Issues after upgrading my trainer

General Discussion
1

Hello everyone,

Recently my Tacx Vortex (sadly out of warrenty) broke down after having used it for a little over 5,000 kms. After some consideration and a new cable not doing the trick on the Vortex, I decided to upgrade to a better (and currently available) trainer, the Tacx Flux S Smart. Also because repairing would have had a significant cost to it as well.

My ftp on the Vortex was 243 (3.0 w/kg) and I had recently set that personal best. But the vortex wasn’t working properly for a while so I did not have it use ERG or have it adjusting resistance in any way. It was technically a dumb, smart trainer that I was biking on.

When I started using the Flux S Smart last weekend, I of course had to calibrate it, so I did on my tacx utility app and later on Zwift as well. The tacx utility app simply says: “the trainer is calibrated” and so did Zwift. I started my first ride and I was immediately very high in my heartrate but incredibly low in watts and I was truly struggling to even hold 2 w/kg. Today I tried again with the tour de Zwift ride 5 and I just felt like I wasn’t going forward at all.

Now my question is, did my old trainer just make me look really good while I actually wasn’t at all or might there still be some things I could improve on this new trainer to improve my experience on it?

Suggestions and advice are much appreciated! Thanks in advance.

2

Do you have any friends you ride with in real life that use zwift that you can gauge your power from?

Do you have any long Strava segments that you can gauge your power from? Look at the average power of the people above or below you for example

3

I think it’s widely accepted that moving from a dumb trainer to a smart one significantly changes the power figures you’re achieving.

A dumb trainer is less accurate and takes more calibration to get right, a variation in tyre pressure for example can give totally varying results.

I’m afraid most people see their power output drop.

Whilst the Flux does have many issues I’m not sure I’ve heard of it offering under power output.

Just enjoy the new setup and you’ll soon improve back to where you were.

4

I don’t think you should calibrate in Zwift after calibrating your trainer using the Tacx app.
You should also check to see if the firm ware of your trainer is up to date.
The old trainer may have gifted a few watts but a poorly calibrated trainer can steal them.