Now that these trainers are using FE-C and are compatible with Zwift and TrainerRoad, I’m thinking about getting one. I’ve been doing some digging around on forums and reviews and have heard some good and bad things about them. Does anyone here own one and what are your impressions? How well do they work with Zwift and TrainerRoad? Is the resistance change very responsive? How smooth does it feel? How well does it perform on steeper slopes?
I too have been wondering these things… more points for anyone who can compare the two models (and perhaps to other known standards and power measurement accuracy) 
Subscribing to see what people say…
I too have been wondering these things… more points for anyone who can compare the two models (and perhaps to other known standards and power measurement accuracy)
Subscribing to see what people say…
I just got mine (Vortex Smart) thanks to the DCR post, can’t report on FE-C just yet as my ANT+ stick didn’t like Zwift (new one incoming) and my Stages is en-route back to Colorado but with the TacX app, the fact that you can run in ERG mode is pretty awesome.
Had no issues updating the firmware, pairing did take a few tries though.
Will have more to report in a month or so.
It was super cheap too at 350$ Canadian.
I too have been wondering these things… more points for anyone who can compare the two models (and perhaps to other known standards and power measurement accuracy)
Subscribing to see what people say…
I just got mine (Vortex Smart) thanks to the DCR post, can’t report on FE-C just yet as my ANT+ stick didn’t like Zwift (new one incoming) and my Stages is en-route back to Colorado but with the TacX app, the fact that you can run in ERG mode is pretty awesome.
Had no issues updating the firmware, pairing did take a few tries though.
Will have more to report in a month or so.
It was super cheap too at 350$ Canadian.
Does the resistance seem to work well? How quickly does the resistance ramp up? Is it smooth?
I too have been wondering these things… more points for anyone who can compare the two models (and perhaps to other known standards and power measurement accuracy)
Subscribing to see what people say…
I just got mine (Vortex Smart) thanks to the DCR post, can’t report on FE-C just yet as my ANT+ stick didn’t like Zwift (new one incoming) and my Stages is en-route back to Colorado but with the TacX app, the fact that you can run in ERG mode is pretty awesome.
Had no issues updating the firmware, pairing did take a few tries though.
Will have more to report in a month or so.
It was super cheap too at 350$ Canadian.
Does the resistance seem to work well? How quickly does the resistance ramp up? Is it smooth?
I am coming from a Tacx Swing (think old) and just used the vortex for a short while yesterday, but the resistance comes on fast, and it feels better than my old trainer. It’s impressive how it adjusts the resistance to match cycling speed.
I purchased a new Tacx Vortex Smart back in February. I had an e-mail exchange with DC Rainmaker and decided this was the one for me. The reason I did not buy the Bushido was because I sometimes (rarely) have to stop in the middle of a long workout (telephone when I am on-call, dog needs to go outside/inside, etc) and because pedaling powers the unit I did not want to risk losing data. I was not sure that would happen but I did not want to risk it. I did not buy any of the higher wattage units as the 800 watts of the Vortex is enough for me. I also did not want the steering track that comes with some of the units.
I downloaded the Tacx System Requirements Tester to see that my computer was up to par with the recommendations and it was. I bought the extended ant+ afterwards as the desktop computer would occasionally drop the signal, this has not happened since I bought the new ant stick. I also bought the Tacx TTS4 software upgrade. If anything I would suggest that for price of the unit the software should be included. Also, the description shows the ant stick included with the software which it was not.
I you look at Tacx on Youtube there are some nice videos of the features of the Tacx trainers and software. I use mostly the Tacx Catalyst which track cadence, power, etc. I have tried the virtual reality and it is far superior to Computrainer. Tacx has also recently announced third party usage such as BKool, Trainer Road, etc, which I have not tried yet. For the most part I don’t think that the unit is any more persnickety than any of the units once you get it up and running.
Tacx does require connectivity for it to work though. I think that the unit is comparable to Computrainer but with superior graphics.
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Anyone using a FEC Tacx with TrainerRoad/powermeter and Power Match enabled? Played around with the different Power Smoothing values (none/3s/5s/7s)? Does it affect how responsive the trainer is, i.e. is TR using these average power values to control the trainer, with slower response with 7s smoothing and faster response with 3s smoothing?
I am very interested in this as well. I just purchased a Bushido smart and use a Powertap g3 as well. I will be looking to get this setup going as soon as the unit arrives. Please post here in you are able to do this and what your experience was.
Got my Vortex Smart today. Assembly was easy, attaching motor to frame with two bolts. Had to do it twice though, position 2 put it too close to the tire, had to move it to 3. Updated firmware with the Tacx Utility app and rebooted, no problems. Had to disconnect the Vortex from Utility before Calibrating with the Tacx Training app. Got the calibration bar just to the right of the middle after 5.5 turns from roller slightly touching tire. A spindown test from TR worked fine also.
Did a quick test ride in TR, the Vortex showed the same speed as a Garmin speed sensor attached to the wheel hub and the same cadence as my 4iiii Precision PM. Nice. The power was 10-20% lower than on my PM though, but TR will now use my PM data anyway, so I don’t really care. Tried 3 and 7 second power average settings in TR, I think I’ll start with 7, but have to do more rides to get a better feeling for what kind of reactions I want. It’s not instant in any case. FEC and ergo mode is amazing, just choose any gear and cadence, resistance will change as needed.
For the price, great, so far.
Interesting read, thanks for the write up acco.
10-20% is really huge, but I can’t say I trust 4iiii over the Tacx. It’d be nice to get another comparison - both for the Tacx and 4iiii accuracy sake :).
Interesting read, thanks for the write up acco.
10-20% is really huge, but I can’t say I trust 4iiii over the Tacx. It’d be nice to get another comparison - both for the Tacx and 4iiii accuracy sake :).
I some time with Vortex Smart when testing implementation of FE-C in our software. At that time I used PowerTap as a reference. I can tell that in my tests after calibration 10s rolling average power reported by Vortex and PowerTap were within 5%
10-20% is really huge, but I can’t say I trust 4iiii over the Tacx. It’d be nice to get another comparison - both for the Tacx and 4iiii accuracy sake :).
Right, all reports about 4iiii accuracy problems has indicated low values though, so I have a hard time believing Tacx would be closer to the truth at the moment. I’ll do a proper session on the trainer today though, with zeroing/spindown of both at start and after 10 minute use, and report back.
How is power calculated on the trainer btw, will pressure against tire have an affect or not?
Where did you get your Vortex Smart for $350 CAD? Any problems using a Garmin or Suunto ANT stick with TrainerRoad? On their website they recommend the Wahoo stick and say the Garmin won’t work???
Where did you get your Vortex Smart for $350 CAD?
http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/tacx-t2180-vortex-virtual-smart-trainer-246764/wg_id-1320
They have the bushido smart too.
I ordered from them as well.
10-20% is really huge, but I can’t say I trust 4iiii over the Tacx
Did an hour on the trainer. Zeroed the 4iiii from TR and calibrated the Tacx from their own app before starting. Looked good, could very well be within 5%. I just checked the real time power values from the device tab every now and then and they fluctuated, at different intervals, but on average pretty close to each other.
After ten minutes I paused TR and zeroed the 4iiii from TR and now also did the spindown of the Tacx from TR, not using Tacx own app. After starting the session I now saw the same kind of difference as yesterday, with Tacx clearly 10-20% lower than 4iiii. Continued all the same and to my surprise Tacx caught up with 4iiii during the next 5 minutes and stayed again probably within that same 5% for the rest of the hour.
Not a very exact test, I know, but I think I’m going to stay away from that TR spindown button for now and see if I can confirm this.
I also tried doing some presession adjustments of the roller tension, but that didn’t go too well, even just a quarter turn put he calibration bar out of scale. Ended up with the same 5.5 turns and the bar just to the right of the middle of the green/good area.
I think I’ll try reducing roller pressure to 3 turns tomorrow and see if I get tire slip. I’ll do the Tacx app calibration, but won’t change anything even if bar is outside green area. 3 turns seems to be a common setting on earlier models.
Did you get dinged with any duty or brokerage fees ordering from Europe?
Did you get dinged with any duty or brokerage fees ordering from Europe?
Not I, they used regular post (aka CanadaPost) from bike-discount.
Thanks for your help and quick responses! For the price it def seems like a great deal.