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

[Bkool]

Create a division for bkool only trainers - so you can see in the results who your true competitors are.

Great idea, we've sent this to the tech department who will see what they can do

 

[Bkool]

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.

Hi Rick, thanks for the message. We aren't trying to fob you off, not at all - you have to understand that there's a number of people that your message must be passed through before things happen. Here on social media, we can't edit the website, change the simulator or add communication between Bkoolers, but we can pass the message onto the correct people!

 

[Bkool]

Allow things to be deleted (Sessions, uploaded rides, etc)!

Treat bkool and non-bkool trainers fairly (where possible), i.e. simulating gravity assist on bkool trainers but not on KICKR or Tacx, etc. ruins multi-player rides.

Geoff

Another great idea, we are going to add your comments to the list!

 

[Bkool]

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

Hi Milo, the forum we are working on and should have this ready during the beginning of next year. The user guides, what would you like to know? And the deleting rides and strava link we've noted.

 

[borchgrevink]

Would be great if we could finde/filter members in more ways so we can add friends. Filter by age, country, email, etc etc. Possibly add from Facebook friends etc.

 

[MiloSnowe]

Hi Milo, the forum we are working on and should have this ready during the beginning of next year. The user guides, what would you like to know? And the deleting rides and strava link we've noted.

For me there just isn't the support there at the moment and if you look on YouTube there isn't that much out there on Bkool. I've got to say that it's an excellent bit of kit but I'm confused about how it works and videos how to do simple stuff would help immensely. A dedicated forum will be a great boost.

Examples
Scheduling sessions. Why and how? How long do the scheduled sessions last? I know it's basic but I don't really know.
Adding ghosts. I found out yesterday that if you slide the time scale it allows you see more ghosts closer to that time. Can't I just see all the ghosts then I can see what is an average time?

I also find the user interface far from friendly or intuitive and you cannot schedule a session from an iPad, or at least I can't!

Also... The times that appear on Strava seem to include warmup which kind of defeats the object really, or is this something else I'm missing?

Can we have a mouse arrow that disappears as well during a session? I find I'm looking at the riders with an arrow hovering above their heads if I forget to move it to the top of the screen and it's very distracting.

Again it's a great system I don't want you to think it's all negative but these are issues for me.

 

[RickB]

For me there just isn't the support there at the moment and if you look on YouTube there isn't that much out there on Bkool. I've got to say that it's an excellent bit of kit but I'm confused about how it works and videos how to do simple stuff would help immensely. A dedicated forum will be a great boost.

Examples
Scheduling sessions. Why and how? How long do the scheduled sessions last? I know it's basic but I don't really know.
Adding ghosts. I found out yesterday that if you slide the time scale it allows you see more ghosts closer to that time. Can't I just see all the ghosts then I can see what is an average time?

I also find the user interface far from friendly or intuitive and you cannot schedule a session from an iPad, or at least I can't!

Also... The times that appear on Strava seem to include warmup which kind of defeats the object really, or is this something else I'm missing?

Can we have a mouse arrow that disappears as well during a session? I find I'm looking at the riders with an arrow hovering above their heads if I forget to move it to the top of the screen and it's very distracting.

Again it's a great system I don't want you to think it's all negative but these are issues for me.

A dedictation tutorials section would be great as everyone who starts off on Bkool is slightly overwhelmed at first and there's no official help/guidance given.

the times always including warm up and cool down is quite annoying. always have to click into the ride to get just the main section details.

Agreed, its a great system and I dont like to be harsh but for so long now it has felt we were being ibnored and so many having problem with their trainers and set-ups!

 

[Gert Lush]

My scheduled rides aren't showing up, nor are my favourites etc. So at the moment I'm having to choose out of the live routes and pick one I like from there.

 

[Baldo Mero]

Just received an answer from Bkool to my query about the lack of gravity boost on downhills for Tacx trainers and the group rides being unfair. Their answer says (roughly translated): "We are sorry, only Bkool and Elite trainers support virtual speed. Tacx does not allow such feature at the moment in their ANT+ FE-C protocol". Which is nice to know, but unfortunately does not solve the issue. And I do not completely buy it because..., why is it supported in Zwift using the same protocol?

 

[RickB]

Just received an answer from Bkool to my query about the lack of gravity boost on downhills for Tacx trainers and the group rides being unfair. Their answer says (roughly translated): "We are sorry, only Bkool and Elite trainers support virtual speed. Tacx does not allow such feature at the moment in their ANT+ FE-C protocol". Which is nice to know, but unfortunately does not solve the issue. And I do not completely buy it because..., why is it supported in Zwift using the same protocol?

No idea of the programming side of things but surely if they currently are able to increase resistance on a Tacx trainer going uphill its not a great stretch to do the opposite going down??

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Just received an answer from Bkool to my query about the lack of gravity boost on downhills for Tacx trainers and the group rides being unfair. Their answer says (roughly translated): "We are sorry, only Bkool and Elite trainers support virtual speed. Tacx does not allow such feature at the moment in their ANT+ FE-C protocol". Which is nice to know, but unfortunately does not solve the issue. And I do not completely buy it because..., why is it supported in Zwift using the same protocol?

Which tacx are we referring to?

 

[Baldo Mero]

Which tacx are we referring to?

My question referred to a vortex smart but I understand that basically everything except bkools.

No idea of the programming side of things but surely if they currently are able to increase resistance on a Tacx trainer going uphill its not a great stretch to do the opposite going down??

No rickB, that is not it, the resistance can only be reduced to a minimum and could only be less if the trainer actually rolled by itself. What Bkool does is keep a minimum resistance, similar to the flats, and multiply the trainer speed to display a virtual speed which is much higher, even if you just use a few watts. The effect is that you seem to go much faster with less effort (although the actual bike wheel speed is the same). So the simulation is just on the software, to my understanding there is nothing that the trainer needs "to do" and thus Bkool's answer throwing the ball to tacx does not make much sense to me.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

My question referred to a vortex smart but I understand that basically everything except bkools.



No rickB, that is not it, the resistance can only be reduced to a minimum and could only be less if the trainer actually rolled by itself. What Bkool does is keep a minimum resistance, similar to the flats, and multiply the trainer speed to display a virtual speed which is much higher, even if you just use a few watts. The effect is that you seem to go much faster with less effort (although the actual bike wheel speed is the same). So the simulation is just on the software, to my understanding there is nothing that the trainer needs "to do" and thus Bkool's answer throwing the ball to tacx does not make much sense to me.

The vortex smart doesn't have motor drive to simulate descents, that's probably all bkool can do with it since it becomes little more than a fluid trainer until a gradient appears

It's rather annoying! I kind of want a Bushido now which does have motor drive

 

[borchgrevink]

It should be possible to list my created routes with just one click, and also delete the ones I don't want to save.

 

[Baldo Mero]

The vortex smart doesn't have motor drive to simulate descents, that's probably all bkool can do with it since it becomes little more than a fluid trainer until a gradient appears

Neither does the Bkool pro.

It's rather annoying! I kind of want a Bushido now which does have motor drive

Assistance on downhills comes in two flavors: 1) Mechanical assistance (Like bushido or kickr) rolls the trainer by itself so you make less effort and keep going even if you don't pedal (but not as fast as you usually roll). And 2) virtual assistance multiplies the actual trainer speed for a factor that makes the virtual speed for a given wattage much higher, so you can lower the watts and rest on downhills and still reach astronomical speeds. The mechanical assistance contributes to a better "feeling" of a trainer when making a course, seems a little more realistic because the wheel keeps rolling if you stop pedalling. But the virtual assistance is not assistance to your legs at all, just makes a (arguable) better simulated videogame. Better if all play with the same physics, of course. In summary, bushido would be nice but any Bkool pro player would beat Lance Armstrong riding one on downhills)