Tracx T2240 or Cycleops Fluid 2

knightlore21

Hi

Am looking to get a Turbo Trainer for circa £160 (can get either of these from Halfords via British Cycling and work discounts for this amount).

Any recommendations for either or one over the other ?

Thanks

fat daddy

The T2240 is a smart trainer isn't it ? .... where as the Cyclops is just a fluid resistance trainer ?

If so, you have to be honest about what you are doing with the trainer ... when I had a resistance only one, I was mostly leaving it folded up in the garage because turbo sessions with all the will in the world are "arse" ... TV doesn't make a turbo more interesting, a turbo manages to make the tv more boring !

Let me tell you a story

once upon a time in a land far far away lived me .. and to cut a story short I bought a smart trainer and a monthly Zwift subscription and I now use the turbo EVERY SINGLE DAY ! ..... I freaking love group rides, the sprints, the racing, the getting spat out the back of the pack and having to do 4kwh just to claw back in before you run out of energy ..... freaking love it .. ebarrasinly I do more mileage on the turbo than the bike now

so if the tacx is a smart trainer, buy that and ride with people/bots and get resistance feedback based on the hill you are going up

alexchung

fat daddy wrote:

The T2240 is a smart trainer isn't it ? .... where as the Cyclops is just a fluid resistance trainer ?

If so, you have to be honest about what you are doing with the trainer ... when I had a resistance only one, I was mostly leaving it folded up in the garage because turbo sessions with all the will in the world are "ars*" ... TV doesn't make a turbo more interesting, a turbo manages to make the tv more boring !

Let me tell you a story

once upon a time in a land far far away lived me .. and to cut a story short I bought a smart trainer and a monthly Zwift subscription and I now use the turbo EVERY SINGLE DAY ! ..... I freaking love group rides, the sprints, the racing, the getting spat out the back of the pack and having to do 4kwh just to claw back in before you run out of energy ..... freaking love it .. ebarrasinly I do more mileage on the turbo than the bike now

so if the tacx is a smart trainer, buy that and ride with people/bots and get resistance feedback based on the hill you are going up

This. My mate told me about him getting a T2240 and is now having a great time on the Turbo due to the interactive element of the Smart Trainer combined with Zwift. I am picking up my T2240 later on in the week and hope to get up and running on Zwift.
Alex

knightlore21

alexchung wrote:

fat daddy wrote:

The T2240 is a smart trainer isn't it ? .... where as the Cyclops is just a fluid resistance trainer ?

If so, you have to be honest about what you are doing with the trainer ... when I had a resistance only one, I was mostly leaving it folded up in the garage because turbo sessions with all the will in the world are "ars*" ... TV doesn't make a turbo more interesting, a turbo manages to make the tv more boring !

Let me tell you a story

once upon a time in a land far far away lived me .. and to cut a story short I bought a smart trainer and a monthly Zwift subscription and I now use the turbo EVERY SINGLE DAY ! ..... I freaking love group rides, the sprints, the racing, the getting spat out the back of the pack and having to do 4kwh just to claw back in before you run out of energy ..... freaking love it .. ebarrasinly I do more mileage on the turbo than the bike now

so if the tacx is a smart trainer, buy that and ride with people/bots and get resistance feedback based on the hill you are going up

This. My mate told me about him getting a T2240 and is now having a great time on the Turbo due to the interactive element of the Smart Trainer combined with Zwift. I am picking up my T2240 later on in the week and hope to get up and running on Zwift.
Alex

Thanks Alex and Fat Daddy - I must admit I was edging towards the Cycleops Fluid 2 but you are both turning my head with this Zwift talk .....should there be any concern about the Tacx T2240 being an Halfords "exclusive" (am always a bit concerned when a product is not available outside of a single retailer...)

fat daddy

Its a Halfords exlcusive ? .. I wonder if that's a short term release thing, because all the other tacx trainers you can buy from anywhere

knightlore21

fat daddy wrote:

Its a Halfords exlcusive ? .. I wonder if that's a short term release thing, because all the other tacx trainers you can buy from anywhere

Halfords are currently advertising it as exclusive (although it looks as though at one time you could get it from Decathlon) - like you say may be a short term arrangement with Halfords (suits me to buy from there anyway with the 2 discounts that I can exploit).

fat daddy

you are right, the tacx website even says only available at Halfords.

Although they do, do other models like the t2250 t2260 t2270 ... which are all the same unit, but with different extras like the steering module.

so I wouldn't be put off buy it, the unit seems readily available, just that set up is exclusive

knightlore21

fat daddy wrote:

you are right, the tacx website even says only available at Halfords.

Although they do, do other models like the t2250 t2260 t2270 ... which are all the same unit, but with different extras like the steering module.

so I wouldn't be put off buy it, the unit seems readily available, just that set up is exclusive

Think I will probably go for the Tacx as it can used a simple fluid resistance trainer if not linked into all the smart stuff but at least have the option of doing all the Zwift stuff if I want to...

markhewitt1978

As above there's no good reason to buy a basic fluid trainer when the likes of the Tacx Flow Smart gives you access to Zwift and everything that goes with it. Meaning you'll get simulations of climbs and the likes, it totally transforms turbo riding from a chore to something you look forward to doing because it's fun!

alexchung

I picked my T2240 up from Halfords the other night but not had a chance to set it up yet but to let you know that you can get a set of interlocking foam mats for £9.99 as well which will come in handy in the house (easy wipe, sound deadening etc) So with your BC discount you can have the set up for under £200.
I am just waiting for my USB ANT+ Antenna to come through from Wiggle now and that is me ready to go.
Alex

markhewitt1978

alexchung wrote:

I picked my T2240 up from Halfords the other night but not had a chance to set it up yet but to let you know that you can get a set of interlocking foam mats for £9.99 as well which will come in handy in the house (easy wipe, sound deadening etc) So with your BC discount you can have the set up for under £200.
I am just waiting for my USB ANT+ Antenna to come through from Wiggle now and that is me ready to go.
Alex

Depending on what setup you have you don't necessarily need it. Are you wanting to use Zwift?

If you're on a Mac, you're already good to go with the Bluetooth in the Mac
If you're on a PC, then if you have an Android or iPhone then you can use the Zwift Mobile Link app to bridge the bluetooth connection to the trainer to your PC.

Please let us know how you get on, as I've heard a lot of people asking about these trainers.

diamonddog

Using a T2240 at the moment and it is a far more absorbing piece of kit than the standard turbo.
A couple of things I have found :
1 It is not quite as sturdy on the riser block as the other turbo.
2 The cadence readings on the Tacx app in comparison to the computer and sensor set up are accurate to around the 100 ish mark but give a larger read out at higher cadences.
None of the above are anything approaching being a problem.

Very little tyre slippage if any evident on first few sessions and the create activity planner will be useful IMO.