Tacx VR Turbo Trainers
Guiddy
Posts: 29
Thanks to the search facility I have done a lot of reading on these, and am just after you users of these TTs to confirm a few things for me if you can?
1. Most aren't a fan of the VR option and prefer the RLVs, does the steering frame do anything in RLV mode?
2. Must I have Ver 3.0 software to work on a Windows 7 64 Bit laptop? (Intel i3 chip & ATI Radeon 512 Graphics Card)
Many thanks in advance!
1. Most aren't a fan of the VR option and prefer the RLVs, does the steering frame do anything in RLV mode?
2. Must I have Ver 3.0 software to work on a Windows 7 64 Bit laptop? (Intel i3 chip & ATI Radeon 512 Graphics Card)
Many thanks in advance!
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Comments
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Sterring frame is useless IMO, I sold mine straight away.
I also have run the version 1 and version 2 of the Tacx software and actually prefer the 1st version. As said I do like the RLV's but also the catalyst software for more structured sessions.
For 64bit OS I think you do need version 3 software.0 -
In RLV's, i believe that the steering frame (i don't have one) allows you to turn into corners. I doubt they'd add much to the experience.
Windows 64 bit vista/7 is compatible with Tacx TTS software v2 and v3 but not v1 or the older Fortius software (the one that works!). It seems a new v4 will be released soon with the new Genuis trainers that are replacing the Fortius.0 -
Yes, you must have TTS3 to work on 64 bit, either that or have XPM enabled to run the older software.0
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I have dusted off the tacx for winter and upgraded to TTS3 - it seems much smoother. I have yet to fit (re-fit the steering rack) its a bit twitchy and only any good for VR, and i much prefer the RLV.
the critical thing is having a PC with a dedicated graphics card and memory - it really makes a huge difference
and I have found these guys
http://www.real-life-video.nl/index.php/en/prices/
great videos - at a fraction of the price!0 -
Just a question for you guys using the RLVs as linked to above - are they offer the same interaction with the Tacx VR trainers to replicate the up and down hills in the same way as the genuine Tacx videos??0
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WirralPaul - yes is the answer0
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Cool - thanks M.R. I've been looking at buying a Fortius or maybe splash out on the new Genius after Xmas. May need a knee op so guess the turbo may be good for the recuperation.0
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Like many others I only really use the RLVs and sometimes Catalyst if I want to do structured intervals.
I have the steering frame, but never actually use it for steering. However it does have the advantage that it makes for a very solid setup, the bike / steering frame / fortius is all bolted together as one solid unit that you can push around the floor on a mat.
I have been gradually coming to terms with the TTS3 software against my will. I prefer the old Fortius software, but because it doesn't run on Win 7 64 Bit I need to use an old computer for it, and apart from the hassle of setting that up every time, the old computer is starting to die anyway.
TTS3 in its latest incarnation does seem to work OK, there are just a few incredibly annoying omissions which really bug you if you have come from the Fortius software. Firstly, the "analyser" window that allows you to view graphs of HR, power etc after a ride is considerably inferior in TTS3. There is no way to actually highlight a segment of a ride (e.g. a climb) and get average stats for just that segment. The Fortius software let you do that and also let you overlay stats for different rides on the same course. It is possible to export the data to analyse somewhere else, but there seem to be buggy issues associated with that as well as the hassle of doing it and obtaining and using another piece of software.
Another really stupid omission in TTS is the option to go immediately into cool-down mode for a few minutes after finishing a ride. If you have just sprinted for the finish line on Alpe d'Huez pushing your HR up to 99% max after an hour of riding at threshold, you then have to stop dead for about 15 seconds while you fumble sweatily with the mouse and drip all over your keyboard to boot up Catalyst so that you can cool down! I think this is actually bordering on being dangerous - it certainly doesn't feel healthy compared to being able to gradually spin down as you could in Fortius. What's most annoying is that somebody was stupid enough to design the new software this way and that something that simple and important hasn't been fixed in all the time that the TTS software has been around (mainly because they have been too busy ironing out all of the critical function bugs that were in the earlier versions).0 -
Neeb, i'm now running TTS2 on Windows 7 64bit and am just beginning to get used to it after years of running the Fortius software. Like you i felt forced to upgrade or be unable to run the newest RLV's. I went with TTS2 as i picked up a cheap copy
TBH it runs fine with no real issues and a bit of help from fellow users on the Tacx forum.
TTS2 does not have the "cooling down" option either but instead i just continue cycling when the Save popup window appears and then when i am ready i get off the bike and click "save". In general, the Fortius interface is more functional although TTS looks a lot better. Fortius easily responds to the USB controller whereas TTS doesn't seem to have been designed with the controller in mind. I have to get off the bike and click start to run a RLV? Clicking OK on the controller just brings up another screen.
One good thing that i can now do from the bike is to adjust the power up/down as i ride. This is great for turning down the power on some of the steep hills that the Fortius trainer does not handle well.0 -
I read somewhere that you weren't supposed to do that as it could damage the motorbrake. However I've heard of other people doing this too without any issues, so perhaps as long as you keep the wattage down it's OK.scapaslow wrote:TTS2 does not have the "cooling down" option either but instead i just continue cycling when the Save popup window appears and then when i am ready i get off the bike and click "save".
As a matter of interest, how do you find the average watts and times on TTS compared with Fortius over the same course? For ages I was cycling with a 7kg penalty as I didn't realise that while in Fortius, the weight you enter includes the bike, in TTS it doesn't and 7kg is automatically added on! However, even now that I've corrected that TTS seems to give slightly lower average wattage estimates and course times, it seems to me that it samples the wattage more frequently so that if your cadence is low on a climb it is sampling randomly from different segments of the pedal cycle and that this averages out to a lower value. I'm not bothered about it being accurate (perhaps TTS is more accurate), it just makes it very difficult to gauge my fitness in comparison to the figures I got out of Fortius.0 -
I'm afraid i can't help you much there. I've only done 3 rides with TTS2 so not enough data. The most recent ride on which i adjusted the power mode appears as a ride on the analyser screen but clicking "analyse" gives a blank entry - no doubt a bug!
In TTS i have only entered my weight whereas in Fortius it was weight + 8kg for the bike.
I use a powertap so i don't really bother with the trainer power readings. But TBH i haven't noticed any difference when riding - generally speaking the trainer power displayed is anywhere from 5 to 20W higher than the PT power. When the trainer is cold it is lower than the PT. I generally warm up the trainer for about 5min (takes about 15min to warm up properly) then make sure i've got a calibration around +1,0 to +1,5. I find the power displayed by the trainer varies in accuracy between RLV's and this seems to be the same with TTS. Of the 2 rides i've got data for one had a lower avg power than the PT (this never happened with Fortius) and one has a higher avg. I've always found that the power discrepancy between PT and trainer is higher the longer the ride. Saying that though the Fortius/TTS average figures are more like what i actually achieve on the PT outdoors.
I've found that with TTS2 i like to use the full screen display which does not display any trainer readings on it at all. This way i can concentrate on the PT reading. So far all 3 rides with TTS2 have been smooth and enjoyable.0 -
Interesting, thanks.
Yes, I''d never try to compare power closely between one route and another as it's obvious the power readings change as the unit warms up, which is in turn affected by the route itself (gradient variations), but I don't find that a problem as all I am interested in doing is comparing power between one ride and the next on exactly the same route. I figure that as long as you always start from cold (or in my case, from exactly the same 8 min warm up) then the fluctuations due to warming and cooling will always be the same on the same route.0 -
I think what you are doing is as repeatable and as good as you are going to get. Assuming that you calibrate the brake after the 8min warmup to the same figure every time and keep the tyre pressure the same.
Have you tried any of this year new RLVs?0 -
Nope, not yet - just bought the not-very-new Mallorca tour I, mainly for the Sa Calobra climb. For regular training I'm always looking for moderate climbs, doing the major Alpine ones several times a week is a little knackering (I refuse on principle to tweak the setup to make them easier!) I also like doing climbs I've done in real life. Sa Calobra felt remarkably similar on the Fortius.scapaslow wrote:Have you tried any of this year new RLVs?0 -
the Tourmalet is good-but a bit boring for the last 8km to the summit0
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I'm toying with the idea of getting a Bushido and the TTS Software.
The bit I am struggling with is the difference between an Ergo video and a RLV video. Does the resistance on the trainer reflect what is going on in terms of the video and how does your effort (speed) affect the video in any way? It would appear from the comment above the trainer does reflect the required resistance on an RLV video. I'm confused.
Thanks for the link to the site with the cheaper RLV's.0 -
An RLV video is where the trainer adjusts the resistance according to the slope/gradient as you ride. You decide how hard/easy to pedal. i.e. you set the wattage by the effort you put in.
Ergovideo is where the power profile of the video is preset and the trainer adjusts the wattage as you pedal. Usually you are following a pro rider in the video and you must match the wattage produced by the pro rider to keep up with the ride. Both your wattage and the trainer wattage are displayed on the screen so you know whether you are keeping up or not. You can adjust the difficulty before you start the ride by changing the power mode figure (set at 100% automatically) up or down depending whether you want it easier or harder. Speed is irrelevant.
So RLV is like slope mode in Catalyst and Ergo like watts mode in catalyst.0 -
scapaslow wrote:An RLV video is where the trainer adjusts the resistance according to the slope/gradient as you ride. You decide how hard/easy to pedal. i.e. you set the wattage by the effort you put in.
Ergovideo is where the power profile of the video is preset and the trainer adjusts the wattage as you pedal. Usually you are following a pro rider in the video and you must match the wattage produced by the pro rider to keep up with the ride. Both your wattage and the trainer wattage are displayed on the screen so you know whether you are keeping up or not. You can adjust the difficulty before you start the ride by changing the power mode figure (set at 100% automatically) up or down depending whether you want it easier or harder. Speed is irrelevant.
So RLV is like slope mode in Catalyst and Ergo like watts mode in catalyst.
Thanks...............that's the best explanation I've seen so far.
One last question, are the Ergo video's only available on official Tacx videos whereas the RLV's are available cheaper?0 -
bisoner wrote:scapaslow wrote:
One last question, are the Ergo video's only available on official Tacx videos whereas the RLV's are available cheaper?
Official Tacx RLV's and Ergo videos are available at lots of online retailers as well as via Tacx. I've never tried the cheaper third party RLV's mentioned above so i've no idea whether these sellers have created Ergo rides for sale.
The Tacx Ergos are good value because there is always the option to do the ride as an RLV if you want to and some contain a seperate bonus RLV (eg. Milram). Some of the older Ergos and RLV's are available at special prices at the moment direct from Tacx. I find the Ergos provide a really tough workout (i can't complete any of them at 100% sadly) and use them a lot.
I just got Training with Lampre (RLV) for 18 Euros. Tacx wrongly sent me Tilf - Bastogne - Tilf. When i pointed this out they sent me Lampre and said to keep Tilf. Now that is good service.0 -
scapaslow wrote:bisoner wrote:scapaslow wrote:
One last question, are the Ergo video's only available on official Tacx videos whereas the RLV's are available cheaper?
Official Tacx RLV's and Ergo videos are available at lots of online retailers as well as via Tacx. I've never tried the cheaper third party RLV's mentioned above so i've no idea whether these sellers have created Ergo rides for sale.
The Tacx Ergos are good value because there is always the option to do the ride as an RLV if you want to and some contain a seperate bonus RLV (eg. Milram). Some of the older Ergos and RLV's are available at special prices at the moment direct from Tacx. I find the Ergos provide a really tough workout (i can't complete any of them at 100% sadly) and use them a lot.
I just got Training with Lampre (RLV) for 18 Euros. Tacx wrongly sent me Tilf - Bastogne - Tilf. When i pointed this out they sent me Lampre and said to keep Tilf. Now that is good service.
Thanks again.
Also found this extensive review of the Bushido which tipped me over the edge - http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2011/12/tacx-bushido-trainer-in-depth-review.html
Bushido now on order...................................................0
