BigRingVR - The new leader of the pack?

[theboxers]

Got a quick response seems my cheap ant dongle isnt compatible with the brvr app. Must admit really quick response and fix. Wish all customer service was like that..

IIRC I bought a Ant+ dongle from either amazon or ebay that works fine with all my software, including BRVR. Make sure it is and ANT+ not just ANT dongle. Some sellers are putting out dongles claiming to be ANT+ when they are not.

Edit to add.

I've just checked Ebay. £8.88 with free shipping, from China. So it may take a while to arrive.

If it doesn't work claim the money back.

 

[bigdosser]

My mates gonna give me a loan of his garmin dongle to try it out. The guys at brbvr are going to reset my two week trial when i get it. Top service...

 

[theboxers]

You'll like the rides. As long as your internet link is up to it the Videos are, imo, superb. Try a couple of the short but seriously steep ones. Sugaloaf and Flagstaff. Or take a look at some of the longer Norwegian rides. Bergen and Oslo 1 and 2.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Just looked at the posts above and this

https://www.bigringvr.com/getting-started.aspx

It doesn't explicitly say so but in addition to the PC and the trainer as described I'll need an ANT+ dongle. Am I right?

 

[Asa Post]

Just looked at the posts above and this

https://www.bigringvr.com/getting-started.aspx

It doesn't explicitly say so but in addition to the PC and the trainer as described I'll need an ANT+ dongle. Am I right?

Yes.

 

[bigdosser]

You'll like the rides. As long as your internet link is up to it the Videos are, imo, superb. Try a couple of the short but seriously steep ones. Sugaloaf and Flagstaff. Or take a look at some of the longer Norwegian rides. Bergen and Oslo 1 and 2.

Cheers yeah looking forward to trying it had a go at Zwift and quite enjoyed the workout but wanted to give bigrings real video a go. 👍

 

[Dogtrousers]

Yes.

Thanks. I've ordered one from Amazon. Goodness knows when it will arrive.

 

[ianrobo]

Before Lockdown I was bored of Zwift but kept it going because was only using 4 times a month on quite an old style trainer. Then it became apparent that lockdown was coming so invested in a Kickr.

Next thing was to get the right app for to give me a real life climbing experience (that is what I decided to concentrate on) and tried Rouvy but augmented realty was not good for, Bkool seemed limited. So struggling I saw someone on strava use Bigring and he was a mountain goat. Asked him and said try it and may enjoy it.

I signed up two days after the free trial and now done some 50 courses ... I love it. I joined up to compliment the guys (not being paid honest) because it is simple but the visuals are stunning and when I did climbs I did in real life felt so life like !!

IF they had the money for sponsorships etc I am sure they would soon become a major player but actually I like the guys being smaller. A couple of questions answered quickly, and regular updated rides (asked for some in UK once this is over !!).

Recommend it to anyone, yes no real social side but come on most of us are loners by nature :-)

 

[Mugshot]

Before Lockdown I was bored of Zwift but kept it going because was only using 4 times a month on quite an old style trainer. Then it became apparent that lockdown was coming so invested in a Kickr.

Next thing was to get the right app for to give me a real life climbing experience (that is what I decided to concentrate on) and tried Rouvy but augmented realty was not good for, Bkool seemed limited. So struggling I saw someone on strava use Bigring and he was a mountain goat. Asked him and said try it and may enjoy it.

I signed up two days after the free trial and now done some 50 courses ... I love it. I joined up to compliment the guys (not being paid honest) because it is simple but the visuals are stunning and when I did climbs I did in real life felt so life like !!

IF they had the money for sponsorships etc I am sure they would soon become a major player but actually I like the guys being smaller. A couple of questions answered quickly, and regular updated rides (asked for some in UK once this is over !!).

Recommend it to anyone, yes no real social side but come on most of us are loners by nature :-)

Spot on mate, nice review. Top notch team, top notch app

 

[ianrobo]

yep it just works, I don't need fancy graphics or pretend others are riding with me (I do Audaxes ha ha ) so I just like things that work. Easy to import in workouts.

I made one request of them for development and thats the ability to ride courses consecutively without the need to save files after the first one but thats only a minor thing in the scheme of things.

It is just the visuals that got me, nothing else matches it at all.

 

[Aleman]

I'll be honest and say I love BRVR, I've been a subscriber since the beginning, and have remained so even though I had a break from cycling from May '19 to Feb '20 ... and still have not ridden a BRVR climb yet this year My fitness is getting to a point where I can seriously think about tackling the BRVR climbs ... even if all I do are some workouts ... I just need to set them up in zwofactory.

 

[Dogtrousers]

My Ant+ dongle has finally arrived. I have a long weekend ahead of me. Maybe I'll have a play.

Although to be honest I think the TACX premium subscription has all I'm likely to want. (I had a nice ride in Gascony as my morning commute today) But I won't know what I'm missing unless I try it.

 

[ianrobo]

indeed just check it out for free compare and contrast, would be interested in your feedback

 

[theboxers]

I'll be honest and say I love BRVR, I've been a subscriber since the beginning, and have remained so even though I had a break from cycling from May '19 to Feb '20 ... and still have not ridden a BRVR climb yet this year My fitness is getting to a point where I can seriously think about tackling the BRVR climbs ... even if all I do are some workouts ... I just need to set them up in zwofactory.

Much like you I am in an enforced break but still subscribed. As soon as I get my legs back I'll be riding on there again. Mainly to get my fitness back.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Well, I got BRVR set up and working with only a medium amount of swearing which is good going for me.

Yesterday I did a test ride to a place called Modane in France. This morning, for the main event, I rode up Ventoux from Bédoin.

I'm very impressed. The software itself is a bit on the fiddly side, but once you get going it's superb. If I compare it with the Tacx videos I'd score them equal. They are both great. Yes there are differences, but basically they both provide really good quality videos, with an interesting dashboard of info. Neither exceeds the other at that main task.

Maybe BRVR's screen layout is a bit more pleasing and the recorded tcx files are smoother. Maybe the Tacx software a bit less swearing-inducing in use and set-up. But really these are minor details. They both do a fantastic job at putting pretty pictures on screen to distract me from the fact that I'm just sitting on my bike on a trainer in the kitchen.

I'll be sticking with my existing Tacx subscription because BRVR doesn't have anything to tempt me away and I don't think I want to pay for two subscriptions for essentially the same thing. But if I wasn't already subscribed to Tacx I'd have a difficult choice. I don't know how good BRVR is at doing structured workouts like FTP based intervals. Also I don't know if BRVR allows you to ride your own GPX files, which is a Tacx feature I really like.

Edit: Another - rather unfair- comparison is RGT. RGT is a game simulation with other riders in the simulation, so more of a Zwift competitor. The graphics, while good for what they are, don't give you the sense of place that a video does. On the other hand RGT has other riders, which isn't a feature that I thought would interest me but when I rode Ventoux in RGT I had a Dutch guy behind me, closing in on me all the way until I put my mighty hammer down near the top and left him That was kind of fun. The procession of fast riders passing me was less interesting. But RGT is quite immersive and another good way of taking your mind off the boredom of turbo training.