Tacx I Magic Fortius, PowerTap or Computrainer?

Pork Sword

I plan to do some 'proper' training this Winter (That's the plan anyway!) and am considering getting some way of making my Turbo Trainer sessions more interesting and quantifiable by getting something that can measure Power.

Would the investment of a PowerTap rear wheel sytem - used in conjuction with my Cycleops Fluid indoor trainer - be the best option as I could use it on one of my outdoor bikes or, would something like a Tacx I Magic Fortius and its ability to train or 'race' against other riders on some of the same races as the Pros make Indoor training actually bearable?

Both systems would cost about £800 so cost is not really an issue.

Has anyone got any experience of the Computrainer sytem? This would likely cost around £1200 - which seems like a lot for a sytem that's been around for about ten years - but it has a few extras over the other two such as Spinscan (the ablity to anaylise how 'uneven' your pedal stroke is. Is this worth the extra cash?

Any advice would be most welcome!

nmcgann

Powertap, no question about it. All the data you need to track progress all the time.

If you can't measure power outside on the road it's a compromise and when you've got a power measuring device (powertap/SRM/whatever) any turbo will do, it doesn't need to be fancy.

Neil

APIII

nmcgann wrote:

Powertap, no question about it. All the data you need to track progress all the time.

If you can't measure power outside on the road it's a compromise and when you've got a power measuring device (powertap/SRM/whatever) any turbo will do, it doesn't need to be fancy.

Neil

+1
The fortius looks interesting, but it's still a turbo trainer. The powertap will offer more options

inseine

It depends whether it's the 'interesting' or the 'quantifiable' bit that's the most inportant to you. The i-magic (at less than £400) will make it more interesting and for most people the time will pass quicker and you'll find you can put more effort in. You can still measure power though not, probably, in a reliable way. Session to session it's fine but not transferable to the road.
The Powertap/SRM route will be loads more expensive but will give you real figures both on the road and on the turbo. They wont necessarily make turboing any more fun.
Yes, I use the i-magic.

Mccaria

I use the i-magic. as has been said earlier the power read outs are not comparable to the road and the power read-out has a tendency to oscillate within a circa 5-10% range, which can get annoying if you are trying to do a session based on a specific wattage i.e. if you are trying to work to a 200 watt output and you can be going from 190-206 on the same cadence and slope seting.

Having said that it is a pretty useful tool for indoor training, especially when linked to a dvd of your favourite alpine climb.

Pork Sword

Hmmm.... choices, choices, choices!

I suppose in an ideal World, I would have something like the I Magic as an indoor trainer- to help alleviate the boredom of trying to pedal in circles for 2 hours - whilst sweating buckets and having your 'bits' go numb and a Powertap wheel system on the outdoor bike to help with structured training. If only! Maybe in the future. For now I think I'll go with what seems like the most common sense option at the moment: the Powertap system (I could 'upgrade' my existing trainer to an I Magic sometime in the future and have the best of both Worlds!).

Thanks for your input folks.

Tacx Boy

The easiest and cheapest solution ( and possibly the most effective) would be to buy an imagic or Fortius and use a heart rate monitor. The Tacx power measurement is not very accurate but you could rent a powertap for a while to gauge how far 'out' the Tacx is.

NPH

I used the imagic all last winter, with the guidance of a coach, to prepare for the Etape. If you are only comparing yourself then, to yourself now, rather than to what Lance or Alberto might be doing, then why bother about innacuracies. and it is a whole lot less boring than just pedalling at a prescribed cadence and at a prescribed resistance. Then get on your powertap free road bike and enjoy the outcome.

NPH

I used the imagic all last winter, with the guidance of a coach, to prepare for the Etape. If you are only comparing yourself then, to yourself now, rather than to what Lance or Alberto might be doing, then why bother about innacuracies. and it is a whole lot less boring than just pedalling at a prescribed cadence and at a prescribed resistance. Then get on your powertap free road bike and enjoy the outcome.