![]() Ultimately, as I said above, the changes here on the Flux 2 may appear minor (especially cause it looks almost identical), but are kinda like the shift from the KICKR 2017 to KICKR 2018 – behind the scenes impact of those changes is actually quite important. – Requires calibration/spindown occasionally (unlike Tacx Neo) – Cassette compatibility of 8 through 11 speed cassettes (you do have to supply your own) ![]() – Dual ANT+/Bluetooth Smart support, including FE-C and FTMS, plus power/speed/cadence broadcasting Oh – and before I forget, the trainer supports all the usual stuff you’ve come to expect: But stay tuned for that more down the road as I’d like to make it more about industry trends than just what Tacx is doing. I’ll be digging into this a bit more, as they’ve produced some pretty interesting data sets and assumptions about where people are actually training. In talking with Tacx they showed charts of how they’re starting to re-architect their trainers a bit to focus more on the specific zones people are actually riding in, rather than going for mythical 24% at 50KPH type specs. This lowers that ‘resistance floor’ as it’s known significantly. But sometimes doing that meant that the trainers didn’t react as fast. Previously they’d have to find a gearing combination that allowed them to go to lower watts during the recovery portion of intervals. Meaning, they’re putting out less wattages. Likewise, the shift to the trainer resistance floor is useful for smaller athletes that may have lower FTP values. That’s a realistic value, and thus you can realistically make that work at 100% trainer difficulty (versus the default halved value on Zwift). So bringing that entire range down to 10KPH is a massive shift. For example, the Flux 1 can technically hold 15% grade…but only if you were going 50KPH. So the mid-range trainers and lower end trainers especially suffer here, and can’t hold the inclines they say at the lower speeds. Why does it do this? That’s the second part: Most trainers aren’t really designed to handle very low speeds at high gradients. So when you see 8% grade, its actually only giving you 4% grade and then virtually slowing your speed down. Part of it is that Zwift by default halves the trainer difficulty level. ![]() See, the deep dark secret with trainers is twofold. That’s actually much bigger than folks realize. Take for example the speed change for maintaining 15% grade. But in reality, the changes made here are actually probably more important. Some of these aren’t necessarily box-listed stats like change to accuracy (+/- less than 3% still the same), nor crazy things like 24% incline. – Pile of internal improvements like tweaking tension roller which slightly impacts feel and accuracy during sprints – Now including thru-axle adapters in the box (versus separate as accessory) – Increased sprint support up to 2,000w vs the 1,500w – Lowered the trainer resistance floor (ideal for smaller folks trying to do intervals with lower wattages) – Changed simulated flywheel mass from 24.7KG to 32.1KG (this impacts road like feel) – Dramatically decreased speed you can maintain 15% grade at from 50KPH down to 10KPH (more on this in a second) The following items have been changed from the original Flux Smart: In any event, the changes here are actually pretty good – even if they are small in number. They’re having to be careful to not step on the toes of other units. ![]() And that makes sense given how deep the Tacx lineup is in terms of numerous models (I’d argue, probably too many models – almost like Elite was years ago). And even that aside, the reality is this is a very minor evolutionary update of the Tacx Flux trainer, rather than some huge shift. The Tech Details:Īs I said up above, there wasn’t an opportunity to ride the unit yet – so the jury is still out on that. A spot that is mirrored by Wahoo’s latest entrant today, the KICKR CORE as well as Elite’s Direto trainer – all of which are direct drive trainers. Meanwhile, this new Flux slots right in place price-wise where the original unit left off – resuming the $899 spot. After all, it was just a few weeks ago that Tacx reduced the price of the original Tacx Flux from $899 down to $799. Still, it’s worthwhile taking a look at the specs and seeing where they stand compared to the other mid-range entrants that are on the scene. This unit squeaked just in time to the show to be able to be put up on a pedestal (literally) – but wasn’t yet in riding condition. While much of the attention in the Tacx booth today at Eurobike was on the soon to ship Tacx Neo Smart Bike, there was also a lonely trainer swirling around quietly in the corner – the new Tacx Flux 2 Smart.
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