Tacx Fortius or i-Magic?

[Willehond]

Geez' date=' big hash for IDT's!
I think I'll stick to the one I have and when in Europe I'll see if I can pick up a VR on sale somewhere
These things are so outdated here, they propably go on 50% sale in Europe....or will when I get there! [/quote']

 

You can upgrade your Flow to a Fortius for a mere ?220! 

 

Uw Tacx Cosmos of Flow upgraden naar de I-Magic Fortius is nu mogelijk met deze upgrade kit.

[Willehond]

I've got a I-Magic and a friend has got the Fortius. The simulation on climbs is more or less the same. The Fortius is much more realistic though. If you want to use it for power training I suggest the Fortius as it is much more accurate. I would pay the premium for the Fortius.

 

Thanks, that's the kind of feedback I was looking for!  I want to be able to do a real climbing FTP test, so Fortius sounds like the real deal

[Willehond]

Check out http://www.racermateinc.com/computrainer.asp
Computrainer.
Very nice' date=' about R20K in SA! [/quote']

 

Uhhhhm, I think that is a NO!  I can get the fortius for ?599 or i-Magic for ?399.  That's my limit!

[Zombie]

BMC - November, December or maybe with a bit of luck only January....then I can do the Spring league this side and catch some last minute sun before going slap-bang into winter in Netherlands. Our ship is in the disconneting process at teh moment and it is quite an excercise to say the least so not exactly sure of dates as yet.

 

...I think Willehond and I are almost same age! By the sounds of it the level of rider is so hectic over there that I'll have to join an "ou ballie" squad!

[GIRR]

Here's the cost of the trainers:

Fortius T1940 - R11209

            T1930 - R15903   I've forgotten what the difference between the T1930 and T1940 is...

Steering module - R2130

As of end of last month.

[javadude]

Just checked, the 930 comes with the steerer and a one year license for web racing.

[GoLefty!!]

Has anyone got any experience (not Google knowledge) of these different Tacx VR IDT models?

 

Is the Fortius worth the 50% premium just because it has a better brake?  I have ridden BMC fan's i-Magic and felt the hills were a bit easy' date=' but I am not sure if the Fortius is that much beter (they claim you can simulate up to a 20% climb!).

 

Also, are there any other VR trainers I should be considering?

[/quote']

 

Ok let get thisoutof the way. Fortuis works while I-magic is heap of ****.

 

I bought an I-magic in 2003 and was one of the beta users. It gave me endless hassle! Man it was a pain. It would work, then the steering feedback would be out of calibration.

Then the speed brake would be out of wonk and develop it's own course so the resistance would go up and down without warning.

 

I movef back to SA And Charlie Newcomb sorted  it out by replacing the I-magic software with Fortuis. What a difference!!

BUY the FORTUIS!!

the bummer is now my PC bombed so I can;t use the old PC because it des not meet the requirements. Make sure your PC has a dinkem graphic card, 512MB will be enough.

[Willehond]

 

Ok let get thisoutof the way. Fortuis works while I-magic is heap of ****.

 

I bought an I-magic in 2003 and was one of the beta users. It gave me endless hassle! Man it was a pain. It would work' date=' then the steering feedback would be out of calibration.

Then the speed brake would be out of wonk and develop it's own course so the resistance would go up and down without warning.

 

I movef back to SA And Charlie Newcomb sorted  it out by replacing the I-magic software with Fortuis. What a difference!!

BUY the FORTUIS!!

the bummer is now my PC bombed so I can;t use the old PC because it des not meet the requirements. Make sure your PC has a dinkem graphic card, 512MB will be enough.

[/quote']

 

Thanks Lefty, sounds like you had real crap at the start.  Beta testing aint for sissies!  Great info thanks.  Fortius it is then.

 

 

Hey Zombie

 

When are you going over?

I'm sure the 'dogg' needs some younger cycling company (yes' date=' its just ou ballies in his racing photos / reports).

[/quote']

 

Not true, there were some kiddies in them too.  Anyway, what race report?  I haven't written it yet!!!!

 

BMC - November' date=' December or maybe with a bit of luck only January....then I can do the Spring league this side and catch some last minute sun before going slap-bang into winter in Netherlands. Our ship is in the disconneting process at teh moment and it is quite an excercise to say the least so not exactly sure of dates as yet.
...I think Willehond and I are almost same age! By the sounds of it the level of rider is so hectic over there that I'll have to join an "ou ballie" squad![/quote']

 

Geez, sounds like that ship is giving you loads of hassles, most us just hop on the plane to get here

 

By the way, the ou ballies over here are made of freaking hard stuff.  They will push you through to take your turn if you slack off (no not me).  I love it when they do that (just ask Arthur!)

[steven]

The Fortuis Power Unit has been upgraded and all the gremlins sorted out. Seems that Escom was to blame as power source was not stable and in fact voltage too low. We have spare parts and have Fortuis in stock to supply.

 

rgds steve meltzer

www.coolheat.co.za

 

[steven]

Remember that the warranty for Tacx is based on units bought thru our dealers and not the outdated stock and old models offered on some websites.

rgds sm

www.coolheat.co.za

 

[Christie]

I can recommend VR type IDTs, having something to look at while riding takes your mind away from the fact that you are making like a hamster - pedaling like mad but going nowhere. Extra expense to make training more entertaining is worthwhile - get the steering system, get the "real" route dvds, get an MP3 player.

 

I have a Computrainer, but I would not recommend it. For the money, the software & electronics looks very old, and the on screen graphics is cr@p. If you want accurate power data, rater then get a Tacx/Elite Realaxiom and a Powertap.

 

If I had to buy now, I look at the Tacx first, because of the steering gadget. 

[Willehond]

Guess what I got today? My first xmas present  TACX FORTIUS!!!

 

Took it out of the box, installed the software on my (basic) Dell Latitude laptop and I was away!!!  Great, great stuff and the brake on that thing is awesome.  Now I'm ready for winter! (It's snowing outside now. -4 tonight)

 

Even little Willebrak took it for a spin:

 

[Harryn]

I have the Tacx Flow. Anyone have any idea what it would cost to upgrade to Fortius (the one with the steerer) in ZAR at a local LBS?

[Willehond]

I spent more than an hour on the Fortius last night,  That's WAAAAY more than I ever did on an IDT before and I still enjoyed it!  The brake is awesome and 20 degree climbs are tough, but the rear wheel does slip a bit with an uneven stroke.  Will have to smooth out my pedalling.

 

Love the fact that it picked up my Polar strap immediately without setup and the power stats are awesome!  Went straight into Cyclingpeaks without a hickup.  The great thing is that the pwer stats kept me motivated and made for a great workout.  I think I might actuaaly keep this up during winter.  A great buy, thanks for all the info guys!!!

 

My Christmas list now contains a few real life cycling dvd's!

Willehond2008-11-24 04:33:12

[steven]

Fortuis, we have a few left in stock. With the unstable current which Eskom are delivering at the moment we have had some problems with the motor brake unit. Tacx have replaced them under warranty and have also had some upgrades to the Software so we hope that the unit becomes more reliable. With the currency problem we beleive that the I-Magic is the best value for money at the moment and gives nearly all the features the Fortuis does.You can download the Fortuis software onto the I-Magic as well.

 

Please check out www.coolheat.co.za and go to the Tacx website and see whats news/

 

rhds sm

 

[Willehond]

The I-Magic is basically identical to the Fortius in all but one feature; the brake.  It is however the one component that makes all the difference.  I rode on BMC fan's I-Magic and felt that some of the climbs  just felt too easy, on the Fortius, the 14% climbs are HARD!  I struggle to turn the cranks.

It's a real pity that the SA power supply is not reliable enough.  The Fortius really is worth it.  Saying that, if you just want a good workout with intervals and great software to take away the boring IDT ride, then I-Magic is great.  Fortius is just a bit more realistic, but probably not wort the big price difference.

 

If you want a VR trainer however, you can't go wrong with the Tacx trainers. I am hooked