Tacx flow resistance question

shiznit76
shiznit76 Posts: 640
edited November 2017 in Indoor training and turbo forum
Hi, bought a tacx flow smart trainer and got it hooked up with Zwift, allo working fine, but have a question over the resistance. I was under the impression when going up a hil that the resistance in the trainer would increase, i dont seem to feel this, my speed on road falls, but i can still use a big gear going up the hills, is something wrong?

Comments

  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I don't believe that one gets resistance increased by Zwift. Whatever power you put out is adjusted to the terrain so say 200w on the flat and you're doing 20mph. On a hill and you're climbing at 10mph or whatever.

    Mines like that too.
  • barongreenback
    barongreenback Posts: 229
    The Flow only goes up to a 6% simulation so after this point, Zwift just slows you down. Mine definitely reacts but on the steeper climbs the change is limited due to this.

    The range isn’t great as well so if you’re using ERG mode, be warned you may need to change gear to hit a target wattage.

    Also, have you calibrated the trainer?
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    I was wrong.

    It should work but some people have had issues.

    This thread may help. http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=13073513
  • shiznit76
    shiznit76 Posts: 640
    barongreenback wrote:
    The Flow only goes up to a 6% simulation so after this point, Zwift just slows you down. Mine definitely reacts but on the steeper climbs the change is limited due to this.

    The range isn’t great as well so if you’re using ERG mode, be warned you may need to change gear to hit a target wattage.

    Also, have you calibrated the trainer?

    Yes, calibrated it,
    just went in to settings and and upped the setting on difficulty and that has increase the feel of the slopes
  • sh3p
    sh3p Posts: 98
    Shouldn't need to change gear in egr mode thats the point of it ( unless very low gear is selected) just put it somewhere in the middle of the cassette,
    & let the program/trainer take care of the resistance, that is required to achieve the watts required relative to your cadance.
    You may find using a different cadance sensor is a little better i gound the flow one to be somewhat inaccurate, which was fine in free rides but a nightmare on workouts using egr.
    Have fun :)
  • shiznit76
    shiznit76 Posts: 640
    what is egr and what are the benefits of it
  • barongreenback
    barongreenback Posts: 229
    sh3p wrote:
    Shouldn't need to change gear in egr mode thats the point of it ( unless very low gear is selected) just put it somewhere in the middle of the cassette,
    & let the program/trainer take care of the resistance, that is required to achieve the watts required relative to your cadance.
    You may find using a different cadance sensor is a little better i gound the flow one to be somewhat inaccurate, which was fine in free rides but a nightmare on workouts using egr.
    Have fun :)

    You do on the Flow. It cannot cope with a wide range of wattages i.e. can quite happily do 250w in one gear but do to the rest intervals of 100w you have to change into an easier gear. It’s the limitation of such a cheap trainer. Check out the online reviews for more info. It’s fine once you realise what is happening. Still feel it’s good value for money for a beginner like me although I can see myself wanting to eventually upgrade.
  • barongreenback
    barongreenback Posts: 229
    shiznit76 wrote:
    what is egr and what are the benefits of it

    It allows you to train at a specific wattage and is of most benefit once you’ve done an FTP test.

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