ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 Indoor Cycle Review

Proform are one of the highest profile brands in home fitness and have a strong reputation for building quality home fitness machines. They’ve currently got a large range of different models on the market aimed at everyone from the casual user to the hardcore enthusiast . Having covered some of these ranges lengthily we thought we’d take a closer look at their Tour De France series starting with their TDF 2.0 model.

As always, the first thing required is to assemble the bike and that’s been made pretty much as easy as possible. It didn’t take at all long to put together (about 45 min from start to finish) and as anticipated, the quality of the components is good with everything fitting together easily. Interestingly, unusually and something that’s very welcome indeed, the manual makes it clear that you can fit your own saddle and own pedals should you wish allowing you to customise your bike to suit you.

Aesthetically the TDF 2.0 looks nothing like most other cycles (apart from the other TDF bikes in the range) with its no nonsense black and white design with just a little yellow trim to add some vibrancy which works really well. The exposed flywheel and racer shaped handlebars along with pure racing seat and racing pedals really make this look like a serious bike that’s built to see some real action.

Getting a your best position on the TDF 2.0 takes a bit longer than your average bike but with good reason. The key thing here is that it’s been designed to allow you to customise the bike to suit you (just like fitting your own saddle and peddles) and to simulate a real road bike. You can copy the geometry of your own road bike closely and as a result, there are more adjustments than you’ll find on your average indoor cycle. You can adjust saddle angle, saddle horizontally, saddle post vertically, rotate the handlebars, adjust the handlebar post vertically and the handlebar carriage horizontally too. That’s a lot of adjustments! There are no quick release mechanisms here either. It’s all done by proper, secure bolts and while this means that you won’t be fully adjusting it every time a new user gets on it, you will get it pretty much absolutely perfect for your needs, and it won’t be going anywhere due to that bolt system.

The cycling action on the TDF 2.0 is nice and smooth which is nothing less than we’d expect but it’s the way it does it all that’s what really sets this bike apart. Not only does the bike tilt up and down as if you’re on a hill when adjusting the resistance (you can turn this function off, but we can’t think why you’d want to as it’s so much fun) you also have simulated gears like on a real road bike with gear shifters on the handlebars so you can shift up and down gears independently of the resistance settings.

Impressively the TDF 2.0 actually allows you to customise the gear ratios for the front and rear gears too so that as well as adjusting geometry to copy your road bike, you can also replicate the gear settings on your road bike. While it’s a simple thing to change the ratios, just a few button presses, adjusting them correctly is not something to be attempted without first doing some reading up. Clearly this quite hardcore stuff and isn’t something for the novice cyclist and as such we left well alone during the test. In truth, for the majority of riders there’ll be no need to adjust the gears at all. They’re very well set up on the factory settings, but it’s nice to know that if you really want to copy the set up of your own road bike, you can, which is simply awesome!

The 7 inch backlit LCD display is really nice and clear with nice large characters on the screen making it easy to see your training feedback which includes calories, calories per hour, distance, elevation, incline, intensity, laps, pulse, rpm, speed (mph/kph), time, watts as well as your front gears and rear gears. It’s a lot of information but it’s displayed simply making it easy to take in. The console is also feature rich, and we do mean feature rich. In addition to the manual mode there are also 24 pre-set tour stages of the Tour. Selecting a stage displays a map of the stage and your position on it – and off you go! The bike automatically inclines and declines to match the bit of road you’re on and it’s great fun using the gears to attack the hill sections.  It’s a proper challenge, a great workout and a lot of fun too. If you want to take it even further you can subscribe to iFit which will then allow you to map our your own routes and even compete against other people on different stages. There is basically little to no chance of getting bored of this bike! There’s just too much you can do with it and the riding experience is truly excellent.

The whole package here is impressive. The gearing, the physical customisation options, the routes, the optional interactive features, the incline and decline movement of the bike, it’s all very well done. By the name, this bike is clearly aimed at serious cyclists but we have to say that it’s just as suited to someone that’s starting out and wants to get riding or for anyone that simply finds their current exercise bike is boring them to death?

Also included are water bottle holder and tablet holder – small things yes, but very useful and often missed on many other models and Proform’s 2 year parts and labour warranty.

Best Price

The ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 is not currently available from any retailers we're aware of in the UK.
It may be worth looking for a used machine on ebay

Review Summary - In Brief

The TDF2.0 is a road bike simulator and it does a pretty good job of it too. It's also well put together, has lots of training options and will give you a good workout. Though this is definitely aimed at those who want to go into a lot of detail and replicate their road bike, so if you like the idea but don't need to create a virtual copy of your road bike then it's well worth considering either saving your budget and considering the Proform SMART Power 10.0 which is a more basic version of an indoor cycle but one that's still packed to the rafters with features and is more suited to those who just want to get on a cycle rather than make a virtual copy of their road bike.

ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 Specifications

    • 9.5kg effective inertia technology using flywheel
    • Computer controlled SMR Silent™ Magnetic Resistance
    • 0-20% incline range with Quick Incline controls
    • -20-0% decline range with Quick Decline controls
    • 7” backlit LCD display with built-in Power Meter
    • Feedback: Calories, calories per hour, distance (mi/km), elevation, front gear, incline intensity, laps, pulse, rear gear, rpm, speed (mph/kph), time, Watts
    • 24 pre-set workout apps; iFit® Coach Ready™ (subscription is optional)
    • Configurable Electronic Gears
    • Bluetooth® Smart wireless heart rate receiver (chest strap optional)
    • Conveniences: Stereo speakers + music port for iPod/mp3, tablet holder, Dual water bottle holder
    • Multi-position, non-slip handlebars
    • Brake levers with buttons for gears shifting
    • Horizontally and vertically adjustable racing seat
    • Ergonomic pedals with toe cages and straps
    • Adjustable levelling feet
    • Transport wheels
    • Dimensions in use (L x W x H): 163cm (64.2”) x 64cm (25.2”) x 143cm (56.3”)
    • Product Weight: 64kg (141lbs)
    • Max. User Weight: 125kg (275.6lbs)
    • Warranty: 2-year parts and labour (if registered within 28 days of purchase)

ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 Indoor Cycle - Console / Display Unit

ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 Indoor Cycle - User Reviews

The Pros

  • Amount of adjustments to get a good position is simply superb
  • Fully customisable gears
  • Incline/decline function
  • Ability to increase features with iFit

The Cons

  • You may want to think about your own saddle unless you're used to a racing saddle already
ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 Indoor Cycle Reviewer Ratings

 

Appearance - 9
Smoothness - 9.5
Comfort - 8.5
Programmes - 9
Ease Of Use - 8.5
Warranty - 8.5
Value for Money - 5
Best Price

The ProForm Tour de France TDF 2.0 is not currently available from any retailers we're aware of in the UK.
It may be worth looking for a used machine on ebay

Also see our Exercise Bike Comparison Table

Whilst every effort is made to give you accurate information we cannot guarantee the technical specification. Models change on a regular basis and may differ slightly from the above review. We recommend you contact the retailer if you have a question regarding technical data. Please read our Legal Disclaimer

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