Smart trainer

chatlow
chatlow Posts: 848
edited January 2016 in Road buying advice
Looking to get rid of my standard trainer and replace with the smart type so I can use Zwift properly. Ideally don't want to spend more that £300, but ideally the cheaper the better.

See very good reveiws for the Tacx Vortex at £250ish. Can anyone recommend this or perhaps a better/cheaper one.

Thanks!

Comments

  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19775256#p19775256]chatlow[/url] wrote:
    Looking to get rid of my standard trainer and replace with the smart type so I can use Zwift properly. Ideally don't want to spend more that £300, but ideally the cheaper the better.

    See very good reveiws for the Tacx Vortex at £250ish. Can anyone recommend this or perhaps a better/cheaper one.

    The Vortex is spot on! Get that one!
  • dazz_ni45
    dazz_ni45 Posts: 468
    Has anyone experienced any "real life" issues with the lower resistance of the vortex and the fact it can only replicate gradients of around 7%? This had initially put me off the vortex but on reflection I'm not actually sure how much of a drawback this would be in reality.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19775358#p19775358]dazz_ni45[/url] wrote:
    Has anyone experienced any "real life" issues with the lower resistance of the vortex and the fact it can only replicate gradients of around 7%? This had initially put me off the vortex but on reflection I'm not actually sure how much of a drawback this would be in reality.

    Obviously depends on your goals? In real life 7% is a substantial slope so would you want to replicate more than that indoors?

    On Zwift for example the default difficulty is 50% so a 10% slope is simulated as 5% on the trainer.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19775358#p19775358]dazz_ni45[/url] wrote:
    Has anyone experienced any "real life" issues with the lower resistance of the vortex and the fact it can only replicate gradients of around 7%? This had initially put me off the vortex but on reflection I'm not actually sure how much of a drawback this would be in reality.

    Obviously depends on your goals? In real life 7% is a substantial slope so would you want to replicate more than that indoors?

    On Zwift for example the default difficulty is 50% so a 10% slope is simulated as 5% on the trainer.
  • StillGoing
    StillGoing Posts: 5,211
    More you pay, the better they are, but, the slippage from the drum is noticeable when it can't replicate gradients and they struggle to keep up with the film meaning you sometimes get the resistance increase before or after you start a climb.

    I started off with an i-Flow VR trainer that has limited watt resistance and was only really useful when using the Tacx programs with TTS4 Advanced. I've since gone to a Bushido smart that has it's own problems with connecting to the computer via ANT+. Slippage on gradients with the Bushido smart when using films is even worse than the i-Flow as far as delays are concerned. It does however have the benefit of not needing a power supply so is portable and doesn't take up as much room as the i-Flow did.
    I ride a bike. Doesn't make me green or a tree hugger. I drive a car too.
  • Elfed
    Elfed Posts: 459
    My Vortex lasted three weeks till it stopped working, but till then it tracked nicely in ERG mode.

    One warning, Tacx online support is truly awful.
  • chatlow
    chatlow Posts: 848
    I am between the Tacx Satori or the Vortex. Both say Ant+ compatible, but will the Satori definitely automatically adjust resistance to emulate hills in Zwift?
  • mackang
    mackang Posts: 8
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19776173#p19776173]chatlow[/url] wrote:
    I am between the Tacx Satori or the Vortex. Both say Ant+ compatible, but will the Satori definitely automatically adjust resistance to emulate hills in Zwift?
    The Satori do not adjust automatically. It will only broadcast power, speed and cadence data.
  • ravey1981
    ravey1981 Posts: 1,111
    +1 for Vortex smart. I've been using mine with Bkool simulator as I find zwift a bit limited at the moment. 7% is plenty for an indoor trainer. If you buy from here you get the tdf version with included tablet holder. Plus its yellow, yellow things are better....

    http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/tacx-proform-vortex-smart-t2180-tdf-edition-holder-for-tablet-t2092-475905
  • chatlow
    chatlow Posts: 848
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19776207#p19776207]ravey1981[/url] wrote:
    +1 for Vortex smart. I've been using mine with Bkool simulator as I find zwift a bit limited at the moment. 7% is plenty for an indoor trainer. If you buy from here you get the tdf version with included tablet holder. Plus its yellow, yellow things are better....

    http://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/tacx-proform-vortex-smart-t2180-tdf-edition-holder-for-tablet-t2092-475905

    Thanks! Have you shopped with bike-discount before? When I enter my details, it offers free shipping within Germany via DPD or £4.57 using DHL. Would assume I have to use DHL as shipping to UK, but it's offering DPD. Any ideas? Way prefer the yellow btw - and would have bought the tablet holder too, so that's a bonus.

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