|   Tacx i-Magic Trainer | kinger
Dec 15, 2002 2:36 PM | | Does anyone have any experience with this trainer? I'm looking to get a trainer with all the bells and whistles and this one looks comparable to the Computrainer at about half the price. Any comments on it? |
| re: Tacx i-Magic Trainer | jromack
Dec 15, 2002 3:25 PM | | Also take a look at this one:
http://www.1upusa.com |
| re: Tacx i-Magic Trainer | morency
Dec 16, 2002 12:11 AM | | I am using it for over 1 year, the first version had some faults, but with the new (software)version all problems are solved. My peronal opinion is that it is a good system for training intervals but not for long endurance training, you cannot train on watts, the Excel and grand excel are more suited for that purpose.
I am training intervals on it in the way that you ride a track and then you can ride against your own simulated ride (or someone elses, downloaded from their site). |
| re: great!, and you can train w/ Power | philippec
Dec 16, 2002 8:53 AM | | I upgraded my Tacx Basic to an i-magic for 170 Euros/dollars. It has been great! I do a lot of winter home-trainer work both for HR and Power training. The latest version of the Catalyst software that ships with the trainer (and is downloadable on their site) is exactly what I was looking for. You can train w/ HR, Power output or resistance. I use the Power and HR options. You get a real-time screen display of HR, Power, cadence, time, workout profile (e.g. slope) and "virtual" speed. After the workout, you can save and analyse the session w/ the bundled software ("Analyser") and/or export it to excel as a csv text file. You can programme your own sessions by time elapsed or distance run and check out you progress against previous runs and/or others that have run the same session.
I didn't want a "virtual reality" trainer and I dumped the "virtual reality" option after only one run. The Catalyst+Analyser software is all a serious athlete needs (plus some rocking MP3's to go with the workout).
So my review:
i-magic virtual reality= arcade game crap
i-magic training software= hidden gem in this package and worth the money!
A+
Philippe
oh, and yes, the software can be installed in english -- the picture is from the french manual. |
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