Tacx turbo trainers.

ben@31

I'm sorry if this has been asked before (I had a quick look) but I am baffled by the Tacx product range. It would have helped if the Tacx website had a comparrison chart.

I was wondering if anyone knows the difference between all the Tacx turbo trainers? So far I've worked out we have a choice of

- iGenius
- iVortex
- iFlow
- Bushido
- Flow
- Booster
- Satori
- Blue Motion
- Blue Matic
- Blue Twist

Even something as simple as a set of rollers... Theres 2 different models of them. Then whats the difference between a VR Trainer, an Ergo Trainer and a Cyclo Trainer? Especially as some Ergo trainers work with the VR software! Then there's the i-Flow or the Flow? My head is going to impolde. Too much choice.

The only difference I could see was some are wireless some aren't. Some have multiplayer some don't. Some are £1,169 while some are £140.

Thanks for your help.

bmxboy10

I have a Satori and think its great. Its a mag/fluid trainer and i got it from Decathlon for £130 with remote and training mat. Its probably all you will ever need as a general bog stnadard trainer.

proto

Up to and including Booster, are all standalone turbo trainers of the traditional type. Magnetic resistance units.

The Voretex is an upgraded/newer version of the Flow, which is now obsolete.

The Flow, Vortex and Bushido are also stand alone units but are able to measure rider output (power, cadence, time, HR) and show onto bar mounted display unit. They have different levels of sophistication and features. Bushido and Voretx have wifi to the bar display, Flow needs a cable. Bushido doesn't need mains electricity, the others do. All of them can be plugged into to a computer/monitor (Voretex/Bushido by wifi) and upgraded to 'virtual reality' trainers, if you buy the upgard kit, and can use 'real life' videos as well as the Catalyst training software.

The Genius is a replacement for the now obsolete Fortius but is very similar, and differs from all the others in that it has a motor brake, rather than a resistance brake.

The iGenius and Vortex are similar, but the Genius resistance unit is actually an electric motor which gives more realistic feel on VR riding. For example the video will speed up going downhill and your wheel will be driven by the motor without your pedaling. The Vortex uses a more basic resistance unit from the Flow I think. The Bushido is similar but includes a generator to enable it to be totally wireless.

I've got a Satori and a Fortius. Satori is quiet, stable and gives plenty of resistance. Highly recommended. The Forties has taken me a while to get sorted, and upgrade to the latest TTS4 software helped enormously. Again a great bit of kit, highly recommended.

If I was buying again, I'd buy a Bushido with an upgrade kit. Easier and quicker to set up and put away again. The Vortex/Flow/Genius are more suited to being left set up as semi permanent trainers, in my opinion.

proto

The upgrade kit allows you to create training programmes to suit your needs, power, distance, HR, speed, time are all variables that can be set and ridden to, and if you wish, allows you to race in VR mode against others over the internet.

If you go upgrade route, avoid the older software, Fortius and TTS2, it's hopless. TTS3 and TTS4 work well though.

stueys

I've a satori, which for the money is great. Having used it quite a bit (get trainerroad) if I was buying again I'd start with a kurt kinetic road machine or worth looking at the elite range as well as tacx Bushido.

markwb79

proto wrote:

Up to and including Booster, are all standalone turbo trainers of the traditional type. Magnetic resistance units.

The Voretex is an upgraded/newer version of the Flow, which is now obsolete.

The Flow, Vortex and Bushido are also stand alone units but are able to measure rider output (power, cadence, time, HR) and show onto bar mounted display unit. They have different levels of sophistication and features. Bushido and Voretx have wifi to the bar display, Flow needs a cable. Bushido doesn't need mains electricity, the others do. All of them can be plugged into to a computer/monitor (Voretex/Bushido by wifi) and upgraded to 'virtual reality' trainers, if you buy the upgard kit, and can use 'real life' videos as well as the Catalyst training software.

The Genius is a replacement for the now obsolete Fortius but is very similar, and differs from all the others in that it has a motor brake, rather than a resistance brake.

The IGenius and Voretex are similar, but the Genius resistance unit is actually an electric motor which gives more realistic feel on VR riding. For example the video will speed up going downhill and your wheel will be driven by the motor without your peddaling. The Voretx uses a more basic resistance unit from the Flow I think. The BUshido is similar but includes a generator to enable it to be totally wireless.

I've got a Satori and a Fortius. Satori is quiet, stable and gives plenty of resistance. Highly recommended. The Forties has taken me a while to get sorted, and upgrade to the latest TTS4 software helped enormously. Again a great bit of kit, highly recommended.

If I was buying again, I'd buy a Bushido with an upgrade kit. Easier and quicker to set up and put away again. The Voretex/Flow/Genius are more suited to being left set up as semi permanent trainers, in my opinion.

I am thinking about upgrading to a new turbo, something that can record my power etc.

The above post is a great explanation of the tacx line up.

But what is the different between the i-vortex and the Bushido?

Also, are they much quieter than the bottom of the range? (thats how I am justifying it to the misses!)

markwb79

Markwb79 wrote:

proto wrote:

If I was buying again, I'd buy a Bushido with an upgrade kit. Easier and quicker to set up and put away again. The Voretex/Flow/Genius are more suited to being left set up as semi permanent trainers, in my opinion.

I am thinking about upgrading to a new turbo, something that can record my power etc.

The above post is a great explanation of the tacx line up.

But what is the different between the i-vortex and the Bushido?

Also, are they much quieter than the bottom of the range? (thats how I am justifying it to the misses!)

Anyone?

foggymike

The Bushido does not need to be plugged in to the mains and can produce more resistance. The head unit can be programmed to deliver intervals or workouts though it's a bit of a faff until you have a few workouts stored.

The Vortex will give you the same numbers but can't be programmed in advance and has a lower maximum resistance (though still more than enough) - on the flip side it is has smoother ride feel, is cheaper and is less complex so it has less to go wrong. The vortex is a bit quieter than the Bushido too (which I found incredibly loud - like a vacuum cleaner when pushing on a bit), but not as quiet as the i-flow so that argument won't help I'm afraid!

If you use the PC upgrade to control them via PC they use the same software so it's just the hardware that is different. To compare you'd need to factor in the pc upgrade on top of the Bushido price though. An i-vortex or i-flow has a lot more functionality than a stand alone bushido.

There is a lot of clear info on the Tacx website and their forum will help you too - just google Tacx forum and you'll find it easily. Personally having tried much of the range at one time or another I've stuck with an i-magic (now called i-flow) and I don't regret that for a second.

ilm_zero7

foggymike wrote:

If you use the PC upgrade to control them via PC they use the same software so it's just the hardware that is different.
There is a lot of clear info on the Tacx website and their forum will help you too - just google Tacx forum and you'll find it easily. Personally having tried much of the range at one time or another I've stuck with an i-magic (now called i-flow) and I don't regret that for a second.

So have I and now running V3.12 of the software and it does all I need to do. Tacx do update a lot and if you follow all the changes it can be very expensive. But I don't think you can beat this system for running real time video training, which relives the boredom for me.....

Also, do check out the non-Tacx real life video providers, their product is just as good with some great rides..... Right, now off to ride in Alsace

markwb79

Awesome, thanks for the detailed replies. Seems like I am moving towards the i-Vortex then.

You say its not programmable? As in I cant pre set it to change the grandient etc? But on the vortex, I see pictures with it linked up to a laptop, is that only possible about the 'upgrade'

markwb79

One last question I hope!

I was just in a shop asking about the i-vortex, and he said it could not be used as a stand alone trainer and had to be used with a laptop.

On the Tacx website its says the opposite?

ilm_zero7

Can't comment on this except to say once you have run the real time stuff with a PC why would you want to turbo train without?

Thigh_burn

Bumping this very old thread.

Am looking at getting my first trainer for the winter and saw that Wiggle have the Booster Ultra on with a 48% reduction. I take it that is very good value and paying £118 for my first trainer is not a bad idea.

In terms of what I want to achieve, I'm trying to lock in my gains made over the summer and improve on them. So basically get faster.

markhewitt1978

The point is that the thread is very old and the trainer line up has completely changed now. These days you're going to want a smart trainer which can auto adjust resistance to simulate power / terrain and report power numbers etc directly to your cycling computer / PC.

About the cheapest you can get is the Tacx Flow Smart http://www.halfords.com/cycling/turbo-t ... bo-trainer although personally I would say spend the extra £50 and get the Tacx Vortex Smart.

In addition to that have a look at the software from Zwift and Trainer Road. It means the difference between buying a turbo and getting sick of it within 2 weeks and sticking with it long term.

Thigh_burn

markhewitt1978 wrote:

These days you're going to want a smart trainer which can auto adjust resistance to simulate power / terrain and report power numbers etc directly to your cycling computer / PC.
...It means the difference between buying a turbo and getting sick of it within 2 weeks and sticking with it long term.

Ok thanks, that's a good point.

ilm_zero7

best entry level has to be one of the Tacx i series - or a kicker that you can nonnect to strava and Zwift etc - that way turbo sessions retain interest

vinnymarsden

The last post called the Kickr an entry level trainer…not at 850 ( discounted!!). However, having recently acquired one I can honestly say. after a few trainer blips… the difference between the Kickr and anything else I have had is night and day.Just the ease of dropping it onto a cassette QR based set up is worth the money..theres so much faff with wheels etc, albeit I had a good experience with the Kurt Rock and Roll, the many others I have tried have failed to impress..even the latest version of the Bushido.. not realistic at all. Anyone want to buy a nearly new Kurt R&R!!!

markhewitt1978

VinnyMarsden wrote:

The last post called the Kickr an entry level trainer…not at 850 ( discounted!!). However, having recently acquired one I can honestly say. after a few trainer blips… the difference between the Kickr and anything else I have had is night and day.Just the ease of dropping it onto a cassette QR based set up is worth the money..theres so much faff with wheels etc, albeit I had a good experience with the Kurt Rock and Roll, the many others I have tried have failed to impress..even the latest version of the Bushido.. not realistic at all. Anyone want to buy a nearly new Kurt R&R!!!

I got a Tacx Blue Matic several years ago and like most rode it a handful of times, got sick of it and put it in the shed. On reading about Zwift and Trainer Road here I dragged it out again and found that it was an ok experience, so got a Tacx Bushido which was great for Zwift but still felt odd. Then progressed to the Tacx Neo which is night and day, probably the most realistic experience you're going to get indoors.

shmooster

Before you buy a trainer bear in mind it's Eurobike in a few weeks and new models will be announced, with a potential discount on older ones.

dazz_ni45

shmooster wrote:

Before you buy a trainer bear in mind it's Eurobike in a few weeks and new models will be announced, with a potential discount on older ones.

That's what I am waiting for. A few new options from Elite as well

shmooster

What is it with turbo prices, they're all over the place. The Vortex Smart has swung between £210 and £400 on Amazon over the last year and currently sitting at £320. Makes no sense.

markhewitt1978

Yes it's pretty crazy at the moment. The speculation is that Tacx have changed all their prices in order to fit the Tacx Flux into the lineup. Plus of course the end of the month sees new trainer announced including some from Wahoo so expect things to settle down a bit after that.