Team BKool CycleChat

[soterios]

Well i took my Pro apart and fixed it myself, (massive noise coming from the unit when i got it) but now they got back to me around 8 days later saying they're going to change it... grr!

300 watts? when i push up hills i'm doing (according to the software) 400+ ... When i did that salcombe climb it was going above 300/400 a lot i hope it doesn't break!!

With reference to the 'real world' scenario i think its interesting as doing the rides i have done the change in resistance doesn't compare to real world as there are many variables (weather, road surface bla bla bla) but tell you its near dammit the best experience i have had on the bike turbo wise apart from chewing my stem off doing sufferfest. Been able to chase people is amazing and great motivation!

I do have a question though... When it turns blue on the speed it wont let me push any faster on the device which i find irritating... like on the last part of a ride yesterday i was pushing the last lap really hard but my speed didnt go up! any suggestions?

i will be doing my FTP test tonight so i don't know if that has something to do with the restrictions?

Thursday i should be able to join you guys if i can get my boy in bed quickly!

 

[gbrown]

300 watts? when i push up hills i'm doing (according to the software) 400+ ... When i did that salcombe climb it was going above 300/400 a lot i hope it doesn't break!!

I do have a question though... When it turns blue on the speed it wont let me push any faster on the device which i find irritating... like on the last part of a ride yesterday i was pushing the last lap really hard but my speed didnt go up! any suggestions?

i will be doing my FTP test tonight so i don't know if that has something to do with the restrictions?

Thursday i should be able to join you guys if i can get my boy in bed quickly!

It claims to be able to go up to 1200 Watts, I think you'd need to weigh a lot and/or use a simulated gradient above 30%. Might be interesting to try ...

Highest I've seen was 850 Watts pedalling like a nutter at around 120 rpm in top, and the most alarming noise coming from the rear wheel/trainer!

When the speed turns blue it is telling you that you are "freewheeling" so it is adding to your speed due to gravity assistance and momentum. It will have calculated your power output, and any gravity assistance and then deducted any drag and resistance and come up with a negative figure, so increased the speed until the increased drag balances out the others.

You would have to get your wheel speed above the indicated speed to go any faster, just like on a steep descent. This is feasible up to 40+ mph but pretty unlikely above anything approaching 50 mph.

Good Luck with the FTP, and hopefully see you in Thursday Group stage.

Geoff

 

[Runexeter]

Just had a ride show up in classification for stage 1 of the Thursday Night League! Uploaded date was 31st Dec 2014 and it appeared last night for me to accept, so only 12 days after uploading.

It's never too late ...

Geoff

You got to laugh

 

[BILL S]

I'd better say right now that I was kidding about the 300 watts. I think I saw a 1100 on mine once when I hit a 30% slope at 40mph. My knees complained much more than the bkool did.

 

[RichyRich75]

I used to have that problem until I realised that the roller needs to have stopped for a few seconds so when you stop pedalling (preferably 10 seconds before the start) apply your rear brake and wait until just after the last beep before you start pedalling. Someone usually gets the jump on you but you'll get them back in a few seconds if you're in the right gear.

Is that a good idea hitting the rear brake? Kind of think that's how I bust my last bkool! I Had the same start issue a few times, except when I stoppe pedalling the speed kept going up, weird! Today's issue was getting logged out mid ride again! Getting abit peed off with it now!

 

[RichyRich75]

Does anyone have an email address for bkool or does everyone contact them through the contact us section on the website? How long do they usually take to respond?

I always use the contact section on the web. I think it depends on your email! I've sent some critical ones and never had a response, but then other issues they have replied. Usually days to a week if you're lucky! Not the best customer service!

 

[BILL S]

Is that a good idea hitting the rear brake? Kind of think that's how I bust my last bkool! I Had the same start issue a few times, except when I stoppe pedalling the speed kept going up, weird! Today's issue was getting logged out mid ride again! Getting abit peed off with it now!

I've never had a problem braking gently to make sure my roller is stopped before the start of the race. Never tried slamming on the anchors whilst flat out or anything like that. Never experienced the stop pedalling and speed still increasing scenario. I think we all lose connection mid ride sometimes but we're supposed to be able to finish the ride at least and have it recorded in our history. Not that I'm very good at having rides recorded in my history. That's just what's supposed to happen if everything is behaving as it should.

 

[RichyRich75]

Hi guys,
I'm new to bkool and have been reading thru this thread. Thanks for all the info contained herein. Bkool is not the most user friendly software I've used and reading this thread has been very helpful.

I have a (refurb) kickr I got a few weeks ago, and I love it, but am still trying to work out the software. I've been using the bsim software on an ipad 2, mirroring it other appletv. It works great for awhile, but then will suddenly cut out, the app closes and the ride is lost. I think part of it is an unreliable wifi, and I'm working on this, but I was wondering what the experience has been with the ipad app? I've also used the cycleops virtualtraining app, and it seems more stable, but not nearly as cool as the 3d bsim.

Thanks!

Hn

Hi, I use the bsim app on the laptop and I've had the same log out, lost rides a couple of times now. I'm not convinced it's wifi cos I'm sure it carries on in an offline mode as I think that has happened to me before. It's a pain in the arse to honest. I swear it's a software glitch but then I know jack shite about computers!

 

[BILL S]

I always use the contact section on the web. I think it depends on your email! I've sent some critical ones and never had a response, but then other issues they have replied. Usually days to a week if you're lucky! Not the best customer service!

I always use info@bkool.com so I have a record of having sent the email. Not that having a record helps.
I now have a sneaking suspicion that when I renewed my monthly payment using the wiggle 3 month free code from 1st of January they did something to my account. It was them that ended my paid premium subscription for a yet unknown reason so when I re-subscribed I remembered I had the wiggle code. Then all went well until I did my first league ride. I'll be suggesting this to them soon but right now all our emails back and forth are out of sync because they take so long to reply.

 

[RichyRich75]

I've never had a problem braking gently to make sure my roller is stopped before the start of the race. Never tried slamming on the anchors whilst flat out or anything like that. Never experienced the stop pedalling and speed still increasing scenario. I think we all lose connection mid ride sometimes but we're supposed to be able to finish the ride at least and have it recorded in our history. Not that I'm very good at having rides recorded in my history. That's just what's supposed to happen if everything is behaving as it should.

The question is, does the software ever behave itself! I rode a league ride on the 31/12 and it only popped up on my feed yesterday! You've lost rides completely and I get logged out mid ride! Feel like crying cos when it works it's an awesome piece of kit, WHEN, being the operative word of course!

 

[Paulf1566]

Hi, I use the bsim app on the laptop and I've had the same log out, lost rides a couple of times now. I'm not convinced it's wifi cos I'm sure it carries on in an offline mode as I think that has happened to me before. It's a pain in the arse to honest. I swear it's a software glitch but then I know jack shite about computers!

My experience has been the wifi cutting out during about 15% of the rides and we don't have wifi issues with any other gadget in the house. Similarly, when using videos, these often freeze, get going again after a delay but on about 3 occasions the video has stopped completely although the kms and time still carries on running. Only once have I lost all the ride. There is so much potential with this system but they do need to sort out the software issues. Would be great if they would start to take part in this forum.

 

[Pedro2015]

I wouldn't blame bkool for ipad issues. iPads in general have poor wifi connections Google it

 

[kipster]

Having used the previous version of the software and website I can say that the current iteration is a huge improvement, yes there is still work to be done but the BSIM upgrades add in a good mix of turbo and social features. I've not found it difficult to navigate and only had an occasional lost ride or drop out.

When I used it in the garage I had powerline adaptors and Ethernet cables, in the house I use wifi.

I have only used Windows pc's to run BSIM.

 

[BILL S]

Is that v 3.15 you've got there Kipster?

 

[kipster]

it's BSIM v2.15 and the turbo has firmware V3.30