Tacx Vortex not working in erg mode

Bugs and Support
1

Hi everyone,

I am using the following setup:
Tacx Vortex
Win 10 PC or iPad
Connected via ANT+ To the PC
Or Bluetooth to my iPad
Firmware is the latest

When doing a workout my trainer is maximising the resistance after the warm-up so that I can’t go any further and erg mode gets disabled.
Smell of burned tyre everywhere. Really frustrating. When peddling around Watopia everything is working quite well. Just in Workouts with erg mode I have this issue. Calibration in tacx utility app is successful.
Any advice what I could do?

2

Hi Rusti,

I looked at your last rides, (FTP test) and it look like your FTP is set to high. Lower it to 100w or 150w and do the test again. After the test you should have a good FTP value.

3

I have the exactly same case did lowering FTP do any help or are these issues with your trainer?

I face similar problem and in addition on uphill rides in Watopia on some slopes it does not matter how much i pedal I always climd at some slow speed …

4

I just tried with FTP test short set to 100. The ERG was not disabled and during the warmup phase it behave corectly I was producing between 70 - 120W

When the FTP (20 minutes started) it dropped to 40-50W no matter how hard I was pushing

5

@Marcin_Lapaj1 when you got to the 20 minute test ERG mode is turned off. Did you shift to a higher gear at all?

Short & Long FTP tests only have ERG before the test then it is shut off for the actual test. The FTP Ramp Test is the only one that uses ERG for the whole test

6

@DKE_Watson, I have tried the FTP test for a second time now
I set FTP to 100 prior starting my test.
During warmup all was behaving correctly, The 90,100, 120W intervals were working fine.
When the FTP started I could barely workout more than 80W.
All the test I kept the cadence ~100 and my HR was more or less on my race level - 180bpm

After FTP test I have checked on TacxUtility app how much W should I push, and pedaled with same cadence for a while on same gear and it was ~180W

Moreover my average 20min Power from Zwift free rides is estimated to 180W

Any clues?
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7

I spent a lot of time today trying to calibrate after riding a training ride and having to go at 140rpm in the biggest gear to get 340 watts

When I upgraded firmwear on the tacx through the tacx calibration app it seemed to make riding at higher wattage much easier when I went back into general riding - but I was done by then so will check tomorrow. Have you upgraded firmwear via tacx app?

8

When the free ride start you need to increase/decrease the trainer resistance using the ± keys on the keyboard or the Incline button on the companion app or the arrows on the on screen menu. (± is the easiest)

You need to add enough resistance that you think you can keep for 20 min.

9

doest the FTP test not have ERG turned off as per @DKE_Watson ?

I can try again an check

10

No it is on by default, it turns off for the 20 minute test block. Then you can use the incline buttons on the companion app or ± button on your keyboard.

11

I see, ok I will try and report thanks

12

Hi, I’ve the same vortex issue. Upgraded firmware last week and erg mode now melts my tyres (tried 4 different tyres!) on top of that I’ve lost about 50watts average in races and my max effort is c450watts now (previously about double). I’m going insane, been tweaking constantly and can’t figure it out. Please someone tell me the firmware has a bug and I can get back to normal Zwift :sob:

13

wheel on turbo trainers power readings are notoriously iffy to say the least - I have a tacx flow as a back up trainer and it is always 40 to 50 watts lower than the power my pedals are reporting (pedals are likely accurate as they match two other trainers - direto and neo)