Virtual Climbs on Tacx

FatTed
FatTed Posts: 1,205
edited September 2017 in Indoor training and turbo forum
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.

Comments

  • MiddleRinger
    MiddleRinger Posts: 678
    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
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    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.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    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.
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • Alex99
    Alex99 Posts: 1,407
    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
    phreak Posts: 2,892
    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
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    phreak Posts: 2,892
    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
    dabber Posts: 1,924
    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
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    dabber Posts: 1,924
    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
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,538
    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!
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • stueys
    stueys Posts: 1,332
    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
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    daniel_b Posts: 11,538
    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?
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,924
    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.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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
    daniel_b Posts: 11,538
    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.
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
    Marin Palisades Trail 91 and 06
    Scott CR1 SL 12
    Cannondale Synapse Adventure 15 & 16 Di2
    Scott Foil 18
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    Only streams at 1003 Kb/s, my internet connection is just fine
  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,924
    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.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    New Zealand
  • dabber
    dabber Posts: 1,924
    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.
    “You may think that; I couldn’t possibly comment!”

    Wilier Cento Uno SR/Wilier Mortirolo/Specialized Roubaix Comp/Kona Hei Hei/Calibre Bossnut
  • FatTed
    FatTed Posts: 1,205
    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.
  • 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
    ben@31 Posts: 2,327
    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
    "The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby