Turbo trainers... again

[WolfieBot]

Need some motivation to get riding again and lose some weight over the winter, hoping a smart turbo will be the thing to do it.

I'd got it settled on the Tacx Flow as with work discounts etc I can get it for about £190.

Are there any other trainers to consider at that price point which will have the auto resistance adjustment etc for swift? I can't seem to find anything else.

Thanks

[Dannbodge]

The flow doesn't have the auto resistance.

The cheapest for that is generally the Vortex at £350 ish.

[WolfieBot]

Dannbodge said:

The flow doesn't have the auto resistance.

The cheapest for that is generally the Vortex at £350 ish.

Halfords Website said:

"The Tacx Flow T2240 Smart Turbo Trainer provides a fantastic training experience thanks to the resistance being automatically controlled by the training programme or app that you're using on your connected device.

Are you sure?

[anonymous-user]

The 2240 is smart with app controlled resistance

https://tacx.com/product/flow-smart/

[Dannbodge]

I take it back,

I was under the impression the cheapest one was the vortex that was controllable.

[CoolC]

What I did was go through this list searching for current deals.

https://support.zwift.com/hc/en-us/articles/203152...

I personally ended up with the Elite Rampa which I found on offer for £250.

[Stu-nph26]

WolfieBot said:

Need some motivation to get riding again and lose some weight over the winter, hoping a smart turbo will be the thing to do it.

I'd got it settled on the Tacx Flow as with work discounts etc I can get it for about £190.

Are there any other trainers to consider at that price point which will have the auto resistance adjustment etc for swift? I can't seem to find anything else.

Thanks

I've just bought the Tacx Vortex and I'm very impressed so far, really can't complain at all.

[WolfieBot]

Stu-nph26 said:

WolfieBot said:

Need some motivation to get riding again and lose some weight over the winter, hoping a smart turbo will be the thing to do it.

I'd got it settled on the Tacx Flow as with work discounts etc I can get it for about £190.

Are there any other trainers to consider at that price point which will have the auto resistance adjustment etc for swift? I can't seem to find anything else.

Thanks

I've just bought the Tacx Vortex and I'm very impressed so far, really can't complain at all.

I presume the difference is the power it's able to put out / grade?

I'm not the most avid cyclist, cycle to work 5 miles each way probably 3 times a week and the odd longer ride up to 50 miles on the weekend so hoping the flow will be sufficient for me?

[Usget]

I've got the Flow and it's definitely responsive/"Smart". You can control it using ANT+ or Bluetooth LE.

Build quality isn't the best, I've had to replace it once and the casing has come apart slightly on the resistance unit. But you get what you pay for. It's great for the money.

I'd suggest you also invest in a gym-style foam mat to place it on (helps to damp the sound a bit) and a chuffing great fan.

[mie1972]

I got the TACX Flow smart from Halfords back in January having tried zwift with a classic trainer. It's by far the cheapest way to get zwift with the smart feature like having resistance applied automatically.

think the main difference between the flow and vortex is a 6% incline applied on the Flow, and up to 8% on the vortex.

Nothing comes close for the money - altho now I must admit to being tempted by the direct drive ones like the Flux or Neo, as the usual tyre roller type trainers are still noisy and less refined.

Edited by mie1972 on Monday 9th October 20:47

[WolfieBot]

Thanks for all the input guys. Sounds like the flow will be more than adequate for me for the time being at least.

I think with the discounts it works out to £180 which they're going for on ebay so if I do need to upgrade in the future there's the option.

[PorkRind]

If it helps motivate, i found a load of videos from the GCN lot on youtube - intervals etc - the girls in the videos are quite hot so worth a look !

I'm goign to do this one in the morning !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08f0qFwtuf0

[anonymous-user]

DC Rainmaker is a reviewer that I think does a good job. I don't know how much he earns from the various manufacturers that he covers, but I work on the basis that he doesn't work for free.

Anyway, the 2017 / 2018 edition of his annual winter bike trainer recommendations is out today and, for anyone considering splashing out on such a thing, it might be worth a look

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/10/annual-trainer...

[Usget]

DCR is the nerd's nerd. I'm sure he's not on the make, as every recommendation he makes is evidenced to the n'th degree. And he is always keen to state that he returns the equipment after he's tested it. I think he makes money from Youtube, from site subcriptions, and from ads.

[WolfieBot]

Unfortunately nothing on the DC site is within budget. I've reserved a Tacx Flow for collection tomorrow as at £200 nothing else seems to even come close.

Hopefully will get chance to test it out over the weekend.

[dantournay]

Look forward to hearing about how you get on it as I'm thinking about adding one to my Christmas list

[wobert]

Once you’ve got it set up, get posting in here....

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[WolfieBot]

Well that was a crap start, picked it up this afternoon, just setting it up to find the two screws which hold the electric brake to the frame haven't got anything to screw into.

Looks like there should be two nuts sunk into the back of the frame which are missing.

[Usget]

Ahh classic Tacx build quality. Halfords will swap it for you no questions asked though.

[WolfieBot]

Halfords swapped it no problem at all. The new one had a load of Bluetooth issues and took me ages to get the firmware updated but seems to be ok now.

Just did 10 minutes building up from 150 watts to 190 and it really got the legs shaking! Might have to build up a bit more gradually!

My conclusion so far is that the Tacx app is dreadful so what would people recommend? I'm not sure my laptop is up to zwift so might have to be an android based system. I did try the Bkool app but it doesn't seem to recognise the Tacx trainer.