Team BKool CycleChat

[BILL S]

A good fan and a handy towel.

This one is £20 off at Curry's right now and seems up to the job:
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/home-a...1-16-pedestal-fan-gun-metal-10009216-pdt.html

 

[BILL S]

Another quick question: how do you turn off the trainer?... the green light is on even after i have finished my work out... do you just disconnect from the power outlet? or do you leave it on.?

I always unplug mine.

 

[bowtomephil]

Unplug mine also.

A young pair of legs helps.(I failed there)

It is much harder than riding in real life which is a good thing.

 

[pascual]

I always unplug mine.

Thank you! Will do.

 

[pascual]

Unplug mine also.

A young pair of legs helps.(I failed there)

It is much harder than riding in real life which is a good thing.

Thank you!

 

[burndust]

I used to leave mine plugged in...disconnected at the moment as the bike is getting some major repairs done....been hitting the WATT bike at the gym this week....that's brutal as well

 

[burndust]

I run a 27-12 on my road bike with a 53-39 on the front, so the 25-11 seems to be close enough that the indexing is still ok. Unfortunately the new cassette has highlighted the 'well-loved' nature of my chain - it was all a bit clattery.


Shucks. I don't think I'll be putting in that effort on every ride!

Assuming my FTP is 95% of the 20 minute test power, that gives an FTP of about 294W. I've done previous 8 minute FTP tests on the rollers using a powertap wheel and TrainerRoad and this usually gives values around the 270W mark. My guess is that I was finding it more difficult to get to the higher powers on the rollers and spinning out a little. I've also realised that I've not calibrated the powertap in a while.

One thing I did notice was that the Kickr's calibration was WAY out when I first fired it up - literally in the kWs! I couldn't find a way in BKool to do the calibration, but TrainerRoad has a decent spindown recalibration. After doing that the numbers became a little more realistic.

There's a free wahoo utility app to do this via blue tooth on your phone....i really liked my kickr shame it was faulty and had to be sent back....funny thing about the power though...even after calibrating the kickr...200w avg felt easier than on the bkool....i may look at the kickr again at somepoint

 

[burndust]

Interesting. Perhaps its only certain rides that count towards fitness level. I'll see what happens when I do a 4 hour ride at 100 - 200w.

4hrs get the sudocrem at the ready....you'll be walking like John Wayne after that

 

[BILL S]

HaHa yeah you got that right! Last time I forgot and suffered afterwards. . Won't forget this time and won't be sparing on the Vaseline.
Not looking good for this weekend unfortunately as the bloody courier hasn't come yet.

 

[Bollo]

There's a free wahoo utility app to do this via blue tooth on your phone

Aaahhh. Despite being a gadget hound (see kickr purchase) my phone and ipad are both too old to upload the app. Access to either Bolletta's iphone or Mrs Dr Bollo's newer iPad is strictly forbidden.. For the foreseeable future I'll be PC-based and probably stick with Trainer Road for the serious training plans and Bkool for the fun stuff (like a crack at Tourmalet this weekend if the weather is grot - pity poor Bollo)

....i really liked my kickr shame it was faulty and had to be sent back....funny thing about the power though...even after calibrating the kickr...200w avg felt easier than on the bkool....i may look at the kickr again at somepoint

Sorry to hear that the kickr didn't work out. Apart from the euro plug (being sorted by Wiggle) I've not had any problems touch wood.

A while ago I did develop a multi-player website/app for turbo-training as a side project from my day job. I've just pulled the plug as it wasn't getting any traction, better things are appearing on the market and I couldn't devote enough time to make it a realistic competitor. Apart from the experience of coding the ANT+ protocol, it also gave me a good feel for some of the issues around power output consistency. On my old turbo - a cyclops jet fluid pro - variations in tire pressure and contact pressure could easily soak up 10-20W. On the rollers the variation could be higher still. Certainly the kickr feels more like a bike with the tyres well up to pressure. I also feel that the massive flywheel gives a feeling of momentum as well. TBH I thought that the 2% incline on the FTP test felt a bit more than 2%!

 

[burndust]

Tourmalet is a good challenge...enjoy....never ceases to amaze me how many IT guys are into cycling...I'm in tech sp (hardware/networks)....hopeless at programming though lol

 

[Add]

The reviews suggest a 5-15% innaccuracy range on the power readings from the BKool. For all the reasons Bollo has just mentioned. But for the price, an acceptable trade off in my opinion. But I'm no Wiggo!

 

[burndust]

Totally agree @Add ....I can live with that....also put a smile on my face that the WATT bike i've been using this week is more accurate and my numbers are higher

 

[Add]

Incidentally, I was riding in solo mode, which is why my opposition were choosing to stay in the pub. But I am pleased to report, I now have ghosts and bots accompanying me on the start line, before vanishing into the distance ahead of me, almost immediately.

 

[Add]

Totally agree @Add ....I can live with that....also put a smile on my face that the WATT bike i've been using this week is more accurate and my numbers are higher

Well that is reassuring! I'd much rather it were that way round! Just set my wife up on the Turbo, so I may have some sweat to mop up. Surprised me just how hot you get on that thing!