JuhaL
Guru
Let's try to maintain that ability when we reach that category
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Hell of a memory on ui remember being a D
I'm a D for the next 7 months.I’ll be up for the age race at 5:30
Many D’s out there in CC land?
Going to post this on both the Bkool and Zwift threads, as it may be interesting and I'd be interested in the thoughts of others who've ridden both Zwift and the new Bkool Sim.
So, I tried out the new Bkool simulator with my Tacx Neo today and here's my thoughts.
Good points
1. Sim found the Neo and my HRM quickly and with no trouble at all
2. Graphics are fine but can't really see much change from old Sim
3. Ride was very smooth. Gradient transitions were good and the control of the Neo felt very good.
4. My power figures at the end were pretty close to my recent rides on Zwift
All in all, I think Bkool have done a good job in developing an upgraded Sim that works well with the Neo
Bad points
1. I had to load 19 ghosts to get any sense of a race. To be fair that's the nature of Bkool and I used to be happy with that, but its hard to go back to after riding on Zwift
2. I came last! I also won the race because I loaded a ghost of myself on a Bkool Pro, who won again.......... 6 minutes ahead of me on the Neo!
3. All the other riders were also on Bkool Pros. I'm riding stronger now than when I set my 'winning' time on a Bkool Pro and my real life rides back this up. Despite this, and despite the fact that the new Sim felt good, I couldn't stay with the Bkool Pro ghosts.
4. There had to a silly Bkool glitch! Twice during the ride, the Sim went into some sort of background mode. The graphics disappeared and my screen just said MacBook (6)! I had to get off the bike and touch the track pad, at which point the graphics returned. My avatar was still moving, so clearly the Sim hadn't stopped. I've never had that happen with the old Bkool Sim or Zwift and I've run both on the same MacBook.
So, in summary, if you just look at the development of the new Sim, Bkool have done a good job (apart from the graphics issue). If I was riding by myself, with no history on Bkool, I'd be happy with it and the power readings suggest that for the Neo its pretty close to Zwift.
The problem is that I want to ride with others and I do have a Bkool history on a Bkool Pro. I'm afraid that riding against Bkool Pro users, I'm just not competitive on a Neo, not even with my Bkool Pro self.
I'm glad I tried out the new Sim. I enjoyed my time on Bkool, but I won't renew after the 3 month special offer ends and I doubt that I'll ride it again, which is a shame. I'd sort of hoped that I could mainly ride on Zwift but do the occasional ride or league on Bkool, but it clearly isn't going to work as I'm committed to riding on the Neo.
So, I tried out the new Bkool simulator with my Tacx Neo today and here's my thoughts.
Good points
1. Sim found the Neo and my HRM quickly and with no trouble at all
2. Graphics are fine but can't really see much change from old Sim
3. Ride was very smooth. Gradient transitions were good and the control of the Neo felt very good.
4. My power figures at the end were pretty close to my recent rides on Zwift
All in all, I think Bkool have done a good job in developing an upgraded Sim that works well with the Neo
Bad points
1. I had to load 19 ghosts to get any sense of a race. To be fair that's the nature of Bkool and I used to be happy with that, but its hard to go back to after riding on Zwift
2. I came last! I also won the race because I loaded a ghost of myself on a Bkool Pro, who won again.......... 6 minutes ahead of me on the Neo!
3. All the other riders were also on Bkool Pros. I'm riding stronger now than when I set my 'winning' time on a Bkool Pro and my real life rides back this up. Despite this, and despite the fact that the new Sim felt good, I couldn't stay with the Bkool Pro ghosts.
4. There had to a silly Bkool glitch! Twice during the ride, the Sim went into some sort of background mode. The graphics disappeared and my screen just said MacBook (6)! I had to get off the bike and touch the track pad, at which point the graphics returned. My avatar was still moving, so clearly the Sim hadn't stopped. I've never had that happen with the old Bkool Sim or Zwift and I've run both on the same MacBook.
So, in summary, if you just look at the development of the new Sim, Bkool have done a good job (apart from the graphics issue). If I was riding by myself, with no history on Bkool, I'd be happy with it and the power readings suggest that for the Neo its pretty close to Zwift.
The problem is that I want to ride with others and I do have a Bkool history on a Bkool Pro. I'm afraid that riding against Bkool Pro users, I'm just not competitive on a Neo, not even with my Bkool Pro self.
I'm glad I tried out the new Sim. I enjoyed my time on Bkool, but I won't renew after the 3 month special offer ends and I doubt that I'll ride it again, which is a shame. I'd sort of hoped that I could mainly ride on Zwift but do the occasional ride or league on Bkool, but it clearly isn't going to work as I'm committed to riding on the Neo.
Not ridden much for a week as I have felt really tired and thought I may be fighting one of the bugs that is going around.
So today I thought I'd try a short race and see how I felt. I did the 18.05 WBR 1 Lap Flat Race Reverse, which is only 6.6 miles long.
I went off quite quickly and made a decent group after it all settled down. This group went quite quickly but then, having a good gap to the groups behind, seemed to slow down so people prepared for the sprint at the end. I felt okay and was near the pointy end of the group. As we hit the sprint, I left my aero powerup a bit late and also failed to stand up for the sprint for some reason. I did okay, and am showing as second on Zwiftpower - I wonder if I could have beaten the C winner if I'd done a better job of the sprint, but reasonably pleased.
So today I thought I'd try a short race and see how I felt. I did the 18.05 WBR 1 Lap Flat Race Reverse, which is only 6.6 miles long.
I went off quite quickly and made a decent group after it all settled down. This group went quite quickly but then, having a good gap to the groups behind, seemed to slow down so people prepared for the sprint at the end. I felt okay and was near the pointy end of the group. As we hit the sprint, I left my aero powerup a bit late and also failed to stand up for the sprint for some reason. I did okay, and am showing as second on Zwiftpower - I wonder if I could have beaten the C winner if I'd done a better job of the sprint, but reasonably pleased.
Randyberlin
Guru
- Location
- Sitka, Alaska
Del C,
To me the updated Bkool sim is much more realistic. I can't compare directly any two rides but I'm sure before the upgrade I was getting higher watts with the same effort. Yesterday I rode both and put out higher watts on Zwift and I wasn't racing just warming up.
I had hoped to replace my pro with something better but have had to replace both our refrigerator and washing machine in the last month. My wife seems to think cold food and clean clothes are more important than a Neo. Go figure..
I agree the new Sim is good.
As I said, the gradient changes were clean and smooth and the gear changes I made were pretty much what I expected to have to do. And yes, my power figures were also close on Zwift and Bkool. So, I agree that the new Sim is good.
The big problem for me is still the old problem. I can't realistically compete with Bkool Pro users on the Bkool Sim, whereas on Zwift I seem to be slowly moving up the C group and I feel that I can both compete and improve. Really, that's a combination of the Neo and Zwift and I just can't replicate that on Bkool. That's sad as I really had hoped that I'd be able to do the occasional Bkool race, but that seems unlikely.
I may try one further test and that may check out your view on lower watts since the upgrade. I seem to have automatically rejoined the Cyclechat league, so I could ride a stage and see how far behind I finish up.
berty bassett
Legendary Member
- Location
- I'boro
think outside the box laddie ! - getting cold up there -put food outside , buy the neo and use the frame of the bkool to help beat the clothes in a mountain stream ! winner winner chicken dinner !
i ought to be in logistics
And I thought I couldnt sleep!
@Del C What brought it home to me re Bkool, I was losing against riders on flatter courses who had much less power than I was recording. I switched to a borrowed Bkool Pro, instantly reversing previous results. The fairy dust performance just made a mockery of what I thought I was capable of. Dead stops on gradient transitions, coupled with snail speed acceleration when using my Kickr was the final nail for me.
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bobinski
Legendary Member
- Location
- Tulse Hill
Bed baths for you soon
A friend of mine suggested I ride the new Sim with my old Bkool Pro, as I still have it, just to do the same as you did and see how my times compare on the new Sim. I was planning to do that, but after last night I'm far less motivated to do so. I have no intention of going back from the Neo to the Bkool Pro.
To be fair, I had no dead stops or snail speed acceleration. Other than the start, where all the Pros disappeared up the rode as I gradually accelerated off the line, the ride was very smooth, gradient transitions very realistic and I enjoyed the ride. It really is down to being uncompetitive with the Pro for me.
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