Virtual Climbs on Tacx

FatTed

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

MiddleRinger

FulGaz has real world courses and virtual climbs including Alp d'Huez.

http://fulgaz.com/hd-cycling-videos/

I've never tried it (Zwift addict) so no idea if it's any good, but others I've talked to seem to rate it.

meanredspider

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Download the Tacx app (on a compatible iPad - even the iPad mini 2 works), pay for and download the AdH video and ride. Very easy and good. The only thing that annoyed me was that the videos I bought on CD (for my Fortius) I have to buy again.

FatTed

meanredspider wrote:

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Download the Tacx app (on a compatible iPad - even the iPad mini 2 works), pay for and download the AdH video and ride. Very easy and good. The only thing that annoyed me was that the videos I bought on CD (for my Fortius) I have to buy again.

I will give it a try, this is a non subscription service? I guess the I pad app is different from the iPhone app

FatTed

Just had a look at the i Pad version it is different I don't have one just borrowed Mrs FT's one. What size Ipad should I buy ?
how big are the videos? I would probably drive a larger screen from the I pad so I dont need a large sized i pad screen, does the processor make any difference?

meanredspider

I've successfully run the app from a Mini 2 16Gb but it depends a lot on what you want to do. You can mirror the screen onto something larger like a TV (with the appropriate connection) though I don't bother. The Tacx iPad holder is actually very nice and a good idea if you're going to control the thing too.

Check video size using your wife's iPad - I don't have access now. I think that they are hundreds of meg rather than gig. You can download and then delete provided your connection is OK so storage isn't critical.

Alex99

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Don't you just put a brick under the front wheel then ride at FTP for 60 minutes?

phreak

Alex99 wrote:

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Don't you just put a brick under the front wheel then ride at FTP for 60 minutes?

That's how I've trained for all of the European climbs I've ever done.

FatTed

phreak wrote:

Alex99 wrote:

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Don't you just put a brick under the front wheel then ride at FTP for 60 minutes?

That's how I've trained for all of the European climbs I've ever done.

Good for you, but I didn't ask how to train to climb the Alpe d'huez

phreak

FatTed wrote:

phreak wrote:

Alex99 wrote:

FatTed wrote:

I have a Tacx Neo an iPad, iPhone and mac book air, which will talk to my Neo.

how do I simulate climbing say the Alpe d'huez, Preferably with a video of the climb? Tacx software is not compatible it seems with Apple products. I know there are other simulation packages from virtual training and velo reality but I have not used any, not really sure how to. Any help would be great.

Don't you just put a brick under the front wheel then ride at FTP for 60 minutes?

That's how I've trained for all of the European climbs I've ever done.

Good for you, but I didn't ask how to train to climb the Alpe d'huez

You asked how to simulate the climb. Alpine climbs are usually constant efforts for however long you'll need to get up the climb, which for the Alpe is ~ 60 minutes. If you wanted to get over the Stelvio (for instance), you could double that. The principle is the same though - a constant effort for x minutes. That's pretty much all there is to it in terms of turbo training If you're doing 250 watts for an hour in a big gear or a small gear doesn't really matter in terms of training.

dabber

Whilst I can't disagree with the above, if you want some mental stimulation to keep you going for a couple of hours constant effort some of the video/rides help a lot. I personally use BigRingVR which has an excellent range of rides in HD. I use it on Windows but it also supports Mac... an added bonus is at the moment there is no charge. Gradient changes are smooth and all round an excellent program. The guys running it are very responsive and helpful as well.
http://bigringvr.com/index.aspx

FatTed

Thanks what I wanted to know is how to hook up the Tacx with video using Apple mac. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

dabber

FatTed wrote:

Thanks what I wanted to know is how to hook up the Tacx with video using Apple mac. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

That's what you can do with BigRingVR .... works with Mac. The reqirements and compatibility are here.....
http://bigringvr.com/getting-started.aspx

Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your requirements... btw... Alpe d'Huez is one of their rides :P

daniel_b

Dabber wrote:

Whilst I can't disagree with the above, if you want some mental stimulation to keep you going for a couple of hours constant effort some of the video/rides help a lot. I personally use BigRingVR which has an excellent range of rides in HD. I use it on Windows but it also supports Mac... an added bonus is at the moment there is no charge. Gradient changes are smooth and all round an excellent program. The guys running it are very responsive and helpful as well.
http://bigringvr.com/index.aspx

This looks awesome. I don't have, and never will have any apple products, so was gutted to see that was all that Fullgaz was designed for, so this could be just the ticket!

stueys

I run the tax app with my neo and use their RLV's. They are good quality but expensive to be honest, think they are 10 quid each. Zwift has the mountain course now which is pretty good, I tend to use that when I just want to simulate a climb and occasionally mix it up with the tacx videos.

I'm going to try bigringvr, that looks good.

FatTed

Dabber wrote:

FatTed wrote:

Thanks what I wanted to know is how to hook up the Tacx with video using Apple mac. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

That's what you can do with BigRingVR .... works with Mac. The reqirements and compatibility are here.....
http://bigringvr.com/getting-started.aspx

Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your requirements... btw... Alpe d'Huez is one of their rides :P

This is exactly what I was after, had to buy an ANT+ Dongle, seemed to work fine. Thanks

daniel_b

FatTed wrote:

Dabber wrote:

FatTed wrote:

Thanks what I wanted to know is how to hook up the Tacx with video using Apple mac. Perhaps I could have been more clear.

That's what you can do with BigRingVR .... works with Mac. The reqirements and compatibility are here.....
http://bigringvr.com/getting-started.aspx

Or perhaps I'm misunderstanding your requirements... btw... Alpe d'Huez is one of their rides :P

This is exactly what I was after, had to buy an ANT+ Dongle, seemed to work fine. Thanks

Does it show you power, and cadence etc?
Maybe distance remaining, elevation?

dabber

BigRingVR gives you....
Time elapsed
HR actual/Average
Cadence actual/average
power actual/average
speed actual/average
distance complete/to go
gradient %age and elevation

plus colour coded profile with your position. this can be zoomed into
the ability to ride against other BRVR rides

Just give it a go, it's easy to install and at the moment it costs you nothing. Btw, I'm nothing to do with BRVR just a very satisfied user.

Edited to add... you can also top/tail any of the rides to create your own version.. eg, if you want a warm down ride you could just select to ride a downhill section of one of the rides.

You can also create your own rides by using your own video + gpx file. Easy to do and I've created quite a few of my French rides.

FatTed

Big Ring Vr does not stream well enough down here, perhaps when they get a server in the same hemisphere it will improve. Bkool works ok.

daniel_b

FatTed wrote:

Big Ring Vr does not stream well enough down here, perhaps when they get a server in the same hemisphere it will improve. Bkool works ok.

What problems did you have?

It ran fine for me on an old notebook, on wireless in the garage, all be it with a fibre connection, but nothing rocketship fast.

Was a little more clunky than I had envisioned, but perhaps expecting too much - think they have filed them (Or at least the one I tried) from a car or a motorbike?
Think it would have been better with a camera on a bike personally, perhaps as part of a group.

FatTed

Only streams at 1003 Kb/s, my internet connection is just fine

dabber

FatTed wrote:

Only streams at 1003 Kb/s, my internet connection is just fine

Where's "down here" FT?

I'm in the UK and never had a problem.

FatTed

New Zealand

dabber

FatTed wrote:

New Zealand

If you're interested in using BRVR I'd contact them via their website and highlight the problems your having. They may not be able to fix but from any reported issue that I've seen they've tried to help.

FatTed

I have done the same, I think a fix is coming so will hold off buying a subscription to BKOOL, which is a little less straight forward.

ilja.booij

Hi, BigRingVR developer here.

Download functionality has landed in the latest release (August 27th). You can now download a video before riding. Downloading may take a while on low(er) bandwidth connections, but you won't be bugged by "Buffer low" messages during the ride. You'll find the download button right there (lower right corner) in the app.

Mind that you will still need a network connection for starting a ride, as there is some communication needed between the app and our servers.

ben@31

Alex99 wrote:

Don't you just put a brick under the front wheel then ride at FTP for 60 minutes?

Because that would be a boring and soul destroying 60 minutes, if you last that long before walking off. Hense why the OPs question was how to get a video simulation.
http://www.fulgaz.com/hd-cycling-videos ... 4ba514e54f