Team BKool CycleChat
- Thread starter Peteaud
- Start date
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Runexeter
Senior Member
- Location
- Exeter, Devon, United Kingdom
Well done getting Active 3 Geoff! 
Checked settings as per Geoff's advice. Set 3D mode as default.
Went to the wall and challenged Rayvon and Geoff. Went to Leagues on Bsim- Sky Road.
Anyway, there was Rayvons ghost at the warm up. I started pedalling and a horrible vibration and noise was coming from the bkool. I looked down and I had a bloody flat tyre. So end of session.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
Went to the wall and challenged Rayvon and Geoff. Went to Leagues on Bsim- Sky Road.
Anyway, there was Rayvons ghost at the warm up. I started pedalling and a horrible vibration and noise was coming from the bkool. I looked down and I had a bloody flat tyre. So end of session.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow.
gbrown
Geoff on Bkool
- Location
- South Somerset
Well done getting Active 3 Geoff!
Thanks, I think the training is having the desired effect, as I was less knackered this time than when I got Amateur 10. After Alpe d'Huez, 20 minutes at 2% didn't seem that bad ....
Had a mare getting the thing to work though, tried a new trainer tyre and couldn't get my speed to register at all so just sat on the start line. Found the trainer connecting and disconnecting constantly (this is with Windows bsim which has previously been rock solid) and couldn't get any reading to change, which I later found was due to the constant disconnections. Swapped back to my summer wheel and tyre and it was just the same!
In the end I figured it out, and may have a suggestion for those of you who get disconnections showing in your league attempts.
All I had changed was to edge the bike back a few inches on the mat, as I changed wheels. Wondering if this was causing the disconnection I moved it forward about 2 inches and the connection returned to rock solid!
The problem seems to be that the computer has to be in front of you and the trainer is of course at the back of the bike, and I guess ANT+ is a short range wireless protocol, so even a few inches seems to move it out of reliable range. The clue was that the cadence and heart rate were solid, it was just the trainer, furthest away from the dongle, that was disconnecting.
I'm going to try a USB extension lead to attach the ANT+ dongle to the computer and lie the lead alongside the bike to get the dongle near the trainer, and hopefully this will make it completely reliable.
So those of you with disconnection problems, try and get your bkool trainer as close to the ANT+ dongle as is physically possible and the disconnections should reduce or stop completely.
Cheers,
Geoff
gbrown
Geoff on Bkool
- Location
- South Somerset
Bill,
Do you think this is steep enough to give the correct angle of attack for Col de Madelaine?
I thought I would get a second Cycleops riser block to get some real height. Very flexible, combining the two blocks in four ways, with each one having three heights to chose from gives 12 different heights from just below level, through level to crazy gradient!
Geoff
Do you think this is steep enough to give the correct angle of attack for Col de Madelaine?
I thought I would get a second Cycleops riser block to get some real height. Very flexible, combining the two blocks in four ways, with each one having three heights to chose from gives 12 different heights from just below level, through level to crazy gradient!
Geoff
Haha. That's way higher than I ever had my front end. Maybe just one on its own but worth a try to see what suits you best. I ended up with sore knees for a week or so when I raised mine too much. My advice would be stick with what you're used to for Col de la Madeleine. That riser block does look very practical though. I'm thinking one of the first two combinations 
.
.Yup me to. That's what I did.
Randyberlin
Guru
- Location
- Sitka, Alaska
USB extension cable! Brilliant. Thanks. I've moved my laptop as far back as the HDMI cable let it reach.Thanks, I think the training is having the desired effect, as I was less knackered this time than when I got Amateur 10. After Alpe d'Huez, 20 minutes at 2% didn't seem that bad ....
Had a mare getting the thing to work though, tried a new trainer tyre and couldn't get my speed to register at all so just sat on the start line. Found the trainer connecting and disconnecting constantly (this is with Windows bsim which has previously been rock solid) and couldn't get any reading to change, which I later found was due to the constant disconnections. Swapped back to my summer wheel and tyre and it was just the same!
In the end I figured it out, and may have a suggestion for those of you who get disconnections showing in your league attempts.
All I had changed was to edge the bike back a few inches on the mat, as I changed wheels. Wondering if this was causing the disconnection I moved it forward about 2 inches and the connection returned to rock solid!
The problem seems to be that the computer has to be in front of you and the trainer is of course at the back of the bike, and I guess ANT+ is a short range wireless protocol, so even a few inches seems to move it out of reliable range. The clue was that the cadence and heart rate were solid, it was just the trainer, furthest away from the dongle, that was disconnecting.
I'm going to try a USB extension lead to attach the ANT+ dongle to the computer and lie the lead alongside the bike to get the dongle near the trainer, and hopefully this will make it completely reliable.
So those of you with disconnection problems, try and get your bkool trainer as close to the ANT+ dongle as is physically possible and the disconnections should reduce or stop completely.
Cheers,
Geoff
just tried it on mine working ok daveyok ...is it the garmin site unavailable or the bkool site or you doing it straight from the garmin itself.........and as above its easier to download to computer first then upload to bkool
Shanks
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Chichester
Hi everyone, i was around at the start of this epic thread. And now have more opportunities to ride the BKool so would like to join in on the Thursday night rides if that's Ok. I've sent a request to join if someone.can approve it? I won't be much competition as a fully subscribed member of the flatb team. But I'll try. If I understand it correctly if I can't make it on the night I should be able to complete the ride within a few days and still count in the league is that right? Cheers
gbrown
Geoff on Bkool
- Location
- South Somerset
I see you have been approved, and should now be a member of the group and the league.
Still early days for the league as we are fine tuning the best way to work it, so there is only one stage this time. We are planning a mass session this evening at 7pm (join between 7pm and 7:10pm) or you have until next Tuesday 16th to post a time.
There should be two more coming in a new league for the rest of this month, then hopefully a league every month. Part of the problem is that all the stages have to be setup before the league is published, as they cannot be added or edited after publishing.
I would welcome any suggestions for courses, preferably with 3D so we can ride in virtual groups, and around 30-60 minutes in duration.
Thanks,
Geoff
Shanks
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Chichester
Brilliant thanks Geoff, I'll have a look through my previous rides and see if there are any worth putting forward. Cheers
This may be of interest to those who (like myself) have not yet committed to buying a Bkool trainer.
I asked them about what other trainers are compatible and got this response.
'Hi Richard,
Thanks for your message. Our simulator is fully compatible with Wahoo KICKR, Elite (RealAxiom, RealPower, Real E-motion and RealTour models) and Bkool trainers.
See you at Bkool,
Bkool Team. '
So I'm now thinking I may return mine during the trial period and purchase an Elite Realtour instead - this would leave me flexible to participate with Bkool but not tie me to one system.
I asked them about what other trainers are compatible and got this response.
'Hi Richard,
Thanks for your message. Our simulator is fully compatible with Wahoo KICKR, Elite (RealAxiom, RealPower, Real E-motion and RealTour models) and Bkool trainers.
See you at Bkool,
Bkool Team. '
So I'm now thinking I may return mine during the trial period and purchase an Elite Realtour instead - this would leave me flexible to participate with Bkool but not tie me to one system.
