Great. Thanks so much for the quick reply beston! So I'm on the right track and it appears my only issue is that Zwift isn't finding my Vortex (trainer) for some reason. Until I can make that happen, I'm basically just riding a dumb trainer. Anybody have an issues finding/pairing their trainer? I feel like my signal is good since my laptop is right next to the bike/trainer. I was able to ride but there is no resistance control based on the road profile which is the piece I'd like to have. I'm only using my laptop at this point....do I need to also engage a phone (I have an iphone) or ipad or are those just additional options to use in conjunction with a laptop?

In your first response, you suggested that Zwift was picking up a power meter. Is that no longer the case? Proximity of the ANT+ stick to the trainer can be key. I've had excellent / consistent signal with the ANT+ USB stick sitting around the base of my front wheel.

I don't have a copy of ZWIFT on my work computer, but can you look for a way to check your signal strength using the ZWIFT software (I'm almost positive that you can)? If ZWIFT is picking up the trainer signal, it should work for both the 'power' and 'controllable' devices.

You do not need to engage your phone to use the vortex. The app seems to be more of an optional feature that you can do chats with / use power ups. HOWEVER, you can download the TACX utility app to check to see if your trainer firmware is up to date. I also have a TDF vortex smart and I found that there were firmware updates available for installation (This 'may' help).

I guess I'm confused around what it's picking up...and if I'm on the right track. I have a basic Felt road bike on the Vortex with no power meter, bike computer, garmin, etc hooked up to it. I downloaded Zwift on my Macbook and plugged the Ant stick (that came with my Garmin 910 watch) into the Macbook (with the Vortex plugged in/on). After logging into Zwift, that's where I see the PowerMeter 5174 showing as paired under the Power Source and Cadence fields in the Paired Devices screen. Like you mentioned, I didn't know if that was just some name Zwift gave to my Ant stick/account or it it literally referred to a power meter (Powertap, power2max, etc) which I don't have....which would indicate that Zwift isn't picking up/pairing any of my equipment correctly. I leaned towards that just being some random name assignment because I wouldn't think it would start the ride and display anything if it wasn't recognizing any of my setup and it does do that.

I will d/l the Tacx utility and see if I can check my signal strength tonight when I get home. Maybe I need some firmware updates which will help it find my trainer. I bought this trainer with the intention of having it reflect the road profile automatically like you mentioned earlier.

'Powermeter 5174' will be the ID of your trainer. We have two Vortex Smart trainers and they both show up as "PowerMeter xxxxxx " (insert ID number).

If it pairs with the Power meter function, you will also have the ability to pair to the 'controllable' feature too. Oddly enough, the ZWIFT software doesn't do this automatically and you have to click to search for available controllable trainers every time (slightly annoying). Also slightly annoying; you have to log into ZWIFT each time with a user name and password (i.e. no auto login).

The TACX utility should not be used to check signal strength! It really has nothing to do with the ANT+ signal reception. In fact, it's likely using a bluetooth signal, rather than a ANT+ signal to communicate with the trainer. The utility on your smart phone is only good for checking firmware updates (and a few other things).

The ZWIFT software should be able to tell you how strong your ANT+ signal is.

Thanks so much for the info (and help) Beston. I got everything working last night. It was a firmware issue. Once I updated that and rebooted the trainer, Zwift found the trainer and everything fine and I was on my way. I do have the play around with the calibration a bit this weekend as it is showing a bit too loose but I'm glad to have the majority of things dialed in. Thanks again!

Glad to hear its working. Since getting the vortex / zwift combo, I have pushed myself harder than I ever have before on a trainer. It has been well worth it for me:).

Thinking about pulling the trigger on a Vortex Smart, but I have a query.

As part of my training I'd like to ride in a big gear, sub 55 rpm, uphill for 20-30mins at a time to build strength.

The only problem is that there are no hills like that close enough to me - but I can just program a hill into a trainer app and hey presto, long hill!

Does the Vortex Smart have enough resistance to simulate this well? I'd want it to provide resistance equivalent to about 6-8% gradient. I'm a 73kg rider with an unmeasured FTP probably in the 330-350 range if that helps.

If you are riding in BIG gears then it should be able to keep up. You can check it yourself by going to the following page: http://www.tacx.com/...s/vortex-smart#tab_2 and clicking "See the graph" link at left bottom corner of a page. It will give you some real performance data from which you can make your own conclusions. Maybe with the little help of: http://bikecalculator.com/ .

As for programming hills if you do not mind a little entertainment to go with it we supply software with the highest quality videos of many iconic climbs (about 100 videos currently I think) with trainer resistance synchronized with the road grade. Position is synced as well. Video moves with the same speed as you do given your current weight, road grade etc. Details are here: http://veloreality.com

Good question.

The vortex can certainly handle 350watts for an extended period of time, so that is not an issue.

To get down to to 55rpm, you might have to find the right gear to be in. I'll be jumping on the trainer tonight, and if I remember, I'll see what the lowest gear is that can get you to 350w @ 55rpm.

Just got my Bushido from bike-discount and I had to pay $46 CAN in duty fee's which I am totally ok with for the amount I saved ordering it from there. $650 CAN vs $999+ locally.

Thanks, let me know how it goes!

The training I'm trying to do will be sub-threshold power output, so if it works at 350w then it will be good for the lower power that I'll want to use!

So i got the vortex smart today, and set it up, and calibrated it using my android phone.

When I tried to test out the resistance/slope feature, I started riding in slope mode, and moved the gradient up to the advertised 7%.

And nothing happened. Resistance didn't change at all.

What am I missing?

I managed to try out the trainer. It seems that 55rpm is a very awkward cadence for me, but I could get up to 350w at 55rpm in 54x13. I didn't try to sustain it for long as i wasn't too comfortable (and was getting tired!)

1. Were you actually connected to the trainer? You need to look under 'devices' and make sure that a green check mark appears beside the trainer.

2. Do you have up to date firmware? Use the TACX Utility app to check and update.

1. Yep.

2. Yep.

Tacx support responded to my email with the following instructions, which worked:

- With the trainer all set up and plugged in, go to the app
- Disconnect the trainer from the app in the 'devices' sub-menu
- Quit the app, and make sure it's fully exited (not running in background or anything)
- Reload the app, and connect the trainer in the devices menu.
- Start the training, and adjust the slope.

This seems to be useful as a general 'turn it off then on again' procedure.


Now that it actually worked, I'm pleased to report that the trainer felt fantastic. Plenty of resistance. Felt just like grinding up a 5% gradient, and I was able to do it my my living room. Win.

So I've been riding and playing around with different programs with my Vortex Smart for about a week and things are generally ok. TrainerRoad seems to work much better than Zwift for some reason though. Everything seems to calibrate fine but sometimes in Zwift, the speed doesn't seem to be anywhere close to my effort and the resistance is really tough...even when just free riding. I'm far from a power biker but I'm having to ride in the last couple of gears to spin somewhat comfortably which doesn't seem right.

On thing I've noticed in TrainerRoad that my signal connection moves a bit (excellent to good to bad....back and forth) while I read but it never seems to drop completely and appears to be tracking my rides accurately. I'm using a MacBook and my Ant stick is pretty close to the trainer (right next to my bike) but I picked up a USB extender to try and get it super close and see if that makes a different. For those that use an extender, where exactly do you please the end with your Ant stick on it. Directly on the bike...on the floor right next to the trainer?

I'll probably give TrainerRoad a more extended run but figured I'll play around and try to get Zwift running better while I'm still on my free trial. I also don't want to chance getting into a long ride/training session and have something happen in the middle. With 2 small kids at home, I have to be super disciplined, focus, and hammer my workouts out!

Niccolo - I've read through this thread and you seem to be the only one running this just through the iPhone app. Did you have any problem getting it to find your HR monitor?

I have a Bluetooth Smart HR strap. I know it is transmitting fine because it shows up in the Bluetooth Settings of the iPhone. And I also have the Wahoo Fitness app and when I pull it up it always immediately finds it. But the Tacs Training app won't find it. I have the Tacx Utility app and have the latest updates for it.

You should just go into the Devices screen and it should show up, correct? Or is there something else you need to do? Nothing is there when I go to that screen. The help says to turn your BT on and off - tried that numerous times but nothing.

Nope, no issues. My HRM is a Scosche Rhythm+. But I haven't done a proper HR-based workout, just played around with the HR and power modes. So far I've only used the slope workout to just dial up or down the resistance. I also haven't tried Trainer Road or any similar programs yet.