New to Bkool

[McNeil]

Hi,

I have just purchased a Bkool go, and set it up using Bluetooth to my iPad. I’m new to cycling and not very fit, but I struggled to do a 6 mile ride on my first attempt (took me 40mins). I did the 20min FTP test yesterday and managed a very measly 100W, Amateur 1, and a long way from amateur 2! I’m trying to figure out if my fitness is worse than I thought, or if there’s something wrong with the setup. The FTP test is supposed to simulate a 2% incline, and I spent the whole time in my lowest two gears. This feels much more difficult than cycling on the road.

I’d appreciate any advice or ideas you can give me!

 

[theboxers]

Hi,

I have just purchased a Bkool go, and set it up using Bluetooth to my iPad. I’m new to cycling and not very fit, but I struggled to do a 6 mile ride on my first attempt (took me 40mins). I did the 20min FTP test yesterday and managed a very measly 100W, Amateur 1, and a long way from amateur 2! I’m trying to figure out if my fitness is worse than I thought, or if there’s something wrong with the setup. The FTP test is supposed to simulate a 2% incline, and I spent the whole time in my lowest two gears. This feels much more difficult than cycling on the road.

I’d appreciate any advice or ideas you can give me!

You sound like me 3 yrs ago. The first few times were a shock to the just quit smoking, grossly overweight, unfit system. It gets better, honest . Just continue to pick short, flatish rides to get used to the system. Also read the FAQ and ask questions here.

A few things you may need to get if you don't have them. Not essential but very helpful.

A fan. Cycling when hot with no air movement sucks. A fan will make a big difference.
A heart rate monitor. Gives you a good idea of where you are physically.
Pump up your tyre. Low pressures make it very hard work.
Warm up and warm down. Use the 10 minute warm up or do 10 minutes or more in the velodrome to get the blood flowing. I do blocks of 1 or 2 minutes working up through the power zones whilst also increasing cadence. Start gentle 70 cadence z1 and the every minute jump 10 revs up to 100 then up the gear drop back down to 70 and repeat. I use the longer descents/descenso in bkool a a cool down, low power low cadence while the heart rate drops below 100. It helps clear the legs of lactic ime.

Setup a plan in bkool. It is difficult to schedule individual rides consistanly. Plans can provide up to 3 rides a week on selected days. It's good to get into the habit of riding at least every other day. As you get fitter/faster the system makes adjustments to use those gains.

Persist. Yes it is hard to start with, but after a few months 30-40 minutes will fly by. I currently don't do outside rides all my riding is done indoors. But that will eventually change

 

[Bored Man]

Hi,

I have just purchased a Bkool go, and set it up using Bluetooth to my iPad. I’m new to cycling and not very fit, but I struggled to do a 6 mile ride on my first attempt (took me 40mins). I did the 20min FTP test yesterday and managed a very measly 100W, Amateur 1, and a long way from amateur 2! I’m trying to figure out if my fitness is worse than I thought, or if there’s something wrong with the setup. The FTP test is supposed to simulate a 2% incline, and I spent the whole time in my lowest two gears. This feels much more difficult than cycling on the road.

I’d appreciate any advice or ideas you can give me!

Join in velodrome rides with a few folk in... use the draft to build up strength and stamina... then, when youre ready, join the Chaingang League.. Use descents to improve spinning at high cadence either as warm ups or warm downs.. you will need high cadence to recover.. don’t bother with ftp.. forget status... it will come..

Before long, you will be passing @Whorty, pacing @BILL S, marvelling at @AAAC 76C, debating with @Brusgaard and if you’re lucky, very lucky.... a top ten ranking injury holder..

PS.. there’s even a bloke from Berlin called Randy..

Stick at it and join in the Autobus....

 

[Brusgaard]

Hi,

I have just purchased a Bkool go, and set it up using Bluetooth to my iPad. I’m new to cycling and not very fit, but I struggled to do a 6 mile ride on my first attempt (took me 40mins). I did the 20min FTP test yesterday and managed a very measly 100W, Amateur 1, and a long way from amateur 2! I’m trying to figure out if my fitness is worse than I thought, or if there’s something wrong with the setup. The FTP test is supposed to simulate a 2% incline, and I spent the whole time in my lowest two gears. This feels much more difficult than cycling on the road.

I’d appreciate any advice or ideas you can give me!

Just seen a post in the Danish Facebook group by a guy with the exact same problem. He is also using a new Smart Go.

Not sure if the Go needs to be unlocked in the Bkool simulator before use, like the Smart Pro 2?

Maybe you should try the V3.61 of the simulator, as it might be a bug in the currently publicly released version?

EDIT: The v3.61 is currently only available on Windows, on the iPad you have to wait for the official releases.

EDIT 2: Sorry, his Bkool was a Smart Pro, so maybe unrelated.

 

[berty bassett]

what bike are you using ? if you are on a mountain bike with knobbly tyres i would think you are half killing yourself ! most are on road bikes and the back wheel tyre makes such a difference - make sure the tyre is blown up to max pressure ( and a bit - in most cases ) also go in settings and make sure your weight is set right - like boxers said , you need a fan
maybe see what happens on a downhill course
enjoy

 

[McNeil]

Thanks for your replies. I appreciate the tips, and will certainly be buying a fan! It's a road bike (B'Twin Triban 540), and I'll check the tyre pressure! I've tried connecting via ANT to my MacBook, and definitely heard something happen inside the trainer, so I'll do the FTP test again tomorrow and see if that has changed anything. Failing that, I will accept that I'm really out of shape, and set about following your advice to improve things!

Thanks again for your help!

 

[theboxers]

Thanks for your replies. I appreciate the tips, and will certainly be buying a fan! It's a road bike (B'Twin Triban 540), and I'll check the tyre pressure! I've tried connecting via ANT to my MacBook, and definitely heard something happen inside the trainer, so I'll do the FTP test again tomorrow and see if that has changed anything. Failing that, I will accept that I'm really out of shape, and set about following your advice to improve things!

Thanks again for your help!

Apple don't do ant+ afaik. You'll need to connect via blutooth. Any dongle you have would be best on an usb extension cable to get it near the trainer, again I'm not an apple person so you'll have to double check.

 

[McNeil]

The trainer came with an ANT+ adapter - I plugged it in and the app picked up the trainer straight away. I'll need a usb extension cable though, to get it near the trainer.