trends.

In any case, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for riders to expect a choice of cassette given the asking price.

Likewise, it’s a shame there’s no option to spec a Zwift Cog, and no support for the platform’s virtual-shifting protocol.

Tacx Neo 3M setup

The Tacx Neo 3M arrives fully assembled inside its box, so as long as you have the required strength to lift its 23.6kg weight into place (the new handle section helps), getting it set up is an easy affair – aside from one quirk.

Because I wanted to mount a bike with a 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace groupset, I had to swap out the included 11-speed cassette using a chain whip and Shimano cassette lockring tool, before adding the correct axle adaptors.

Those are simple tasks for an experienced rider such as myself, although Tacx (and many other brands) could make better use of colour-coding and physical guides, as pioneered by the now-discontinued Zwift Hub, to help newcomers.

The issue came when I jumped on to ride the Neo 3M for the first time, though. Shifting through the cassette to make sure everything was working properly, I noticed the derailleur cage on my Giant TCR Advanced Pro Disc was rubbing on the trainer body when using the largest sprocket.

Consulting the manual to ensure I hadn't done something wrong, I found Tacx’s solution for this issue in an expanded version of the manual online.

The fix is to remove the freehub from the trainer and add one or two included spacers behind it, to shift the cassette outwards, before reinstalling everything.

It was a five-minute task for me, and the required tool to remove the freehub locknut is included with the trainer, but I could easily see this tripping up less experienced riders. The freehub pawls need to be coaxed gently into the hub body upon reinstallation, for example, which isn’t explained in the manual.

Aside from the fact that this is a hassle – and something I’ve not experienced on any of the other 17 smart trainers I’ve tested – it’s mind-boggling that Tacx didn’t build in more clearance when it redesigned the shell for this new version of the Neo.

This is, after all, clearly a known issue. Otherwise, Tacx wouldn’t have a bodge solution included with the trainer.

Tacx Neo 3M performance

Tacx Neo 3M connectivity

In its standard guise, the Tacx Neo 3M can connect to smart devices and indoor cycling apps via Bluetooth or ANT+.

Unfortunately, there’s no in-built support for WiFi, and if you want that you’ll need to splash out another £129.99 on Tacx’s Smart Network Adapter dongle.

While WiFi connectivity is by no means an essential feature for a smart trainer (Bluetooth has always served me perfectly well), it’s certainly a ‘nice to have’, because it offers the potential for stronger, stabler connections with great bandwidth.

On Wahoo’s Kickr V6, for example, WiFi connectivity enables the trainer to automatically update its own firmware. It’s a small convenience, but one that – among other things – helps to justify its premium price.

Updating the firmware via Bluetooth and the Tacx app isn’t a particular chore, but – again – for this kind of money, I’d expect the Neo 3M to match its competitors.

Beyond WiFi, the Neo 3M also lacks a high-speed data transfer mode (typically referred to as ‘Race mode’). This increases the frequency with which data is sent to and from a smart trainer from 1Hz to 10Hz, giving a more responsive experience in apps such as Zwift.

There’s also no capacity for sensor bridging, whereby you connect a heart rate monitor or other sensor to the trainer, and have it transmit that data alongside everything else in a single stream. This can be useful if you’re using Zwift on Apple TV, or another smart device, which only allows a limited number of Bluetooth connections at any one time, or if you have an older sensor that only supports ANT+.

Again, these features might not be essential for many riders, but their absence on a trainer at this price is a tough pill to swallow.

Tacx Neo 3M ride feel

Nitpicks about setup and features aside, it’s fair to say the Neo 3M offers excellent ride quality once you get going.

We’ll talk about the added movement in a moment, but the general feel through the pedals is easily up there with the best smart trainers I’ve used.

The Neo 3M, like the 2T before it, offers a unique ride experience thanks to its virtual flywheel. The simulation of virtual elevation changes is subtle, but excellent, and the surface simulation (Tacx calls it ‘Road Feel’) is an engaging touch.

The latter isn’t something I necessarily miss when using other trainers – being only present on the Neo series of trainers, I largely just forget about it when using anything else. 

However, when it’s there, and you hit a different surface, you really can feel it through the pedals and it does a good job of convincing you of the change in surface. Riding on gravel, for example, feels harder than on tarmac, cobbles feel bumpy, and so on.

I’d be interested to see how the wood simulation feels if Zwift were to add a virtual velodrome.

It’s fair to say the feel through the pedals isn’t all that different from that offered by the Kickr V6 and Kickr Move, though. Both are excellent, but – surface simulations aside – I don’t know if I could pick the two apart in a blind test.

One area where the Tacx Neo 3M distinguishes itself is with its ERG mode performance, which is the best of any smart trainer I’ve used.

The way it delivers resistance in response to small adjustments to your cadence is uncannily smooth – so much so that I had to double-check ERG mode data smoothing wasn’t turned on (it wasn’t).

The ramping up and down between intervals also felt incredibly straightforward, with no sudden spikes or drops in resistance.

For those who prefer a more spartan experience, and training-focused apps such as TrainerRoad, this will be a major boon.

Mixed feelings on movement

It won’t surprise anyone who’s read my review of the Wahoo Kickr Move to learn I’ve mixed feelings about the added movement on the Tacx Neo 3M.

On a positive note, with only 5cm of movement range, it’s a much more toned-down affair on the Neo 3M (in comparison, the Kickr Move offers 20.3cm of movement range), and the subtle movements you get while pedalling in the saddle feel great.

I was also thrilled to see Tacx has included a movement-compatible riser block, which means you aren’t limited to only using it on hard surfaces as you are with the Kickr Move.

As with the Kickr Move, though, things start to feel awkward as soon as you start putting down the power – and sprinting feels especially jerky. When you’re really going for it, you get an unnatural back-and-forth movement that feels terrible.

Curiously, the Neo 3M’s manual says to “Avoid sprinting when the motion plates are enabled. You can sprint if the motion plates are locked”.

This is a limitation not imposed on the Wahoo Kickr Move, and considering it's hidden away in the manual, I suspect most riders might miss it altogether (I only spotted it by accident while looking for the solution to the derailleur-clearance issue).

As someone who enjoys Zwift Racing, then, I just locked out the movement after a few test rides and left it at that.

It’s obviously tricky to replicate the experience of riding in the real world, and I don’t want to stifle innovation by saying brands shouldn’t try new things. As with the Kickr Move, though, the movement hardware on the Neo 3M adds weight and cost, yet isn’t an all-round improvement.

With the Neo 2T, which didn’t feature built-in movement, Tacx made a set of optional Neo Motion Plates – which cost £259.99. These were then essentially integrated into the 3M’s design, but I’d have preferred if they’d remained an optional extra and the Neo 3M was £260 cheaper.

Tacx Neo 3M noise

In terms of noise generated through riding, the Tacx Neo 3M is decently quiet, averaging around 63 to 65 decibels when riding at 150 watts, with the movement locked out.

Ramping up the power leads to an increase in noise, though, with the Neo 3M giving off more than 70 decibels when doing 600 watts or so.

Subjectively, riding with the movement enabled was a little noisier too, especially during hard efforts, because it’s quite click-clacky.

All things considered, the Neo 3M falls into the category of ‘quiet enough’ – once you’ve got your drivetrain and a fan in the mix, it’s barely audible, and if you’re wearing headphones you likely won’t hear it at all.

However, it's far from the quietest smart trainer available, and is even outclassed in this respect by budget models such as the Van Rysel D100, which generated fewer than 60 decibels of noise at 150 watts.

As always, it’s worth noting your experience may differ compared to my measured figures, depending on where your trainer is set up, as well as what drivetrain and chain lube you’re using.

Tacx Neo 3M power accuracy

The Tacx Neo 3M is rated to “within one per cent” power accuracy, and in use it performed flawlessly in this area, matching my on-bike power meters (Favero's Assioma Duo pedals and Quarq DFour DUB spider) in every scenario.

It’s a high bar to clear, but the Neo 3M produces the cleanest power and cadence data I’ve ever seen from a smart trainer – besting even the excellent Wahoo Kickr V6 and Kickr Move by a slim margin.

The cadence data – often a tripping point even for high-end smart trainers (Elite’s Justo struggled in this area, for example) – was especially impressive, tracking on-bike power meters with excellent precision.

Of course, the odd mismeasured RPM or an extra percentage point of error on your ‘true’ power output probably won’t mean a lot to most riders.

However, if you want a reliably accurate smart trainer that never needs calibrating, the Neo 3M is certainly that.

Tacx Neo 3M bottom line

At a time when smart trainer prices are generally falling and feature sets ever-expanding, the Neo 3M feels out of step with the rest of the market.

Wahoo cut the price of its Kickr V6 and Kickr Move trainers in September 2024, for example, while JetBlack’s Victory is fully featured at only £399.99 / $399.99 / €449.99, and many other great models are frequently discounted.

The Neo 3M undoubtedly offers a fantastic ride feel with class-leading data accuracy, and has enough resistance on tap to match the most powerful riders out there. 

But there are too many missing features, the added movement is hit and miss, the derailleur clearance issue shouldn’t exist, and the price is far too high.

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