Hi, apologies if this has been asked before, but I’ve just upgraded to a Neo 1 from a Vortex Smart and need to check a potential issue…
I normally train on Trainerroad, connecting to a MacBook Pro via Ant+ with Garmin HR band and cadence sensor to run workouts in Erg mode. Today, I tried using the Neo for the first time, connecting via Bluetooth and after loading the latest firmware update via the Tacx Utility app.
I ran Pettit, which I have completed several times before, but it felt much harder than previously, with my HR approximately 25 beats per minute higher. To test out my set up, I attached my Assioma Favero power meter pedal and Garmin Edge 520+ to see how the power compared - it appears that the power on TrainerRoad was approximately 20-30 watts lower than the readout on from my power meter. To further test, I closed TR and ran the Tacx app on my iPhone, set resistance to 200w and that was roughly consistent with the readout on my Garmin unit.
Is this correct? I’ve read around a few different places that suggest connecting to Mac via Bluetooth to run TR is problematic, especially with the latest firmware. I have an Ant+ dongle - would I be better to use this instead of Bluetooth?
Hope you can help - let me know if you need any more info.
I m also on a Macbook Pro and I did notice lower readings via bluetooth as well with my Powertap P1 pedals, compared to ANT+. I contacted support and we ‘concluded’ that it might have been the difference in L/R since bluetooth only takes the power from 1 pedal on Powertap P1 afaik. But I am not sure that this is actually the case, the difference seemed to be closer to the zero offset from the P1 pedals calibration. I haven’t really dug any deeper and just continued using ANT+…
On the trainer side of things, the pairing protocol should not effect your power readout. Pairing via Bluetooth or ANT+ should send the exact same power readings to TrainerRoad. It’s very curious that the power would seem more in line when using the Tacx App since we do not alter the incoing data in any way. We simmply record the data sent to us from the sensors.
I would recommend reaching out to Tacx on this to see if your trainer is outside of the typical range of accuracy. 20-30 watts is a pretty significant discrepency.
You can also reach out to our Supoport Team at support@trainerroad.com as they would be happy to help you investigate this peculiar issue.
In the meantime, I would recommend either:
Retesting your FTP using the new trainer. This will adjust all of your workouts to account for the lower power readings from your Neo
Use PowerMatch. When you pair both your power meter and your smart trainer to TrainerRoad, PowerMatch allows you to use your power meter to control the resistance on your trainer. In doing so, the power meter becomes the active power source.
I’ve put in a support query to Tacx to see what they say - in the meantime I found the following article on Tacx’s website and the attached chart, which suggests that the Neo needs to communicate with TrainerRoad via Ant+ when using a Mac - please see attached. I’ll test out the possible variables at my end and see what happens.
Thanks Bryce - I have read that Tacx are advising some Neo customers that the latest firmware is causing problems with Bluetooth and recommending that they roll back to a previous version, but I’ll see what they come back to me with.
Thanks again for your help - I’ll let you know if I have anything else to update, just in case other customers are having similar experiences.
