Any imput please on either of these two choices to “enhance” time on the trainer. I live in Western NY and am getting ready for the winter. Any imput or reviews are appreciated.
I would buy a SRM over either of the above, as you will be able to use a PM all year round on any wheels you want. The CT video is is from the 80’s and needs to be updated.
I have the tacx and the rides are fun for awhile, but I find myself using the computerized read out and intervals (time/power/rate/incline) more often. It is fun, though, to put in one of the rides and watch the scenery. You will find that these are useless without the computer attached, so don’t plan on taking it on trips or over to a friends house to get a workout in.
A PM is the ideal training tool. However, my situation is how to ride all winter in Buffalo, NY without losing my mind. There are only so many DVD’s to watch and CD’s to listen to. Can anybody give me a honest review of these two products. THANKS
I really like my CT. Spend about 4 months a year on it during the winter months. Great training tool that I would highly recommend.
A PM works on a stationary bike and outside. The major benefit of the CT is the power function not the graphics, like I said the graphics are really bad.
I have both and a CT and SRM and if you want the benefit of using wattage all year round for interesting workouts and can’t afford both I would get the SRM.
I have a tacx and love it. I live at 8700 feet in the Mtn’s of Colorado so our weather is probably similar. I have a dedicated computer (actually an older p3) that I use with my tacx. I like riding online with netathlon and have tried competing in the online races that occur especially in the winter. Some of those european dudes are way too fast. I also have the real life videos and can ride Alpe de Huez anytime I like.
Tacx makes two VR trainers. The i-magic has less resistance and the fortius more. I have the older i-magic and have thought about upgrading to the fortius this winter. The workouts can be hard or easy. There are so many courses. I hurt my foot 3 weeks ago and had to train indoors here in the summer and I spend many hours on my i-magic. It has kept me in shape until I could run again.
I have not tried the computrainer, but I know that the graphics are outdated and needs an upgrade. I did quite a bit or research when I looked and if I were to do it again I would still choose a tacx. Except that now I would choose the fortius. Besides you can do group rides from the confies of your basement anytime. I can ride with my friend in Denver even though we are 90miles away.
pm me if you have more questions. I know that computrainers seem to be the triathlete’s primo trainer, but I have loved my i-magic. I can train for many hours on this at a time where the old trainers bored me after about one hour.
i have the tacx to, and i really enjoy it, so many video for long
ride. and for fast days you can set youre home training program,
just make sure you get a fan
Do you guys using the Tacx ever have problems calibrating it…?? I never seem to be able to get it consistently calibrated.
I believe that one advantage of the CT is that you can get more courses for it, in particular the IM courses… whereas the TACX range is more limited…
Another advantage of the CT is that you can easily hook multiple CTs together so you can workout with a partner(s). For long training rides that helps much more than any graphics package either CT or Tacx have.
I would buy a SRM over either of the above, as you will be able to use a PM all year round on any wheels you want. The CT video is is from the 80’s and needs to be updated.
http://www.ergvideo.com/ has addressed the video issues with the CT. Paul Smeulders posts here from time to time.
i bought my ct when i moved just down the road from you (rochester, ny) and used it a ton in the winter. even though i’ve moved back to atlanta, i still use it.
I can’t figure out how to calibrate my I-magic. All I can find is something about tightening the roller down to get the 20 to 0 time to around 12 seconds. I think there is a way to adjust the brake setting but I haven’t tried hard enough to find out how and really don’t care. I really don’t worry about the wattage and speed numbers on it anymore since I think they are way off but you can still get a hell of a workout with it. I probably use the catalyst mode 80% of the time and the Alpe video when I want a long hard grinding ride.
I’ve found a way to calibrate it… via options on the first page… you basically pedal it up to 30kph, then stop, and it enters a new calibration value…
However, I was going to ride one of the Pyranees stages at the weekend, so really clamped the tire in to avoid tire slip, but despite calibrating it a number of times, it didn’t seem to adequate adjust and recorded really low wattage and speed levels throughout.
I cant speak to the CT but I bought the Tacx prior to last winter and wish I hadn’t.
The software is buggy. For instance, it would not allow me to change a basic setting unless I went though every setting and hit enter.
It wouldn’t work without the HR monitor and sometimes wouldn’t pick up when I wore it.
Most of the bells and whistles quickly lose their appeal. Riding to the DVD’s is fun for a little while but they are not enough to keep your attention, so you need to watch movies etc anyway.
In the end, all I cared for was my power numbers and the hassle wasn’t worth it. I just went back to basics and got a Kurt Kinetic.
I bought my CT a number of months back on the advice of my coach. I conduct pretty much all of my Z3 training on the CT even in good weather. All of my bike training will be done on the CT during the winter months. BTW, I only use the CT in ergometer mode.
Thanks, I’ll try that.
re: tire slippage. Clean the tire with rubbing alcohol. Then wet a rag with automotive brake cleaner and wipe the tire down. For some reason it makes the tire sticky enough not to slip. The kind that I have used is real strong smelling, but I think you can get a low odor brand. Only do this on dedicated trainer tires, it seems like it breaks them down a little faster.
I have had both a tacx and now own a CT. I liked the tacx for the price but you can not beat a CT for everything else. I love the ablity to download actual rides. Like I said I have used both for 2 years each and now own a CT, if you got the cash it’s the only way to go. It is like comparing a ergomo and a srm, I would love to have an srm but can’t cough up the extra cash, so for now it’s ergomo, but maybe someday…
for another option, check out the local gyms and online for someone selling off the older model spin bikes or get a refurbished one. set it up like your road or tri bike and sweat all over it and beat the crap out of it all winter and don’t mess up your good bikes. you can beat the boredom by creating good workouts. with a stable solid spin bike you can do standing climbs and sprints with no problems. you can also easily play around with settings (seat height, bar drop) during workouts to see what feels better. lots of options.
if you really want a power meter, cyclops has a spin bike with power for not much more than a wheel with power meter. 'course you can’t swap it out.
Tacx Cosmos…No PC required, but downloadable/uploadable and has the same resistance unit as a Fortius. A great training tool when combined with good music.
Cheers,
Puskas