Tacx Tacx Antares

Price Paid:  $130.00 at featherbikes holland

Bike Setup:
very easy and no modifications needed;
suitable for all types of bicycles

Summary:
As an not particulary experienced bicycler (cycling only for transport purposes until now) I now have to exercise for my coronary condition. I bought the Antares for winter/bad-weather indoor cycling. It is cheap, light and can easily be stored. Also, you do not have to modify your bike; just put it on the conical rolls and ride.
The Tacx Antares has conical rolls, slightly like a diabolo, made of rigid plastic with steel roller-bearings. The "diabolo"-shape is intended to help keeping you steady on track.
The first week I tended to fell off frequenty though. You have to exercise next to a door-post or something where you can get to hold on. But after 10 days or so and only modest exercises per day I cycle very easily and even relaxed on this thing and can continue without losing balance or ride off the rolls. It provides a satisfyingly realistic cycling feeling, much better than with fixed indoor cycling devices.
The resistance I experience on the Antares with my (old) bicycle is higher though than on the road. I use the high gear ratio to cycle longer periods so on the Antares I make less kilometers per hour with the same effort.
You can vary the resistance by switching the gears on your bike itself. A magneto-resistance mechanism is available as an add-on if you prefer this. Also a support-device is available, with which you can fix your bicycle on the Antares (then you have to remove the front-wheel) but I think one can do very well without this add-on.
The heavier conceived roller system of TruTrainer could be an even more favourable choice considering the smart flywheel feature inside on roll which provide an even more realistic riding experience, and it has also aluminium rolls. But it is more expensive and maybe a bit less easy to handle. On the other hands, I think the conical rolls of the Antares really are an advantage for stability in riding.
The Antares produces some noise, but it is not too bad. One of the rolls is rattling a bit. This could be caused by the mounting of a roller bearing in the roll itself.
I use a very old city-bike with three sturmey-archer gears. This works very well; a racing bike is absolutely not required -but presumably more fun; you can use any vehicle. I even tried a small wheel folding bike (16"wheels I think); this is also applicable.
I can recommend the Tacx Antares without any hesitations! Very good value for money.
Wladimir T., The Netherlands

Strengths:
compact, light
value for money, relatively not expensive
dynamic cycling experience
conical rollers give somewhat more stability

Weaknesses:
learning curve: took me about a week to learn to ride stable.
plastic rollers good but not super finely machined
a bit noisy

Similar Products Used:

Price Paid:  $260.00 at http://www.glorycycl

Favorite Ride:
Moderate up and down hills

Bike Setup:
Lemond Alp d'huez / wheels Fulcrum racing 3

Summary:
This is my first rollers set. Conical shape is not as "virtually impossible to ride off" as Tack says which is not a bad thing. You still need concentration to stay straight. So far they’ve been great. Not really loud but I haven’t tried other rollers to compare. The frame is sturdier than I thought it would be. The plastic is not as perfect as machined rollers but I don’t mind a little bit of imperfection in my ride. I can hardly notice it anyway. Overall they are a pretty solid set of rollers. These have met my expectation and I will have to wait and see for its durability.

Strengths:
Good quality materials/built
Attractive product
Easy to setup and store away (no folding needed)

Weaknesses:
None noticed yet

Similar Products Used:
First time roller user.