This is a very good review. I've had this smart trainer for 2 years and you have got everything spot on from erg mode to noise to max watt. For the price it's a very good smart trainer. Great review great channel

I bought it in November last year, so I can train during the winter. Even tho I'm the third owner it's very solid and I'm very happy with it

Thanks so much for yet another excellent video. I just realised that based on this video I ordered mine about five days later (NL, Decathlon, EUR 299, Including half a year subscription to the Tacx platform and a month of Zwift). Very pleased with it!, I did not want to spend too much money, but given the Covid situation I definitely wanted an indoor alternative. In the end in 2020 I did ~1300km indoor on it, luckily also still ~1800 outdoors. Overall mileage is a bit on the low side, but still much better than nothing. Thanks for the excellent content!

Thanks Ray, nice introduction for those who are new to indoor training.

I have the Vortex and works pretty good for the price, Once it's calibrated it's seems to really consistent as long as you keep the same tire pressure.

I bought this trainer als my first trainer two years ago, and this review hits every pro and con spot on!

I have the Tacx Vortex (slight variation on the Flow) which I’ve happily used for 9K+ Zwift Miles. I bought it as my first smart-turbo with a view to buying a better model down the road. So far it’s given me no reason to want to upgrade. Good solid reliable piece of kit.

I just bought one off Amazon there was 2 left. It should be here Monday I'm excited.

Thanks Ray. What a timely review💪💪💪

I ran a flow for two years and I have to say it's a great little trainer for the money.i put over 8000 miles on it without any issues.i found 110 psi was best for tyre pressure though it seemed to give a bit more inertia.as for the the knob I had it marked with tip ex to save the hassle.i would recommend it to anyone who was thinking of getting into zwift etc.keep the videos coming dc👍

Fantastic review. Tipped me over the edge to buying this or the Vortex.

Now that we're all quarantined we finally get a review of the cheapest smart trainer. Not so cheap anymore since the price went up in just a few weeks 😂

I love this trainer...I bought mine off of facebook marketplace second hand for 200 USD. I love the ant+, my polar h10 heart rate monitor and magene cadence sensor pair up effortlessly.. Also since garmin acquired them, their customer service is superb. The unit stopped registering power and with a call to the down to earth customer service fellow I spoke to, we troubleshot the unit with no avail; nonetheless, they replaced the power unit free of charge.

I got my Flow about 6 months ago, and since I've never used any other trainers, I have to say I love it! I had seen other reviews before I bought it, and I knew about the accuracy issues, but for the money, and my newness to cycling, there was no question that this would be my first trainer. I stalked ebay for a couple of weeks, mostly because finding a new one in the US was surprisingly hard, and i was in business. I have 1500mi on mine. I don't think it will last forever, but certainly a great first trainer. When I kill this one, I'm going to go for the kicker core. That knob does suck for sure, and it tends to de-thread (i dont know how else to put it), requiring you to get 2 wrenches out to put it back together. very bad system. Also, put a little grease on the ends of the quick release skewer it comes with, to reduce squeaking noise while riding. One last tip. If you grease the locking lever (like I did) it might pop open while riding (ask me how I know). I combat this by stringing a few hook/loop cable ties together and loping it through the lever handle, down through the leg hinge, and back up to reconnect. Rope would work here too. One last last tip. NEVER leave the tension on the wheel while its not moving for more than about 15 minutes, or you will warp the tire, and maybe the wheel. OK, that's it. Great review DC!

I got one for two years and have special a tyre. It work with bluetooth bur i haved worked with ant+. I used for 1h30 max it works very well

Cool! You got me convinced and I got one just today :-) So far I am happy, I never had a smart trainer and this one is quite nice and did not kill my wallet. If I get hooked really bad on it, then maybe after some time I would upgrade to a more advanced model. So far so good 🙂

It looks easy guy's to review equipment in a way that's understandable for almost everyone. But in fact it's a skill. DC has this kind of skill.

I got a used Tacx Satori Smart years ago for £75, same thing with manual resistance. Cadence became broken in Zwift (so pair power only) and they wouldn't admit or fix it (see forums), it worked fully in the Tacx apps & Golden Cheetah. I used the granny gear mostly to get the right cadence in game. My FTP was probably only 100W and I could sprint up to 350W+.

I’m using it since 2 years. It’s working very well. For higher wattage I’ve to shift the right gear. It’s ok but not so good for training plans with small burst peaks.

I got one two years ago as a Christmas present from sister's boyfriend, who used it the year before that, and I'm not complaining. I'm using the Schwalbe Insider indoor specific tyre and the noise level seems to be even lower than on his current trainer, which is the Elite Direto. The gradient simulation must have been changed in firmware during the past years as it wouldn't set the resistance to anything above 3% when set to 50% trainer difficulty, so I used it set to 100% ever since. But even that didn't matter too much to me, because it gets used just in the winter time (and only in bad weather like snowy, I still prefer to ride outside if possible) and at that off-season time I'm opting for riding mainly on flatter courses.

Managed to bag one of these for £80 at halfords last year

had one. loved it. broke it during a move. miss it so much. used it with the tacx trainer tire to avoid beating up road tires and never had any trouble using it with rouvy!

I've been using the Flow for four years in Zwift. I've done over 180hrs riding on it with not one issue. I paid £190 in the UK and it works with Zwift perfectly. The only niggle I have is getting the trainer tight enough against the tyre. I usually have to clip the roller onto the wheel at a low tyre pressure them increase it once in. Anything below 90psi won't be tight enough to calibrate properly. You really get more than you pay for with this trainer.

I was looking at one these but plumped for an elite novo smart trainer. It appears to be a UK market exclusive but essentially it is the elite novo with the resistance unit for the qubo. Needless to say at under £180/€200/$215 for a smart trainer I am very pleased.

I like your reviews. Detailed and thorough. Have you reviewed the Tacx Bushido? Would be great if you can?

Straight to the point I like the info

I’ve had one for 18 months and ridden over 3200 miles on Zwift on it with no problems , probably will upgrade to a Kickr Core when it breaks but until then perfect for me

I've been using mine for a few years now, and for me (amateur with 2.5-3w/kg) it's perfect for these staying inside times...

8:50 This is a somewhat bigger issue when you're doing a ramp test. What I've noticed is that next to suffering bc of the test I also have to start shifting every couple of steps. You notice this when your power isn't rising even though your cadence stays the same.

Try changing to a tacx training tire.. It's much quiter. All I hear now is my chain on the gears.

Thx for the video. It was not clear for me whether it requires extra sensors for cadence and watts...

Great Video. I wanna ask if i can compare this with bluetooth or if i need ant+

Hi there, really nice video and information about this interesting smart trainer. Just one quick question. I have a Garmin Fenix 6x. Will this connect with the trainer to show details like cadence, speed, and power too? At the moment I have an Elite Supercrono Smart that can show cadence and speed but nothing with regard to the power (as the resistance is manually chosen). Thanks again for your interesting videos. Keep up the good job!

My Tacx Flow bluetooth/ant stopped working when it got hot, like when I was doing intervals, or training for more than 30 minutes with higher watts. Wheel locking mecanism broke. Apps from Tacx randomly stopped working, calibration was all over the place from time to time. After like 15 mails with different support personel every time (have to explain same problems over and over again...) they sent me a Tacx Bushido. I didnt unbox it, sold it cheap and bought a Wahoo. The wahoo works perfectly. Every time. All aspects. Thats my experience with Tacx (and wahoo).

"uffda" you are definitely in scandi-land now! either there or the upper midwest in the US

Thanks for great video! Between this Tacx Flow and Wahoo KICKR Snap, which one would you recommend? While there is a price gap (~$150), does it worth going up with Wahoo Snap? or should I start with this?

Great video Ray. I see lots of comments about tyre pressure. I'm guessing that with 28 width tubeless tyres at their recommended low psi like 50-60 that this is not going to work well for this type of trainer. Would getting the tyres inflated to the maximum for that tyre help or are tubeless just not ideal. The aim of buying this trainer would be ease of connecting the bike, so changing a rear wheel or tyre would mean I don't use it as often

Cool review, what are the funky traffic lights that you have?

Based on this review and others, I bought this product. Unfortunately I have missed the return window, so I have to sell it by some other means. I never got to try it. It is worth noting that Tacx recommends using a wheel specifically designed for use with an indoor wheel-on trainer. I discovered this after trying to fit my wife's Trek Verve 1 to the trainer. The maximum tire size that the trainer will support is 35mm.

Been using one of these for years. The best part is how small it folds up when you're not using it.

Excellent work sir 👍 I’ve owned a Neo but sold it due to lack of use. I then picked up a second hand Cycleops Magnus. A little stronger and higher up the chain than this Tacx but in all honesty it’s perfect for me, accurate enough when calibrated and didn’t cost £1000. It’s good to show folk that a Zwift setup can be cheap - Magnus £142, iPad already own, bike already own, trainer tyre £20. Thanks for the good work.

I have an Elite Direto. My wife wanted to try indoor training with Zwift. My LBS carries Tacx, and I got this $350US. Having no prior experience with smart trainers (or any trainer for that matter) she likes it. It folds up and unfolds easily. It’s noisy, but not horribly so. For her, it truly is more the game experience so the accuracy is not an issue. We’re both more than happy with it. It is way easier to transport, much much smaller and lighter than my Elite. For dumb trainer money, you can’t go wrong. Except that calibration knob. Damn, that is some bad engineering there. It works, but ... ugh 😩...

Great review! Is it possible to use a Mountain Bike on this?

great review as always!!!! I was wondering if there is a trainer that is +~£100 that is worth upgrading to? or is this the best sub £400 trainer out there?

For the money I think I would go with the Non-controllable Kinetic by Kurt hydro with the Inride transmitter. Thing is bomb proof with better resistance. Then save some pennies for the nicer Wheel off trainer in the future.

It’s a low end trainer that provides an outside feel on Zwift. Perfect for sportif riders that want to stay in shape year round without needing to be a racer boy or girl.

great video, I'm using the flow. The only problem I have so far is that it doesn't pick up my my Garmin (forerunner 935) heart rate belt. Would someone have an advise on how to set it up reading heart rate? thank you for the excellent info/videos

Thanks for the info! Will this trainer work on mtb?

Good review, thanks. Anyone that has tried changing the flywheel to one that is a little heavier ? But I find the noise a real issue. There is no way I can use this after dinner-time... or before 8 am... Can it be reduced somehow ? Does silent trainers exist ?

12:26 : so it seems the Flow comes in quite a bit lower than the powermeters while users generally find it overstates the power. Something they notice when they upgrade to a DD and find they've lost 10% of their FTP ! My Vector is also 10% above my left only 4iiii crank...now I suppose I could have some imbalance...will have to get some dual pedals to find out !

Nice review and I have used one of these devices for 5 months now with no issues and can't see the point in upgrading to a better trainer till it dies. Other people have mentioned some of this already but a few things for viewers to note. 1) You are usually better tuning the trainer when it is warmed up after 10 minutes of riding, I wonder if this is partially why the power trace at 13:04 was out early on in the ride i.e. the trainer/tyre was cold 2) My trainer is not nearly so noisy as the one that DC Rainmaker was showing. There maybe good and bad examples out there. 3) I have peaked the power output at 833w (where it then flatlined the peak) but it seems that you need to be in a high gear to get big power numbers, In a lower gear I have peaked the trainer at under 700w. 4) On zwift at 50% hills, I normally ride with a 50 tooth front and move about the middle of the rear set (11-28), it's rare that I get to top gear or drop to the small front ring. 5) On Zwift I feel as though it is easier to get out decent steady wattage going up hills, I suspect this is due to the wheel speed dropping and there being less rolling power loss through the bike's mechanicals, for me 250w on a steep climb feels less intense than 250w on the flat.

Hi fab video thanks, I have recently purchased this piece of kit on the back of your review since was looking for entry level trainer since not sure how much I'll use it. I wonder if you have a view on settings that you can maybe help me out with. I'm using the TACX app doing a simple slope workout, but only feel resistance changes up to 3%. Not sure if this is an issue or if it's down to app settings (I have read about 50% grade modification) but I have tried the grade modifier setting within the app at 100%, 50% and 25% and it doesn't seem to make any difference. Thanks in advance fro any help

DC, would you recommend this or the kicker snap?

I tried connecting it with zwift as "controllable" but it only wanted to connect as Powermeter and cadence but I was not able to connect as so that the resistance would be adjusted automatically

huge fan of your review! 👍🏽bottom line..please help me decide between tacx flow vs minoura kagura DT vs elite rampa? believe it or not they are in same price range in my country 😂

Hi. Im wondering if i just buy the tacx flow smart or the elite tuo? they cost about the same now. Noise and vibration is not an issue for me.

I bought this late last year for winter workouts. So far, I have only used with the Tacx Training app. I noticed that while riding uphills, I didn't feel much inertia but the speed is significantly reduced to simulate an uphill ride. The opposite is true for the downhills..I don't know if it is the app. Overall, it is a pretty good trainer for entry level workouts.

hey there DC, just checked out your TACX review, I thought the QUBO was a pretty good competitor for the price point here??… Ive been using a QUBO for 2 years on ZWIFT its been great, nice heavy roller (wheel on) ANT B+ etc haven't had any issues. Same as TACX tho with heavy end sprinting as the wheel doesn't engage perfectly when you stand up. But all other stuff pretty good for the $$

Got lucky 3 weeks ago just at the beginning of the crazy wave of trainer purchases across the world. I bought the Tacx Flow's bigger brother, the Vortex, at 233$US/216€ (actually 329$Cnd) shipping to Canada included, @ Chain Reaction Cycles. As if it wasn't cheap enough, I didn't have any taxes to pay upon reception a week later. I guess, the customs workers didn't want to handle the package's papers coming from UK at the time. Do I need to say that I am a happy camper.

Hi! Can you please create video with Tacx Satori? It's a most cheap trainer with powermetr

I have that problem, when it is warmed up, it starts to loose tension and watts starts to goes up.

I have one of these that I got for basically nothing (guy was selling it attached to a bike and I sold the bike). Honestly, I like it just because I'm not on Zwift (I do mostly structured training sessions) and I have found ways to mess around with it to make it work better (like I set the incline between 1-2% and use mostly gearing on my bike to increase or decrease resistance). Sure more expensive turbos are better but they also take up a lot more space. Like I'd buy one but have nowhere to put it and am likely moving soon. If I had a dedicated space, I would definitely get a nicer, direct-drive, model but, for now, I have no complaints about this kit. Is it perfect? Far from it but it doesn't affect my training one bit.

Do you have a link for the smilie traffic light on the floor by the trainer?

Hey DC, how do I use this with a hand cycle? Front tire driven. An do I hook up a hdmi cable from my laptop to my tv?

If you must choose between the vortex smart/flow or kickr snap what is the best and why

I sold my 4 years old Tacx Bushido before the new trainer arrives. Biggest mistake ever. The Bushido worked very reliable over the years. The Wahoo KickR Core I bought was a disappointment. 3 units all out of the box with vibrations. Tacx Neo 2 and already also on the second unit. After the Core experience I would have switched back to the Bushido, if I would still have it.

Sounds very similar to my Elite Qubo Digital Smart b+

elit tuo interactive smart or tacx flow smart which one do u recommend?

Great review. I also have had this trainer for a couple years. I love it but as with the review I'm disappointed with sprints and long climbs. (But I'm out of shape now so it's just fine!) At one point I bought a trainer costing twice as much but returned it because the Flow felt. much better. Question: Is there a method to increase the flywheel weight? And if you can would it mess up the power readings or otherwise hurt the trainer?

is it beneficial to mount my single-speed bike on this trainer?

If I wanted to do strictly zone 2 training and spend as little money as possible, is this the trainer that fits the bill or is there anything else that would assist me better in this?

Do you suggest we get rear trainer tires for turbo trainers? It's a hassle having only one rim and cassette so that you to have to swap out the tires and limit the ease of having your bike outdoor road ready at a moment's notice.

Elite Novo Smart?

do i need to use a trainer tire for these trainers? I only have 1 road bike with slick tires for road bikes and dont want to ruin them by using the trainer (they are goodyear tires and kinda expensive). and would the trainer even work without trainer tires?

question on this thingy...people complain this doesn't work with Garmin...what about Polar heart rate monitor? are there issues with apps? This might be for my market-- new guy.

I have an old bike with a 126mm rear axle. Is this trainer compatible?

Can you use this with disc breaks?

Hey DC Rainmaker, where can I find the stand that your laptop is resting on?

how would you compare this to spending a little bit more money for the Wahoo KICKR SNAP Smart Power Trainer?

Can I use this with a mountain bike? Or will I need a new rear wheel?

Tacx had that same annoying adjusting knob on my old iMagic, a nightmare to keep fiddling with to do the calibration, usually ending up with 'that will have to do' from me.

It’s a. Great trainer had mine for 2 years no worries. Software is great too.

Will it fit a 29” wheel mountain bike?

...and I use an Apple Watch, how do i connect that all into swift fir real-time data? Sorry just got one for Christmas

Is it fir MTB as well or Road only?

Is it more or did it sound really loud? Does it overwhelm other audio sources? Secondly, It's hard to determine who this trainer is made for. I used to do group rides, time trials, and half centuries once or twice a month. That was years ago and I'm out of shape. I wondering if I will outgrow this and want more. Right now I want something to use with Zwift so that I'm motivated to ride again. I don't have the options to ride with groups like I once did due to location and schedule.

what kind of tire did you use?

5:27 aww, I just lost a light bulb

Since I live in an apartment, I wonder how bad is the floor vibration? Will my neighbor kill me if I ride it in the living room?

My main intent for a (smart) trainer was to add indoor workouts when not feeling outside, and also the possibility of Zwift. I've had the Tacx Flow for a little over a month now and for the most part I'm happy with it. Do I want wish a direct-drive, yes, who doesn't, but I didn't feel like spending $$$$ for my first trainer. My only issue I'm struggling with is calibration; used with a Tacx trainer tire. It's a pain with a wheel-on, however, the last two weeks I've just forgone that, and I'm fine with it. Other than that, review is spot on I've come to notice (if I'm paying close attention) but not complaining, and honestly, being not a tech guy, if my trainer is not truly 100% accurate lined up with Zwift (workouts) and such I'm not gripping. Am using Favero for power accuracy tho.

👋, my budget is $500-$600, which one is best in this range?

got mine 2 years ago from ebay for 120$ used, 7000km of zwift riding later still does the job. It is pretty loud and the max 800w is not enough for zwift racing. The biggest problem for me is that it overheats when the room is over 25C and just stops working for about 5mins but if you place a small fan right on the unit itself its fine. Im looking for a upgrade for next winter, something direct drive, quiet for about 400-500euro, any recommendations?

I noticed my was making noise, but just had to snap the plastic cage that says flow. And the noise went away. Somehow it didn't come all the way snaped.

WAIT!!!! You just said 12% would hurt? So when I hit 14% yesterday and had to stop and rest at the top that wasn't to bad? I felt like I was dieing at the top and I cursed myself for getting so out of shape.

I lost about 40W effective power going from the Tacx Flow to the Elite Suito. Especially on long climbs grinding max resistance this thing showed inflated numbers. I also had prblems with it overheating on long climbs!

Hi! Have you tried it with thru axle? Are the accessories included?

Decathlon in the UK have the product but it’s out of stock at present. Price is £199.99 inc VAT.

I notice when using the trainer there is a knocking sensation coming from the resistance unit. Has anyone had any experience with that? I also had a replacement and that did it also. Other than that its awesome for the price.

So are we not going to mention the new Fenix he is wearing?

Was it winter when your tried this trainer? I don't think you mentioned the huge overheating curse on this model. In summer most people are unable to output 240W for any significant amount of time... in my case I can't finish FTP or VO2max repeats(and my FTP is trash). I solved the issue by pointing a fan towards the air intake, but IMHO it is only fair that people know what they are getting into. I also think that this is the reason why it flew under the radars and only got distributed by some retailers