Tacx Vortex woes

Anyone have any experience of the Tacx Vortex and how to get it paired with, well anything?

Bluetooth and Tacx Training app on android (v6.01) is a nightmare. Just doesn’t work at all. Tried all the tips about switching off bluetooth etc. But cannot get a reliable connection. Have manged to calibrate and get data once, but only after lots of faff, then nothing since.

Also won’t transmit data to my garmin via ANT+. I can find the trainer and pair it then it just either unpairs or doesn’t transmit any data. I want to try and get Power data to the Garmin.

Any help/advice most appreciated.

Hi. I have a vortex and had a few problems getting it connect to the calibration app but it is fine now. Connected fine to my garmin via ant+ dongle.Have you got the green flashing light on the motor unit?. I was getting drop out from the ant+ on trainer road so got a usb extension lead and cable tied it on the leg of the trainer. Where are you based?.

Have you updated the firmware. 1st thing to do i believe…not much use if you cant get it to connect though

I’ve had zero issues, I pair via bluetooth to my phone only when I want to update or calibrate it. After which I’ll restart it and pair it with my PC using an ANT+ dongle.

I’ve paired it a few times to my Fenix 3 to record a ride, normally don’t bother as it’s on Strava via Zwift.

mine is an utter nightmare to connect sometimes..

I have a new wheel for the turbo.. so was trying to calibrate via bluetooth from the phone app Last night…

The Tacx seems to not like there being more than one thing near it that it can connect to..

the PC was on with the ANT+ dongle nearby.. switched that off.. restarted my phone.. restarted the trainer and it connected to the calibration app eventually!

turn everything off within a 1000 mile radius that might have anything resembling bluetooth and give it another try..

updating the firmware just after i got it seemed to reduce the issue.. (when I eventually managed to get it to update properly..!) but its still an utter nightmare sometimes!

I often have problems if I have any other Bluetooth device (like my phone) anywhere near it.

Thanks all. I was trying to get it hooked up to the Garmin and phone – Garmin to record, phone to control resistance. I will try keeping all the bluetooth devices out the way tonight and see if it will talk to the Garmin if there are no distractions. According to the very limited literature supplied it should be able to pare to multiple devices, but not seeing that at the moment.

For what its worth I have updated the firmware (which was easy) and managed to calibrate it (which wasn’t). Other than that very little success.

Will see what happens.

I have managed to get mine working with two devices for one session only..

PC via ANT+ connected to sufferfest with ERG mode
phone via bluetooth to the Wahoo App

all the other times i have tried the turbo stops responding / sending Data to one of the inputs and then eventually both..

So have just ended up using the PC now and don’t bother with my phone anymore.

I do also run a Wahoo bluetooth/ant+ Cadence sensor (the accelerometer version that sticks soley to your crank arm) which could potentially be causing headaches..!

With my old ‘dumb’ turbo though.. i was able to get the wahoo speed sensor and wahoo cadence sensor to connect to both my phone (bluetooth) and PC (ANT+) With zero issues!

Thanks for that Spacehopper. I have Garmin, speed, cadence and HR sensors running as well. I am going to try taking everything off then building back up. I really want to keep using HR and cadence sensors if poss as I have heard the Vortex cadence readings are pretty unreliable.

Verdict so far is the it is the Vortex not too Smart, but we will see.

So, had another go last night with just the phone in the room. It hooked up to the trainer via ANT+ (which is built in on my phone) and worked for 20 minutes before the app crashed. Going to try other approaches this weekend including the laptop as my USB ANT+ stick just arrived.

Like I mentioned earlier I had a big improvement by getting a usb extension cable, it was only a couple of quid on ebay. Meant the dongle was inches from the sensor instead of 5 or 6 feet.

now you mention it.. i forgot i use a wahoo tickr HR monitor as well..!

I also found a big improvement using a USB extension..

the USB ANT+ sits blutacked under my desk about a foot away from the PC

I have found the TACX software to be beyond awful. I couldn’t get it to reliably connect to my Android phone or tablet. When it did connect it would regularly disconnect which was a right laugh if you were on a sprint/power interval.

In the end I found this Indoor Cycling Workout which has been ace and I stumped up the extra couple of quid for the premium/pro version as I was just so relieved to have stability.

I understand ANT+ USB is reliable too

Al

So, update for anyone who is interested. The answer seems to be use an iPhone. Installed the app on my work phone and it performed seamlessly (as long as there were no other devices in range). Once the app was running and trainer was detected, I could then fire up the Garmin and play music across bluetooth from my own phone. Helpfully, the export from the Tacx app can be merged with the Garmin export in Training Peaks so you get heart rate and the more accurate cadence from the Garmin and power from the trainer. This is exactly what I was after.

Not sure if this is an Android problem per se or a problem with my phone because it also has ANT+ enabled. I might try disabling the ANT+ software and seeing if this makes a difference if I get a chance.