Tacx i-magic trainer

[SCBiker]

I am looking to buy an indoor trainer for the winter months that are coming. To spin on a turbo drives me insane and will end up just collecting dust. The Tacx i-magic has caught my attention as I am sure that spinning on this may even be fun! Let me know if you have purchased one and how it has improved your training through the winter.

 

[fstrnu]

Computrainer is better. It can be calibrated for accuracy, provides more info and you can ride an unlimited number of courses. Better yet, you can save your performances and ride against yourself or go here

http://www.kevinandtara.com/performancecentral/

and ride against other riders' saved performances, share your own saved performances and benchmark your TT performance against other riders!

Originally posted by SCBiker
I am looking to buy an indoor trainer for the winter months that are coming. To spin on a turbo drives me insane and will end up just collecting dust. The Tacx i-magic has caught my attention as I am sure that spinning on this may even be fun! Let me know if you have purchased one and how it has improved your training through the winter.

 

[SCBiker]

Does computrainer have steering capabilities?
Have you used the Tacx system very much and if so are there any problems with it?
Apart from the downloads what else makes computrainer worth double the money?

 

[Shibumi]

The i-magic has the ability to download rides and race against others too - I'm in a league and raced against someone from NZ on Monday (admittedly it was offline - I was racing agianst the file he'd saved a few days earlier, but it felt quite real!).

The power data looks a little bit dodgy - but it is consistent from ride to ride.

Overall it has improved my training because it provides me with more motivation - I am more compelled to race and try and beat someone than simply sit on a turbo and spin.

 

[SCBiker]

Thanks for the reply. Are you satisfied with the trainer for the amount of money you spent? Also arer there any problems or gliches you haver had with it? Do you have the steering frame and again any problems?

 

[fstrnu]

Computrainer does not have steering and is more of a serious training tool than the Tacx.

Given other limitations, the Tacx course is short and, if I remember correctly, the longest route available with the standard software is ~12km, which I believe is a joke and this is after several overlapping sections.

Originally posted by SCBiker
Does computrainer have steering capabilities?
Have you used the Tacx system very much and if so are there any problems with it?
Apart from the downloads what else makes computrainer worth double the money?

 

[Shibumi]

I have had no problems with the trainer or the software. I have had problems with the Steerer and am about to send it back for a replacement. I would not advise buying it - I'm happy to pedal and just autosteer.

Regarding course lengths, I assumed the length was as long as you want. You can cycle on the track for as many laps as you want. The league circuits we use range in distance from 5K to 30K. This may mean a bit of repetition of bits of circuits, but to me there is no difference compared to an out an back TT on the road. Anyway, I tend not to look at the scenery, just the rider in front/behind, and the on screen display of HR, speed, cadence, power etc.