First thoughts on KICKR
Lovely to be at the proper ride height due to direct drive, nicer ride without the rumbling vibration you get from the roller, feels more secure, especially when standing, quieter but tends to whine, even at moderate speeds.
Definitely harder work on the steeper inclines, I took 16+ minutes at 95% effort and averaged 257.8 watts, but yesterday on the bkool did 15:44 at 83% effort and averaged 225 watts (the powertap showed even lower watts).
I checked the power with the Wahoo Fitness on the iPad at the same time, and it was spot on (average power 256 watts) , so it seems the KICKR does use the built in power meter to ensure the requested resistance is being applied. I'm pretty confident now, that when it says x% gradient, it really is close to how that would feel in the real world.
It was really the climb where the difference was notable, I averaged 281 real watts climbing, but still went slower at 17.5 km/h compared to 18.6 km/h at 256 bkool Watts. The only explanation for going faster at lower watts, all else being equal, is that the bkool resistance was less than it was using in the calculations, and the powertap showed this exactly.
Of course, this is only a comparison with MY bkool, it says nothing about how other bkool trainers may be calibrated, some may put out more resistance than is required, some less.
Anyway, it's a shame to be running 10%-20% slower on the steep climbs (at the same level of effort) but nice to know I'm getting a realistic impression of how I would do on the real climb.
I'll just have to get 10%-20% more powerful!
Also nice to know the KICKR can be used with other apps, such as Trainer Road and Zwift, etc., but actually Bkool's software is still the best I've seen.
I'm pretty sure the KICKR is not worth more than twice the Bkool, just goes to show what great value the bkool hardware and software really is!
Geoff
