Team BKool CycleChat

[BILL S]

I'd like to give one of the races a go. Who do I ask to join?

You'll need to request to join the leagues that interest you from the bkool website. As long as I or other admins see your name as someone who posts here then you will be accepted. Give us a nudge once you've done that so we can accept the request.
Recommended leagues which we do are Cyclechat Chaingang & Cyclechat Mountain Goats.

I may well kick off the Mountain goats again in the not too distant future. If nothing else it's great for burning off those calories.

 

[Bored Man]

Hi

May I join your league please? I won't be very competitive but I would appreciate the company and motivation.

Bkool name is: Jim Brown

If you can let me know what I need to do to register -fitness level/weight etc please?

Thank you

Jim

 

[Bored Man]

Is Cycle chat league stage 1 Veledrome in the chain gang league? If so, may I join that league please?

 

[LBHIFI]

I had 160psi but your extra 100w really showed especially in the earlier laps. Even if the temperature cools down considerably for Saturday I think your time is safe unless AAAC decides to come out to play.

I don't know if bkool somehow gave me an extra advantage compared to you all, but it's a little suspicious how much more power I got in that session, when yours & Bridgy's watts are usually pretty close.

One thing is for sure: the watts are way off.
In comparison, the last two set of data I got from my BePro's was 260 watt avg/1050 watt max for a race and 290 watt avg/650 watt max from a 20 km TT at 41.1 kph.

I suspect I would be able to sustain higher avg. watts, when not having to deal with the things you're exposed to in a real life TT on public roads, but there's a huge gap from 290 to 466 watt.

 

[gbrown]

From the (unofficial) Bkool FAQ in this forum (link here Bkool FAQ)

Joining Groups

There have been several questions about what groups/leagues we currently have. These groups are to encourage social interaction on this forum, and so are restricted to people who are active on this forum! Use the links below to request to join. Then please post your bkool name in the Joining a riding group on Bkool thread to let us know who you are: https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/joining-a-riding-group-on-bkool.190255/

Currently active Bkool "Cyclechat" groups

Chaingang - Weekly Thurs evening rides, starts @7pm, repeat on Sat @5pm
Aimed at getting a large group riding (in 3D) at the same time (rides can be done at other times if you can't make the group rides). Mixed terrain to suit a wide range of abilities and there is generally someone of similar ability to race/ride with. Drafting is encouraged!
http://www.bkool.com/group/show/72022

Handicap Chase - Weekly Tues evening rides, start @8pm.
Staggered Starts based on a Handicap from previous performances. You need to obtain a Handicap before each session. These are designed to make the finish as close as possible, to give everyone a chance of glory. During Summer months, Hanidcaps are weight based.
http://www.bkool.com/group/show/136405

Mountain Goats - aimed at people who like long steep alpine climbs (Mainly a winter league)
http://www.bkool.com/group/show/75682

Mountain Moose - Longish less steep climbs for the larger rider (Mainly a winter league)
http://www.bkool.com/group/show/112763

Top 100 - Most of the UK Top 100 climbs, usually short and always steep (Mainly a winter league)
http://www.bkool.com/group/show/105919

For those who's Bkool username is very different to their Cyclechat username, it can be helpful for the rest of us if you have your Bkool username in your custom title, or failing that in a signature.

The custom title is the little phrase that appears under your cyclechat avatar...

You can set this in your Profile under Personal Details

 

[LBHIFI]

If there's any doubt on this, LBHIFI was riding round the velodrome last night faster than Bradley Wiggins on his world hour record (and I wasn't too far behind!). No offence to LBHIFI who we all know is a very quick rider, but I'm pretty sure that's not right!

Yes, of course it's not right. But the question is if my ride was more "not right" than others?
I just wish there was a way for us to synchronize before a race, so that we all had the same advantages/disadvantages.
I guess the only way is for us all to get power meters and let Bkool use the power from those instead.

 

[bridgy]

Yes, of course it's not right. But the question is if my ride was more "not right" than others?
I just wish there was a way for us to synchronize before a race, so that we all had the same advantages/disadvantages.
I guess the only way is for us all to get power meters and let Bkool use the power from those instead.

I wouldn't worry about it - it's not like you've gone from being several minutes behind the leaders to first place. Maybe the ride suited you and you were on a particularly good day? Maybe try doing it again on Saturday or over the next few days and see if it's any different? Having said that, even if it was a glitch, I think we've all had them from time to time - working both for and against us so I'm sure it balances out!

Will Bkool work via an external power meter? I didn't think it would

 

[BILL S]

Yes, of course it's not right. But the question is if my ride was more "not right" than others?
I just wish there was a way for us to synchronize before a race, so that we all had the same advantages/disadvantages.
I guess the only way is for us all to get power meters and let Bkool use the power from those instead.

I don't think there was enough in it for us to worry about in this case. I think sometimes you've been disadvantaged in the past in some chaingang rides so not a big deal. Could easily just be a tyre thing.
Could be that you were riding in cooler conditions therefore not overheating and so able to make more power. It'll be cooler on Saturday so lets see what happens then.

 

[TobiC]

Tobic, that's a good suggestion from Bobinski - I know others who had similar problems that were resolved to some extent by a re-calibration by Bkool. When we had the last software and firmware update, I had a strange couple of rides when I'd done the firmware update, but not the software (as it hadn't yet prompted for it), and my speeds - and therefore power - were very unrealistically high. It was like the resistance just wasn't kicking in properly. I wonder if your trainer is caught in a similar mode?

Having said that, even when working "correctly" the speeds on Bkool are too high. It doesn't have a power meter so it calculates power from the speed (plus rider weight/slope) so if the speed is too high the power will show as too high as well. I can only assume the resistance is just not being set high enough on Bkool trainers on any terrain, including the flat of the velodrome.

If there's any doubt on this, LBHIFI was riding round the velodrome last night faster than Bradley Wiggins on his world hour record (and I wasn't too far behind!). No offence to LBHIFI who we all know is a very quick rider, but I'm pretty sure that's not right!

For me, as long as there's a roughly level playing field amongst the riders I don't really mind the inaccuracy as I don't use a power meter on the road or anything so it is what it is - and it's still good fun and an excellent workout which is all that really matters to me. It would obviously be better if they improved this though, as the more accurate to real life the better.

I wonder if Bkool test their software with a bike with crappy, fat, under-inflated tyres, hence the generous speed?!

I did an hour on the Velodrome not that long ago. My experience was that I averaged 420 watts for the hour and FTP was set at 457. I'm not a weakling but I don't need my ego massaged this much! During my emails back n fourth (as pasted here 2 pages back) I'd have thought bkool would have automatically delved in to my units calibration and poked stuff with a digital stick and reported back but they didn't suggest the did anything of the sort and that it must be ok because I can put some power out on occasion. I did do a swift session last night on the reverse mountain route which felt more realistic.
Bkool have since responded with a suggestion they call me at a suitable time to try work something out. I think Tuesday was their offer so we'll see what can be resolved. I'm going to give a bkool route a shot now and see how things look having turned the whole thing off and given it a rest. Maybe leaving it plugged in and on whilst in the garage isn't the wisest thing to do. My user name on Bkool is similar to here. It's Toby Caplen. I'm that on most cycling related things

 

[bridgy]

I did an hour on the Velodrome not that long ago. My experience was that I averaged 420 watts for the hour and FTP was set at 457. I'm not a weakling but I don't need my ego massaged this much! During my emails back n fourth (as pasted here 2 pages back) I'd have thought bkool would have automatically delved in to my units calibration and poked stuff with a digital stick and reported back but they didn't suggest the did anything of the sort and that it must be ok because I can put some power out on occasion. I did do a swift session last night on the reverse mountain route which felt more realistic.
Bkool have since responded with a suggestion they call me at a suitable time to try work something out. I think Tuesday was their offer so we'll see what can be resolved. I'm going to give a bkool route a shot now and see how things look having turned the whole thing off and given it a rest. Maybe leaving it plugged in and on whilst in the garage isn't the wisest thing to do. My user name on Bkool is similar to here. It's Toby Caplen. I'm that on most cycling related things

Probably worth asking bkool to check you're on the latest firmware and software updates when you speak to them

 

[RickB]

I'd like to give one of the races a go. Who do I ask to join?

Just got an email there and have accepted your request to the Chaingang Tobi.

 

[bobinski]

I did an hour on the Velodrome not that long ago. My experience was that I averaged 420 watts for the hour and FTP was set at 457. I'm not a weakling but I don't need my ego massaged this much! During my emails back n fourth (as pasted here 2 pages back) I'd have thought bkool would have automatically delved in to my units calibration and poked stuff with a digital stick and reported back but they didn't suggest the did anything of the sort and that it must be ok because I can put some power out on occasion. I did do a swift session last night on the reverse mountain route which felt more realistic.
Bkool have since responded with a suggestion they call me at a suitable time to try work something out. I think Tuesday was their offer so we'll see what can be resolved. I'm going to give a bkool route a shot now and see how things look having turned the whole thing off and given it a rest. Maybe leaving it plugged in and on whilst in the garage isn't the wisest thing to do. My user name on Bkool is similar to here. It's Toby Caplen. I'm that on most cycling related things

TobiC
Are you on strava? might be useful to compare your reverse mountain route ride with one of mine?

 

[theboxers]

I wouldn't worry about it - it's not like you've gone from being several minutes behind the leaders to first place. Maybe the ride suited you and you were on a particularly good day? Maybe try doing it again on Saturday or over the next few days and see if it's any different? Having said that, even if it was a glitch, I think we've all had them from time to time - working both for and against us so I'm sure it balances out!

Will Bkool work via an external power meter? I didn't think it would

You can select a power meter to be the data source for rides. If you do that though the trainer is not used. I am unsure how trainer control is done in this setup. I've never tried it.

 

[bridgy]

You can select a power meter to be the data source for rides. If you do that though the trainer is not used. I am unsure how trainer control is done in this setup. I've never tried it.

You can use a power meter with a non-smart trainer, but I'm not sure if you can for smart trainers. I think Zwift is the same in that you can use a non-smart trainer or even rollers with a power meter but if using a smart trainer it has to use the power data provided by the trainer. That's my understanding anyway, happy to be corrected!

 

[theboxers]

You can use a power meter with a non-smart trainer, but I'm not sure if you can for smart trainers. I think Zwift is the same in that you can use a non-smart trainer or even rollers with a power meter but if using a smart trainer it has to use the power data provided by the trainer. That's my understanding anyway, happy to be corrected!

I see an experiment coming on

This is my warm up session normally.

http://www.bkool.com/profile/detail/506549?durationType=DISTANCE&lapCount=1
http://www.bkool.com/profile/detail/506549?durationType=DISTANCE&lapCount=1
I'll have a play with the settings to see what happens