Brand Tacx Model Details Lowest Price ($1,149.99)

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Tacx Fortius Virtual Reality Multiplayer Trainer w/TTS 3.0
Tacx Fortius Multiplayer Virtual Reality Cycle Trainer (TTS 3.0) – Features
The Fortius Multiplayer is new. This highly advanced trainer has an ultramodern interface plus one year’s free Multiplayer software license for real-time competition over the internet. An extra included with the trainer is the maneuverable VR steering frame that renders every movement of the handlebars immediately visible on screen. Tacx Virtual Reality trainers take you beyond the bounds of simulation to real experience. That is how true-to-life they are. You will struggle against false levels, master gradients, lean into the curves and hurtle downhill without pedaling. You can compete against opponents, go on a discovery tour or do targeted training. The screen in front of you will show computer-animated images, training information or movies of well-known stages.This way you will work indoors to improve your outdoor fitness. Tacx has developed hardware and software for the best training programs. With them you will cycle at home through interactive worlds on your PC screen.
Offers possibility of racing against 5 opponents simultaneously anywhere in the world
New design VR interface
Includes steering frame
licence for Multiplayer software

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Tacx Fortius Multiplayer Virtual Reality Cycle Trainer (TTS 3.0) – Reviews

I purchased the Fortius 2011 Version and a brand new Dell XPS Computer with top of the line graphics, etc. Once the trainer was plugged in it immediately made a large noise and never operated. The unit was brand new in box and yet two major parts were not packed for steering portion rendering it useless. A replacement power pack was sent and yet the braking unit was not able to be seen by the computer – went online for most of the instructions as these come with minimal information. Never was able to get it to work….and I never have these kind of problems and am computer savvy. I would have a hard time recommending this product. The forums are plagued with folks who have these and other issues, even once resolved they seem to come back.

pedalnote

I think I was among the first users to try Tacx Fortius in the US and when it works it is wonderful but It is hard to make work and is not very reliable. I just replaced at 245 dollars my 4th power supply and I have just replaced at 145 dollars my second break power unit. This time they have said the problem is fixed . We will see. I just tossed out 3 blown power supplies. Still it keeps me exercising because the videos are amazing. I have a home theater with a 120 inch diagonal screen and it is like being there. The faster you pedal the faster the movie goes and when you go up hill the break makes the pedaling harder and when you go down hill it simulates coasting down hill. Even so they need to get their quality control under control.

Shoppin Nannon

Anyone interested in a Tacx Trainer should surf on over to tacx fot com, click on service, and enter the forum. Take a look at the section called “Tacx Trainer Software (“TTS”) 3 software support”, and count, if you can, the number of problems with Tacx Trainer Software. You will not be able count the entire number of problems. These are not small problems either. These are problems that render your brand new multi-thousand dollar Fortius trainer useless. Whats worse is that when Tacx gets around to trying to patch the problem, the patch makes it worse. Again, go to the forum and look what happened when Tacx went from version 3.01 to version 3.1. Chaos and crashes.
Now buggy software is something we are all used to, but imagine you are 30, 40, or 80 minutes into a 2 hour training ride, and all of the sudden the Tacx craps out on you. You lose your training data, and your computer crashes, causing you to prematurely stop your workout. Of course this presumes that you are lucky enough to actually get the software running — because that in itself can be miraculous depending on what version of TTS you are running.
O.K. you say, they will work out, and this trainer will be smokin hot. Not so fast. This is Tacx Trainer Version 3.0. After you have poked around the forum looking at TTS 3.0, then go have a look at the Tacx Trainer Software 2.0 – 1.0 forum. Tacx trainer software 2.0 was so bad, that they gave up on it, and released TTS 3.0. But here is the kicker — they charged the owners of 2.0 $65.00 to “upgrade” to 3.0. This was on top of the $40.00 charge they charged to upgrade from 1.0 to 2.0. The problems with 2.0 lasted for at least two years before they finally gave up on it. There is no reason to think that once Tacx realizes that 3.0 is unfixable, they will charge you another 40, 50, 60, hundred bucks to “upgrade” to TTS 4.0.
I have had my Tacx trainer since 2003. It has very little mileage on it because the software makes it largely inoperable. I paid $130 for tacx trainer software version 1, another 40 for 2.0 and another 60 for 3.0 — thats $230.00 on top of the cost of the trainer for software that simply does not work. Tacx is located in the netherlands, and you can not contact them directly. Sadly, while the Tacx USA representatives are extremely nice (i suspect they deal with a lot of disgruntled Tacx customers) there is no getting contact from Tacx Nederlands. So the frustration of having spent a ton of money on something that if it worked – would be so awesome — only compounds.
I was patient with Tacx for 7 years. I purchased all of their downgrades, i purchased ten of their videos, i am out about $2500 for a trainer that i can not rely on to work. I am out countless hours — and I mean at least a weeks worth of time in real hours, in trying to get Tacx software to work. I’ve even gone as far as buying a single computer dedicated solely to running tacx software. I’ve had to do enumerable operating system reloads, tacx software reloads, driver updating software updating, etc. I am not a computer expert, but i have had to learn a heck of a lot of computerese just to try to get this stuff to work.
Finally, tacx will tell you that it can’t really be as bad as I say, and that thousands of tacx users have no problems whatsoever. I would suggest going to their forum, reading their comments, and making your own decision.

new jersey gal


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