Team BKool CycleChat

[gbrown]

I'll try but got visitors coming at 6. Or put more honestly, I will if the Mrs will let me

Yes, but anyone who I'll actually see for more than the first 100 meters?

 

[BILL S]

Yes, but anyone who I'll actually see for more than the first 100 meters?

Well if you'd let your back wheel stop spinning before the start then you'd have a much better chance. Anyway I have the same problem myself now but with Adam (2). Disappearing off and making 400W. The good days stopped when we let Pro's into the leagues . Think he did it by stealth though as I think he was only Amateur 4 when I let him into the Goats

 

[Snaily]

Ok so in desperation to get on my KICKR last night I ordered another ANT+ stick from Snow & Rock via their click and collect service as it was showing as in stock. Having just rang them they are not in stock and need to be ordered in, I can collect it Monday , so Monday I will have 2 ANT+ sticks.

 

[adammada33]

Sorry about the stealth - I've only just started cycling again, my plan was to make pro by summer but I do an ftp every sunday and it keeps going up by 40 watts each week. All in all I wish I'd had the bkool years ago as i struggle in the winter for motivation. You may beat me on longer climb like this weeks - better over short distances.
Adam

 

[kipster]

To bring it back on topic, are we doing a Saturday 5pm re-run?

who's hoping to join in?

Geoff

Sorry, I won't be there, although I will spectate. I'll be watching rugby. I did do four hours track cycling training at a velodrome this morning, so not being completely lazy.

 

[Randyberlin]

Sorry, I won't be there, although I will spectate. I'll be watching rugby. I did do four hours track cycling training at a velodrome this morning, so not being completely lazy.

I was sitting here drinking my coffee and was too lazy to get into the race. But how was I to know I should have tried to defend my 7th place trophy my wife gave me. Knocked down to 9th!

 

[Darryn007]

Well to be honest I never yet came across a gradient on bkool that it couldn't cope with. You have to push hard of course if its a 12% gradient. Anything over 12% doesn't seem to get any harder for some reason.

Nothing above 12%?
That doesn't sound right, When I hit the 16/17% parts on the Cothelstone ride today I grovelled over in my 27 sproket! I def felt the jump from 12 up to 17%! Has Bkool calibrated your trainer yet?

 

[BILL S]

Sorry about the stealth - I've only just started cycling again, my plan was to make pro by summer but I do an ftp every sunday and it keeps going up by 40 watts each week. All in all I wish I'd had the bkool years ago as i struggle in the winter for motivation. You may beat me on longer climb like this weeks - better over short distances.
Adam

Sorry Adam, Only kidding. Its great to have you on board as it'll push the rest of us all the harder, and lets face it, that's what we need. I chased your ghost up Alpe d'Huez and was level with you for half an hour before collapsing on the floor. Good luck in keeping that 40 watts each week going. Mine went something like 50, 20, 10, 3, 1, 0.5, 0, -5, -10, -15

 

[BILL S]

Nothing above 12%?
That doesn't sound right, When I hit the 16/17% parts on the Cothelstone ride today I grovelled over in my 27 sproket! I def felt the jump from 12 up to 17%! Has Bkool calibrated your trainer yet?

No, but I wish they would and also give me the firmware update. My bkool is all over the place. And my guy out there is pedalling twice as fast as I am. Who knows if my power output is accurate or not.

 

[Darryn007]

Getting further out of my depth ...

If 1200W is in top gear, and marketing always quote best case scenario, assuming 54/11 gearing the torque should be around 4.6 times higher when in the very lowest gear (say 34/32).

So in 34/32 the maximum wattage resistance would be around 1200W divided by 4.6 or 261 Watts, which is actually fairly close to what I've experienced. At above 260 Watts in the lowest gear the resistance can be overcome.

In 34/25 it would be around 1200W / 3.6 or 333W, 24/28 around 300W.

So anyone who can maintain these kind of powers in the lowest gears will overcome the 1200W resistance.

To overcome 2000W you would have to kick out > 433 Watts in 34/32, which is certainly beyond me for more than a few seconds.

I'm sure the physics is not actually this straight forward, but I would guess it is a good approximation, and certainly seems to match experience.

Geoff

P.S. Torque and Power are related by rpm or cadence, rather than gearing directly, but since gearing effects cadence they are directly related, within the bounds of what cadence a human can maintain, most of us are limited to around 50-120 rpm.

I don't think the 1200watt that the Bkool reports has anything to do with resistance does it? 1200watt is simply all it can output when being ridden, like an electric motor it has a max Kw or horse power rating that it can deliver.
They told me that the digital signal sent to the analogue head unit controls the resistance up to 20% according to their code (when correctly calibrated).
When they calibrated mine, they could actually lock the magnets up completely, they then used a zero setting to simply slide the resistance curve along the X axis to fit the graph/curve of their tool.
That's the way I understood it anyway. But I was probably drunk as usual...

 

[Add]

Way too much science for me!

Did the Goats League stage 2 today......what a bitch of a hill! I do now realise though, that until today, I have never actually been blowing out of my arse!

An hour and a half it took me, but thought I'd better make sure I got a time in on this stage. Was going to do Huez last night, but got called out to work, and missed my chance....gutted!

I decided to go steady for the first 30 minutes and save some energy for the rest, but that didn't work. At least there's a ghost to challenge now! I look forward to a week of " you've been challenged and had your ass kicked" emails from BKool.

 

[Rob H]

Had a software crash last night, 25 mins into goats 2 and then froze, so peed off, couldn't focus to go again so moved directly to beer fridge. looks like Monday my next shot. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app on laptop in a vein hope that sorts it.

 

[Add]

Had a software crash last night, 25 mins into goats 2 and then froze, so peed off, couldn't focus to go again so moved directly to beer fridge. looks like Monday my next shot. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app on laptop in a vein hope that sorts it.

Had that, 30 seconds from the end of Huez, Goat stage 1..... I feel your pain! I was so annoyed. And absolutely no record whatsoever of any attempt at all. I NEARLY needed to get a new laptop!

 

[Add]

That said...there is still no record at all of my Goat stage 2 that I forced out yesterday. If that doesn't show up, I will need counselling!

 

[Runexeter]

That said...there is still no record at all of my Goat stage 2 that I forced out yesterday. If that doesn't show up, I will need counselling!

Yeah I think we have all been there one way or the other, I lost a few rides because of laptop crashing.
Not on your level though, if I had lost my ride on Huez right at the end I think I would have found a quiet corner to sulk in