Turbo Trainer Racing - FREE

Dazza Doom

Im unable to get the software to pick up my Ant + devices.
Works ok in trainer road though, so similar problem to Colin l guess .

birdy247

Ok,

Pairing requires a few things.

1) wattSys to be running in the system tray (you should see the small cog icon)
2) An active internet connection
3) The devices to be awake

You clearly have the devices awake, because other applications can talk to them, could you confirm points 1 & 2?

Dazza Doom

Yea 1 and 2 are all good, however, after the error message appears, if I hover over the cog in the sys tray, it disappears.

birdy247

Dazza Doom wrote:

Yea 1 and 2 are all good, however, after the error message appears, if I hover over the cog in the sys tray, it disappears.

Hi

Can you confirm what error message you are seeing?

Thanks

Dazza Doom

It's the 'cannot find ant + devices' error message. I am not on the pic right now so can't tell you word for word, but that's essentially it.

birdy247

Right, I think I can see what is happening, If you received the error message "cannot communicate with the ANT+ stick", this means another application is already using the ANT stick. This is why devices are not pairing (because wattSys cannot use the stick).

Can you confirm if you have Garmin ANT Agent, Garmin Express or any other program running which maybe using the stick when attempting to start wattSys?

Thanks

Dazza Doom

Birdy,
l thought you were on to something with the gamin express as id forgotten to turn that off when c lvned OHyou were on to something with the gamin express as id forgotten to turn that off when i turned of the Ant agent.

However the problem remains. Garmin express and Ant agent not runing .
Thanks for the help though . ..

birdy247

Hi Dazza

Sometimes Garmin Express and ANT agent take a while to "let go" of the stick after they have been running. After you exit them, you may need to try and start wattSys a couple of times.

Another thought, are you using a USB 1.0 or 2.0 ANT stick?

pgmabley

I'm currently subscribed to trainerroad, quite new to it though. I came across this thread and thought the race side of things sounded interesting. I'd guess you look at the map plan and elevation with positions marked for each rider in real time on the screen?

My trainer is an older magnetic, Tacx T1820 which is not on your list. I'd guess it's similar to others that are on the list though, if it is which one would I opt for or could you add it? Trainerroad asks which resistance level it's set at to calculate my virtual power, in my case 3 and I use the gears to do the workouts, would yours be similar?

Does yours have any sufferfest video incorporation?

Thanks
Paul

colinsmith123

birdy247 wrote:

Hi Dazza

Sometimes Garmin Express and ANT agent take a while to "let go" of the stick after they have been running. After you exit them, you may need to try and start wattSys a couple of times.

Another thought, are you using a USB 1.0 or 2.0 ANT stick?

I've gone back to TR for now. But I was experiencing the same problem. I don't allow Garmn Express to run in the background, no ANT agent installed. USB 2.0 ANT+ stick.

birdy247

Hi Colin, can Garmin Express or Garmin ANT Agent talk to the stick?

Could you email a screenshot of the processes running in your task manager to info@turbotraining.co.uk

colinsmith123

Referring to my original post, I spoke with Garmin at some length. Garmin Express does not use the Garmin memory stick but does recognise the memory stick is connected, This is what was confusing me, I could not see the stick as a drive on my PC I could not get turbotrainer to see the stick, but could see my PM on Qalvin using the stick, hence thinking it as either a PC or Garmin problem.

The stick is not recognised in the task manager until TR runs, then ANTConsoleX runs in the background.

I don;t have turbotraining software installed as I had to take my laptop to the PC Police at work today.

Hope this helps.

birdy247

pgmabley wrote:

I'm currently subscribed to trainerroad, quite new to it though. I came across this thread and thought the race side of things sounded interesting. I'd guess you look at the map plan and elevation with positions marked for each rider in real time on the screen?

Hi Paul

Yes the racing is based on a map whereby everyone is a marker on the map so you can easily see where you are in relation to others. You can also view their stats as well as yours (power, HR, cad etc..). Very satisfying to watch someone going into the red in response to you putting an effort in up a climb :-). You can also "just ride" on any course you choose or create timetrials based on yours/other past performances.

pgmabley wrote:

My trainer is an older magnetic, Tacx T1820 which is not on your list. I'd guess it's similar to others that are on the list though, if it is which one would I opt for or could you add it? Trainerroad asks which resistance level it's set at to calculate my virtual power, in my case 3 and I use the gears to do the workouts, would yours be similar?

Yes, you choose your turbo trainer and select the resistance level. Id say choose the Tacx Sirrus as a good alternative in the meantime whilst we map the Tacx T1820.

pgmabley wrote:

Does yours have any sufferfest video incorporation?

You can run videos in conjunction with any workout (we use a small "popout" player). We also have a demo video that syncs to your workout (auto start/stop controlled by pedaling etc..). We will soon be adding more videos, watch this space!. Its all streamable content so no need to download.

The racing remains free, but you also get a 2 week trial for structured workouts, training plans etc.. Let me know how you get on.

CptKernow

Looks interesting and will have a proper look when I have a minute.

One question - why did you go for a .co.uk domain name for something that would have international appeal?!

birdy247

CptKernow wrote:

Looks interesting and will have a proper look when I have a minute.

One question - why did you go for a .co.uk domain name for something that would have international appeal?!

Thanks. The site has actually been around for a fairly long time (since about 2008). It started life as a simple resource for cyclists to share turbo plans. Things have evolved (alot!), and its become what it is today.

birdy247

A few new features added thanks to your feedback:

Race replay - You can now replay a race and see where your competitors were quicker/slower http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/race-replay/156/3747

Strava integration - You can now link your Strava account for automatic uploads

Keep it coming :-)

alphacharlie

birdy247 wrote:

A few new features added thanks to your feedback:

Race replay - You can now replay a race and see where your competitors were quicker/slower http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/race-replay/156/3747

Strava integration - You can now link your Strava account for automatic uploads

Keep it coming :-)

Have you thought about a Strava Group for "tt.co.uk" users?

birdy247

alphacharlie wrote:

birdy247 wrote:

A few new features added thanks to your feedback:

Race replay - You can now replay a race and see where your competitors were quicker/slower http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/race-replay/156/3747

Strava integration - You can now link your Strava account for automatic uploads

Keep it coming :-)

Have you thought about a Strava Group for "tt.co.uk" users?

Good Idea, https://www.strava.com/clubs/indoortraining

lever.mark

After Signing up wattsys will not pair to my ant stick, failure on "connectANT - Attempting to aquire ANT+ USB stick drivers" (larger garmin USB Stick one as pictured on the requirements page - although it does appear to say usb1 ant stick in small print on the back) . Stick pairs perfectly with Trainerroad so i'm not sure why the different requirements?

Is this likely to be down to the stick not being USB2? If so, why the requirement for USB2?

Garmin Connect is closed (checked process is closed also), i've tried it on PC with Trainerroad installed, and Laptop that has never had TR.

birdy247

Hi Mark

wattSys requires a USB 2.0 stick over the older USB 1.0 stick. This is to do with the way we listen to the ANT+ channels.

birdy247

We are adding in a new feature very shortly. Essentially, it is a real gps course made up of segments. Each segment is colour coded and requires a different power target. Each segment is also timed.

You will be able to plot your own course and add the segments. This could be good to practice pacing a particular course for example. The screenshot shows a first cut of the UI.

If anyone wants to try the new interface, let me know. Thanks!

birdy247

UI Update based on your feedback, thanks! Things now fit on smaller and larger screens. If anyone else wants to try things, let me know.

alphacharlie

I've been using "turbotraining.co.uk" since the Beta testing phase in November and its brilliant, I know that there are alternatives out there like Trainer road and Golden Cheetah but I'd always stayed away from them as they sounded complicated and too much like what "racers" and "pros" used, not what the average Joe wanted when trying to improve their road biking performance. Previously my kids left me alone when in the garage on the turbo, now I get visits to see where I am in a race or how many intervals I've got left to complete

So when the beta invites popped up on here I stuck my name down and quite quickly was up and running ( or cycling should we say) since then the format and features have evolved massively! the racing option is great and I've mapped rides that the pro's use so that I can replicate them on the turbo, racing other people is addictive for sure but just racing your own PB is also a great incentive.

Other features have also changed and the guys behind the website are always eager to take feedback in any form and are quick to help with any issues while using the program!!

So basically if you are bored on the turbo or its gathering dust in the shed as you've fallen out of love with it, get on "tt.co.uk" and try the racing section for free, I can pretty much guarantee you'll like what you see and probably end up signing up for the full package!

Cheers
AC

pgmabley

Signed up on the trial one today with a view to going onto the full version.

Looking forward to trying it out.

pgmabley

Did my FTP test today and going to start the climbing plan in advance of Fred Whitton and other events for this year.

Impressed so far, easy to set up and nice clear layout. Did the workout while listening to music steamed from a server on a pretty old and low spec PC so in that respect an improvement over trainerroad.

Couple of questions before subscribing if I may:

Can my wife use her bike on a separate turbo training.co.uk account but on the same PC, obviously the heart rate and speed/cadence sensors are different ones to mine.

Can I add segments to ride if there isn't one already in the map ie local to me or climbs I know I'll be tackling during events? Looks like you can from what you say above but will I have to have ridden them for real first and have the gpx file?

How do you put the display smaller in the bottom of the screen if I want to watch a video or something?

Thanks a lot
Paul

birdy247

Hi All

We are now ready with our mac OSX version for beta testing. If anyone wants to help trial things on the mac platform feel free to let me know on here.

Thanks

Aaron

Dodger747

Yes please - would love to pre-ride some Dolomites routes I'll be doing in the summer!

birdy247

Do you already have a username? If so, let me know. If not, drop me a pm with your email.

Thanks

keefsloan

Hi Aaron

I'm currently using Trainer Road but would be happy to look at this as a beta tester on Mac (MBA, mid-2013, OS X Yosemite)

Let me know

Cheers

Keef

birdy247

Great. If anyone else is keen to try things out the mac version is now available as a beta download.

http://www.turbotraining.co.uk/download-software