I might be the only one but when I was watching the new Garmin edge products it made me think how interesting or could/would Garmin potentially buy TR and take their platform to new heights.
We all know TR has been working on something like this and could make sense as a potential announcement//merger. Not like I want that as I am really happy with TR just a thought.
What do you all think??
Clearest example is the change in Tacx trainer support (that used to be widely praised) to what Garmin offers Tacx users now (which is delayed, under-informed and anything but user focused).
Garmin and TR customer service are on opposite ends of the spectrum (with TR on the best side). I see no good in TR if big G got their greedy little hands on them.
I’ve only called Garmin support once, but they answered the phone quickly and the guy was genuinely helpful and I asked a bunch of questions and asked for an enhancement. He filed a request and within a month or two the next beta (5.24) had the enhancement:
- Added the ability to configure the minimum ride length that should prompt for Nutrition/Hydration intake.
I did notice that when I registered my Vector 3’s, one of the suggestions in the email from Garmin was to use TR for training.
Someone needs to find a gif for the type of money it would take for Nate (and whoever else has co-ownership stakes) to hand over their product. I imagine it would have to literally rain cash lol
Edit a scrooge mcduck gif would work well lol
NOOOOOOO - this would be terrible
Honestly, my latest interactions with Garmin support for Tacx have been pretty good. They dispatched an advance replacement Flux unit to me in days, and typically responded within hours to any issues along the way. The last one was the return shipment label that was missing in the box; they responded and closed that issue within an hour.
That sounds much better than others I have heard. No doubt, there is a range of experience. I think at least some of the messy ones I heard took place a while ago. So it’s possible that many of those issues have been resolved.
Regardless, seeing TR move under different umbrella (Garmin or otherwise) would likely make me nervous of where TR would go. Not all change is bad (says the man who’s averse to it by nature 
) but there is something special about TR and they way they do business, IMO. Moving into a larger organization structure may not retain what I value about them, but who knows?
Hey, they have the Tacx app, sorry, apps, what do they need TR for? 
Very true. Part of me wondered if and how they might integrate the Tacx app? Parallel issue with Wahoo and SUF, which has yet to show much “new” at this point from an integration standpoint. Might be that big and/or new features are still in the works and may show down the line.
You would be surprised.
Would love for @Nate_Pearson to squash this rumor.
Never said it was a rumor.
Garmin has always been helpful to me and very generous with some replacement claims.
Wahoo on the other hand… Horrible!
I’ve never used Garmin support but have used Wahoo support and found it fantastic. You will always found examples of both ends of the spectrum - my last TR support experience wasn’t fantastic and I never thought I’d say that! Out of Garmin, Wahoo and TrainerRoad though there’s only one company I really feel would take support feedback onboard!
On Garmin/Tacx support, I think it’s really depended on which side of the pond you were on. For most US folks, Tacx support pre-Garmin generally had high degrees of suck. Now, the vast majority of people I hear from say it’s surprisingly good with people getting parts/answers/etc pretty much instantly.
Inversely, it sounds like Tacx support via some (but not all) Garmin European offices is less than awesome (for example, I’ve heard some non-good UK bits).
As for Garmin buying TR, Garmin is constantly on the lookout for acquisition opportunities. They average one per year in the fitness/outdoor segment. However, the Tacx acquisition is taking a lot of time to fully digest and smooth out behind the scenes. It’s by far the largest/biggest they’ve done in a long time. Prior to that would have been the acquisition of Delorme. Most though are quieter that are supporting tech. For example a solar panel company in France for the Fenix 6X Solar panels, or a Kickstarter project for Varia Radar, and on and on.
An acquisition of TR would be a substantial twist in direction for Garmin Fitness from a revenue standpoint. They offer subscription services for their Outdoor satellite communicators (via Delorme), but that’s about it for recurring revenue, albeit Tacx has some recurring revenue. But in the grand scheme of Garmin revenue the Tacx app paid subs isn’t even a rounding error. I could see how buying TR would be appealing to Garmin on multiple business fronts.
My thoughts exactly on potential integration for them which is a reason I started the thread. I have been a Garmin user way back and support has always been great for me and only better the last couple of years.
Obviously I dont know anything but watching @dcrainmaker youtube video yesterday (thanks for answering my question re: F6X btw) got me thinking about what could be.
Garmin lately has actually started trying new things and buying people. Tacx app is not all the way here but has nice courses. Its all about tbe actual trainer for that purchase. Also with wahoo/sf it makes some sort of sense for Garmin.
As everyone knows these deals take a while to work out but for any public traded company like Garmin it is all about the almighty stock market price. If you have worked for one as I have you know this.
Great point on the location aspect of support (pre/post), and that aligns with what I have read on experience on either side. It’s a consideration I’ve used in selecting my own trainers in the past and may still be worth a look as we move forward.
The business discussion is well above my experience and pay grade 
, but interesting to consider.
My observation is that TR has evolved from
the subscription idea born of the founders blood sweat and tears and long nights coding into a brand. This includes the corporate culture, the expectations of the customers, the larger forum community and the podcast. The only thing that is certain is that this would disappear if Garmin consumed them. TR is vastly different acquisition than the examples @dcrainmaker listed in terms of where the value is and how it would be sustained.
I would be sad.
Can I be of service here?
