I recently went against most of the ST advice and bought a Tacx Bushido instead of a Computrainer. I’ve been riding it for 3 months and feel smashed after every workout. I mainly use the catalyst mode and have done some Real Life Video’s which are incredibly hard and the software is better than the CT software. I’m kind of new to the Tacx and have heard there was issues with the earlier version of the software but I rarely have issues. The only issue I have had so far is when I downloaded the American Zofingen course from my Garmin into the Tacx via gpx file. Course is hard enough as it is but for some reason the hills were unrideable on the Tacx, cadence dropped to like 50 on the hills. I asked some of my cycling buddies to compare the CT and the Tacx and most have either never rode a CT or have not heard of CT. Is computrainer mainly a triathlon community trainer? Tacx seems to have a lot of tour teams that use them. I don’t think that you can go wrong with either but could hardly find any Tacx supporters on this site.
I’m currently in the market for a erg trainer. Still debating between the Powerbeam Pro, Computrainer, and Bushido. The one thing that turns me off about the Bushido is having to purchase the software in addition to the trainer.
I loved my Tacx and got a good 4+ years out of it before the motor blew. Contemplated another one but didn’t have the cash so I settled for a KK trainer in the fall.
I have the 3.x SW (unregistered) if anyone is interested.
No, you won’t find any Tacx love on this forum but despite that, I love my Imagic. Wife runs a Fortius and I just upgraded to the new software which is more than adequate. I have about 30 real life videos and ride them religiously. I love em. In fact, I’ll sometimes skip my outdoor ride due to lack of time or mediocre weather and thrash myself on Mont Ventoux. I have thought of upgrading as my unit is eight year sold but it still works just fine and when I calibrate it to a SRM, it comes within about a half a percent. Not perfect, but not bad.
I have thought of upgrading as my unit is eight year sold but it still works just fine and when I calibrate it to a SRM, it comes within about a half a percent. Not perfect, but not bad.
How do you calibrate it?
I definitely regret having bought my tacx unit.
However, you already own it, so to make the best of it, get yourself to www.virtualrealitycycling.com. And get yourself a copy of the tacx fortius software, the old stuff, but it still works and is free. You can download the fortius software from the “virtual cycling federation” a similar site to virtual reality cycling. You need a 32 bit computer to run the fortius software, or windows 7 professional and run it in XP mode.
They are working on supporting TTS 3.6 but not ready yet.
It is free to join the vrc site. Once there you will see ladders for the fortius software. These are where you and others post your rides for others to see and you get ranked.
But that’s not the cool part.
The cool part is that everyone else’s actual files are there. So you can download the files of people who are around your speed, maybe a little faster, and then when you ride the virtual reality courses, that person is IN the virtual world riding along with you. It tracks where he would be at the time you are riding along. Very, very entertaining, especially once you kinda figure out who is your speed.
There is a normal ladder with rides of about 25 to 45 minutes, a long course ladder with rides from 1:10 to close to 2 hours and a sprint ladder with rides that top out at 10km. I have been doing it recently and it is very fun, reinvigorated my riding.
A freind of mine has a track bike with a SRM that appears to be quite accurate. With the Tacx you run through a little program and you can calibrate the unit to the match the SRMs readings. I have run a wheel with a Powertap on the trainer and they wre within about a per cent of eachother. I would recommend using a trainer tire though, like any trainer it can shred some tires.
With the Tacx you run through a little program and you can calibrate the unit to the match the SRMs readings.
That’s the bit I don’t understand – what program are you using?
I’m desperate to calibrate my unit since its vastly under reporting power.
Thanks for your help, btw.
The tacx fortius software allows you to calibrate power + or - 20% using the scalefactor setting in the settings menu. You can also do a spin down calculation on that page as well.
The tacx trainer software has those same settings plus those can also add the % higher or lower on the fly as you ride by hitting the enter button. That opens a menu. This is the only way i can get it somewhat close.
If you have a tacx flow or grand excel with the virtual reality upgrade unit, you may see powers as much as 40% too high depending on the application.
Also, the power accuracy on mine is very speed dependent even when using the spin down factors, I can get it close at say 18 mph under a certain load; but then if I am then later riding downhill at 25 mph or uphill at 12, the power will be off again.
Forgive my ignorance, but requiring the user to scale the power against a known and reliable power device kind of removes any point from using this device… I mean, if I need a power meter for reliable power measurement I would use that not the Fortius, right?
I don’t run a power meter on my race gear (blasphemy I know) and I have a Tacx steering frame so for my indoor trainer I run stripped down eight year old Aluminum Cannondale with no brakes, cheap 9 speed Ultegra parts, and a budget rear wheel. It gets pretty gross. I run the iMagic or the Fortius for the real life videos, programs I build in Catalyst, and for the virtual cycling. I guess I could just use a powermeter and pretend I’m going uphill, etc, but I like the Real Life Videos and the power information is a bonus.
I think you’re seeing why the tacx doesn’t get much love here on slowtwitch.
It does have some decent entertainment value with the software.
I love my iMagic. Their are limitations relative to figuring an accurate power reading and speed doesnt really translate to real world speed…highly variable depending on grade, tire pressure/ tension of the roller, etc…i train and race on power (outdoors) and while the tacx numbers vary from real world , theyre at least consistent from day to day and month to month as long as you keep tire pressure and roller tension close to the same.
With the Tacx you run through a little program and you can calibrate the unit to the match the SRMs readings.
That’s the bit I don’t understand – what program are you using?
I’m desperate to calibrate my unit since its vastly under reporting power.
Thanks for your help, btw.
I have a Fortius. I have and SRM on my road bike and a Quarq on my race bike. The most annoying thing about the Fortius is the inability to get this thing to read the same as my power meters. Its simply on a different slope. At low power is way under, at high power its way over - can’t get it to match. I know from testing the SRM and Quarq are within a nats hair of each other. Would love to know how to get the two to match. Apart from that the other annoying thing with the fortius is that sometimes it freezes on the virtual reality stuff and needs to be rebooted. Happens about once in every 4 or 5 goes and its something to do with running windows 7 I think. My mate runs the same make graphics card but with windows XP and never had a problem with it. Infact I think this is more a problem with Windows than Tacx!
My coach has a Computrainer and uses it a lot when he is testing his athletes. He has had some problems over the years both software and hardware but he reckons he would buy the computrainer over the Fortius for what he uses it for. Horses for courses I guess - personally I think Tacx are a domestic product for athletes to train on, Computrainer is more for coaching and testing. Just my 2 penneth.
I have had an i-magic for a number of years since it first came out and love it. If you are finding the real life videos hard manipulate them by changing the gradient %. What I find is that the big climb videos are less usefull than things like Majorca, Aube Valley training with the Schlecks etc… Because these are rolling courses taking the % gradient down a fair way or doing the same with the watts on the training with series means the course is a lot easier on the climbs but without the gradients on the descents you have to keep on the gas, this is great if you keep it in a single matched gear which requires power on the climbs and high cadence on flats and down hills can get in a very good interval type workout for an hour or so.
Another good tool is setting it up to race against your previous times at higher or lower % of time, this means you are against your own strengths and weaknesses. Take some time to get used to the system and as you get fitter I suspect you will then turn to catalyst and create some of your own very specific workouts if you know exactly what you want to achieve. I have found the book, training and racing with a power meter usefull in this respect.
Likewise I do not know why people on ST are against Tacx I suspect it is because it is a European brand and has little to do with actual experience, I for one would not pass comment on a computrainer having not owned one. A lot of the negative comments are about software so i suspect the average American is not capable of reading through or understanding the technical advice on the Tacx website again this I suspect is because it is in European English! I for one have had no issue with coping with the updates required over the years transfaring them across machines on a memory stick.
I find if you calibrate it often, have a trainer tyre at the right pressure then the performances on the trainer are pretty comparable with what I can do outdoors on a calm day so again I do not pay any creedence to rumours that the Tacx is somewhat soft in respect to wattage. If there is an issue with my i-magic it is that on very steep climbs it can be a bit choppy at low speeds, if anything though this is encouragement to smooth out you pedaling form to compenste and get your speed up a bit.
Likewise I do not know why people on ST are against Tacx I suspect it is because it is a European brand and has little to do with actual experience I find if you calibrate it often, have a trainer tyre at the right pressure then the performances on the trainer are pretty comparable with what I can do outdoors on a calm day so again I do not pay any creedence to rumours that the Tacx is somewhat soft in respect to wattage.
Hmmm. I disagree. I have a fair amount of “actual experience” with both a Power Tap and a Tacx Flow, and the Flow and I-Magic use the same load generator. Meanwhile, you do not state that you have first-hand experience with a properly calibrated power meter – was that an oversight, and you do have that experience?
Here’s why I think “the Tacx is somewhat soft in respect to wattage.”
I do not own a Power tap and as such can not claim that I have two systems running to compare the output readings. What I do know is that I calibrate my system and have over an extended period of time done ramp tests on my Tacx to find threshold data. Test formats take from the book I have mentioned which I think is reasonably well respected. If what you are saying holds true then are you claiming from your graph that my threshold figure of 305 watts is up to 40% off the mark and in reality is only around the 180 watts mark. If this was the case I am pretty sure I would be incapable of performing some of the rides I can manage when outdoors. The same would have to hold true with the machines in my gym which seem more or less to be in the same ball park in respect to the power I can generate in respect to cadence, heart rates etc…
At the end of the day I own what I have and over a period of many years have found it to be a very usefull training tool.
Any Tacx Love on ST?
We have a set of Tacx rollers. Work great!
Likewise I do not know why people on ST are against Tacx I suspect it is because it is a European brand and has little to do with actual experience so again I do not pay any creedence to rumours that the Tacx is somewhat soft in respect to wattage.
I do not own a Power tap and as such can not claim that I have two systems running to compare the output readings.
Ah, so it was as I suspected: your comments about the accuracy of the Tacx have little to do with actual experience.
If what you are saying holds true then are you claiming from your graph that my threshold figure of 305 watts is up to 40% off the mark
Nope. I’m saying that your threshold figure may be either a small or a large amount off the mark (anywhere up to 80%), and without a calibrated independent measure you won’t know how far off it is. However, I’ve also collected data that shows the Flow to be consistent in its error, which is why it can be so wrong about the power output and yet you and other ill-informed people can be happy in your denial.
To be honest mate I am not in denial about anything. If anything I am saying to the poster that I am happy with my Tacx system and have been for years, and from my personal experience what I do on the trainer seems to translate well to what I go out and achieve on the road.
If I do have a concern is that at times the forum seems to reflect that unless you go out and have massive bucks to spend on the latest and most expensive technology you are not going to have any chance in this sport. The Tacx system does come in a lot cheaper than going out and purchasing many other systems. It does allow me to be progressive month on month and measure my progress in a constructive way. To be honest if it is 10% out what difference will this make in my training answer none as I am working to my potential. I am pretty confident that it is not way off the mark as there is a lot of data out there in respect to power outputs and the sort of performances i should be able to achieve and again I do not feel I am a million miles away.
What the post does ask is why do people constantly slag off the product rather than loking at what it can do? Are you saying that if it is calibrated then it is totally consistent and there is simply a variation between units. If that is the case then it offers a lot of features at a good value price point once callibrated unless individuals want to charge massive amounts of money for half an hours work, or do they want to perpetuate an unfair message in favour of other products which might offer them a higher margin of profit?