Bkool - issues and ideas - what do you want to tell Bkool?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Paulf1566

Senior Member
Location
Menston, Ilkley
This new thread is designed to give Bkool users a place on the forum, so that basic issues and gremlins can be logged and collated and also ideas for improvement can be suggested. Both the hardware but especially the software have a number of basic issues and can be so user unfriendly. Let's log them here and hopefully Bkool will take notice and respond and act. I will start:-

Need to be able to delete scheduled rides.
 
Last edited:

JLaw

Veteran
Support ERG mode & structured workouts.

Ability to delete routes you've created by accident.

Consistency in what league rides can add ghosts/bots vs those that can't. Document, document, document.

Use of link colors on the web site. ie, pick a color (its usually blue), all links should appear in that color. Nothing else should use that color. I'm often surprised to find that certain objects are actually useful links.

Useful feedback about uploaded courses -- I've got some that were uploaded, but never turned into 3d rides -- but they were never rejected. They just uploaded and I never heard anything about them again.

Document how estimated time to completion is computed. Similarly for time ahead/behind other riders, particularly ghosts & bots where it always seems way off.

Document how/why having splits on a ride causes the ride to re-synchronize, ultimately resulting in a ride that is too easy/short, then has its time adjusted. Fix the ride editor so that all the splits can be removed. If you remove them all, they just come back.

Isn't it kidnof silly to have ghosts stop just before the finish line?

Support chrome-casting, similar to what CV does. ie, support it natively in the simulator on android. It's much lower overhead than having the OS mirror/cast the screen.

Support bluetooth across the board, including control of trainers like the kickr. I really don't want/need to muck around with an ANT+ dongle when I'm using my android tablet.

I want another bot. "Dee Moralizer". Dee only shows up on climbs. Dee is very fit -- she lugs up kids in a bike trailer. She hangs around reasonably close throughout the ride, but on the worst climb, whatever it is, she blows by you and you have to chase her down.

Make the app usable on phones. When I try to use it on my android phone, the sensitivity for hitting a button/link/whatever is so bad that it's effectively unusable. A tablet seems to work reasonably well.

That's what I've got off the top of my head.
 

g00se

Veteran
Location
Norwich
Allow the deletion of routes (maybe if no other users have ridden them)
When syncing with strava, allow the disabling of strava activities to bkool
Talk with Zwift and Trainerroad with regards to sorting out ERG issues when using ANT+ FE-C with other software.
 

RickB

professional procrastinator
Location
Norn Iron
Work out a more precise calibration on Non-bkool machines to even the playing field. Ones on Tacx Vortex machines are behaving very differently than Bkool machines. The Elite Realtour I initially used was way off on steep climbs which surely could have been compensated for.


Create a message board for groups/leagues to use - seems silly that there's no way to communicate on Bkool with fellow riders. Maybe allow PM's to other riders as well?

A news section of the Bsim homepage would be nice just to get updates on whats being worked on (upcoming features etc.) or announcements for outages etc..

Actually answering emails with some honest details instead of saying 'We will forward that to our technical team' only to leave us feeling we're being fobbed off and seeing no change.
 
Last edited:

RickB

professional procrastinator
Location
Norn Iron
Glad to know that I'm not alone, I wrote bkool about it too and no answer. I agree it is something that would need to be addressed by Bkool and only by them: tacx just follows a connectivity standard and it should be quite straightforward for Bkool to treat all trainers equally in terms of levelling the playing field- and thus attracting subscribers from a wider user base. Their opening to support an open standard was clearly a movement towards simulator subscription as a major business model, so they are just shooting to their feet if the experience with trainers from another a brand is unfair. It is understandable that they want to give some privileged user experiences to Bkool users in order to boost trainer sales, such as equipment and exclusive games - but the playing arena needs to be fair if they really want to attract users. It is mind-blowing that they have such a great simulator and they do not seem to care much about the incredibly awkward (=mediocre) interface and the non-existent user support. They are basically inviting Zwiff to take over the multiplayer simulator market with a much more limited program.
Highlighted for Bkools benefit.
 

MiloSnowe

Active Member
I've got to say...

Create a dedicated Bkool forum filled with info like everything else ever created.

Create an in depth user guide with videos because I know I'm not using this to its full potential

All the others have been previously mentioned, deleting rides, user interface, Strava link
 

Bkool

Active Member
This new thread is designed to give Bkool users a place on the forum, so that basic issues and gremlins can be logged and collated and also ideas for improvement can be suggested. Both the hardware but especially the software have a number of basic issues and can be so user unfriendly. Let's log them here and hopefully Bkool will take notice and respond and act. I will start:-

Need to be able to delete scheduled rides.
Thank you Paul - we are here and listening!
 

Bkool

Active Member
Support ERG mode & structured workouts.

Ability to delete routes you've created by accident.

Consistency in what league rides can add ghosts/bots vs those that can't. Document, document, document.

Use of link colors on the web site. ie, pick a color (its usually blue), all links should appear in that color. Nothing else should use that color. I'm often surprised to find that certain objects are actually useful links.

Useful feedback about uploaded courses -- I've got some that were uploaded, but never turned into 3d rides -- but they were never rejected. They just uploaded and I never heard anything about them again.

Document how estimated time to completion is computed. Similarly for time ahead/behind other riders, particularly ghosts & bots where it always seems way off.

Document how/why having splits on a ride causes the ride to re-synchronize, ultimately resulting in a ride that is too easy/short, then has its time adjusted. Fix the ride editor so that all the splits can be removed. If you remove them all, they just come back.

Isn't it kidnof silly to have ghosts stop just before the finish line?

Support chrome-casting, similar to what CV does. ie, support it natively in the simulator on android. It's much lower overhead than having the OS mirror/cast the screen.

Support bluetooth across the board, including control of trainers like the kickr. I really don't want/need to muck around with an ANT+ dongle when I'm using my android tablet.

I want another bot. "Dee Moralizer". Dee only shows up on climbs. Dee is very fit -- she lugs up kids in a bike trailer. She hangs around reasonably close throughout the ride, but on the worst climb, whatever it is, she blows by you and you have to chase her down.

Make the app usable on phones. When I try to use it on my android phone, the sensitivity for hitting a button/link/whatever is so bad that it's effectively unusable. A tablet seems to work reasonably well.

That's what I've got off the top of my head.


We have taken note of everything and will be having a meeting soon to discuss what we can do about implementing these points. Thanks!
 

gbrown

Geoff on Bkool
Location
South Somerset
Thank you Paul - we are here and listening!

The fact that bkool pro users simulate gravity affects on downhills and can effectively freewheel/soft pedal at high speed, while other trainer users (like the KICKR) don't, is a complete show stopper! In any multi-player session, on a non-bkool trainer you lose contact with every bkool rider as soon as you get to any downhill slope, and can never see them again.

This has got to be treated as a bug!

I can't see how this can be trainer related, since the speed indicated on the screen has got to be generated by the simulator and is not based on the trainer or how fast the rider is pedalling, but more to do with rider weight and the gradient of the downhill slope.

If a non-bkool user just rolls to a halt even on a -10% slope, while the bkool user rolls down at ever higher speeds, the simulator is basically broken for the non-bkool trainer.

I (and others) have reported this many times over the last year, and support do not seem to understand that this is a serious bug in the simulator's support for trainers like the KICKR.

Please can you look at raising the profile of this issue.

To sell premium subscriptions to non-bkool trainer users on the grounds that they can take part in multi-player sessions, then put them at so huge a disadvantage on any downhill slope is hardly going to ensure they renew or sign up for a full year!


Thanks for listening ...

Geoff
 

Bkool

Active Member
Allow the deletion of routes (maybe if no other users have ridden them)
When syncing with strava, allow the disabling of strava activities to bkool
Talk with Zwift and Trainerroad with regards to sorting out ERG issues when using ANT+ FE-C with other software.

We've made a note! Thanks for your ideas :smile:
 
Top Bottom