Team BKool CycleChat

[keithaitch]

@keithaitch - Is this still planned for tonight? And when you say 19:30 I presume you mean 19:30 Barcelona time (i.e. 18:30 UK) so that it doesn't clash with CG3 (unless of course we complete CG3 in 20 mins!)

I assume we'll just do a little 'pretend' race and report back on how it went.

Yes I am there now

 

[Whorty]

Carl congratulations mate! You won’t regret it I’m sure. If i were you I’d carry on using the pro unit in BKOOL.

Chap at work is interested in the Pro - if he takes it then I'll happily just use the Kickr. In fact, even if he doesn't I'll just use the Kickr as I won't be bothered to keep switching things over as I'm too idle . Whilst it's been nice moving up the leagues it's all about the challenge for me, and whether I'm chasing Aleman or someone further down the league it's all the same.

It's all relative for me ... 60 mins hard cycling is the same whatever the trainer I'm on .... it's still going to be 60 minutes, even the Pro fairy dust can't turn a 60 minute workout into a 45 minute one

 

[Zidi]

Of course Zidi. All welcome. You can take part too if you join the group, or you can just join anyway if you don't want to be in the league. No password required for this race.

Thanks!
So that would be at 8pm CET ... i just cant find the route?

 

[keithaitch]

Thanks!
So that would be at 8pm CET ... i just cant find the route?

Wait until 20:05 and then search in the route filters fir bill s

 

[gbrown]

Had a bike fit yesterday, prior to ordering my new bike. Very thorough, took over 4 hours!

Ended up dropping my bars 10mm and raising my saddle 22mm. I can't believe I had my saddle that much lower than it should of been, but felt fine at the higher position and the watts seemed to go up.

Spent quite a while on the cleats, as my left knee seemed to be further forward than my right, and he thought I was twisted slightly on the bike. Ended up putting wedges under my insoles to correct it and adjusted the cleats slightly. Pedalling then felt much more "in a vertical plane" than before, and should make it more efficient.

Turns out I had the saddle set at 8 degrees, so once it was levelled off it felt more comfortable.

It will be while before the January weather allows me to try it out, but the whole process seemed very valuable and I would recommend it to anyone, even though I felt fine as it was before the fit.

Evidently my flexibility is good, even though I'm an old man, apart from my ankles. A little bit of Yoga seems to have helped...

Cheers,

Geoff

 

[<Tommy>]

Chap at work is interested in the Pro - if he takes it then I'll happily just use the Kickr. In fact, even if he doesn't I'll just use the Kickr as I won't be bothered to keep switching things over as I'm too idle . Whilst it's been nice moving up the leagues it's all about the challenge for me, and whether I'm chasing Aleman or someone further down the league it's all the same.

It's all relative for me ... 60 mins hard cycling is the same whatever the trainer I'm on .... it's still going to be 60 minutes, even the Pro fairy dust can't turn a 60 minute workout into a 45 minute one

I know what you’re saying Carl. I didn’t mean how it might effect your position in the pack to be honest. It’s just that the BKOOL pro plays better with other pro units. Fair do’s if you’ve found a buyer for it .

As for the “it’s all about the challenge”. Well let’s just say sometimes I think we’re all a little more competitive than we’d like to admit . But there’s no harm in that

 

[<Tommy>]

Had a bike fit yesterday, prior to ordering my new bike. Very thorough, took over 4 hours!

Ended up dropping my bars 10mm and raising my saddle 22mm. I can't believe I had my saddle that much lower than it should of been, but felt fine at the higher position and the watts seemed to go up.

Spent quite a while on the cleats, as my left knee seemed to be further forward than my right, and he thought I was twisted slightly on the bike. Ended up putting wedges under my insoles to correct it and adjusted the cleats slightly. Pedalling then felt much more "in a vertical plane" than before, and should make it more efficient.

Turns out I had the saddle set at 8 degrees, so once it was levelled off it felt more comfortable.

It will be while before the January weather allows me to try it out, but the whole process seemed very valuable and I would recommend it to anyone, even though I felt fine as it was before the fit.

Evidently my flexibility is good, even though I'm an old man, apart from my ankles. A little bit of Yoga seems to have helped...

Cheers,

Geoff

New bike days always a great day! Look forward to some pictures

 

[peterob]

Not able to do CG3 tonight as HID roped me into undergoing chores in prep for a party we're hosting this weekend

I did try Rouvey out though with Keith & Breedon. I'll report back on my findings....

 

[Breedon]

Chap at work is interested in the Pro - if he takes it then I'll happily just use the Kickr. In fact, even if he doesn't I'll just use the Kickr as I won't be bothered to keep switching things over as I'm too idle . Whilst it's been nice moving up the leagues it's all about the challenge for me, and whether I'm chasing Aleman or someone further down the league it's all the same.

It's all relative for me ... 60 mins hard cycling is the same whatever the trainer I'm on .... it's still going to be 60 minutes, even the Pro fairy dust can't turn a 60 minute workout into a 45 minute one

It like night and day carl when you do a session you'll say why did i wait so long

 

[bobinski]

Chap at work is interested in the Pro - if he takes it then I'll happily just use the Kickr. In fact, even if he doesn't I'll just use the Kickr as I won't be bothered to keep switching things over as I'm too idle . Whilst it's been nice moving up the leagues it's all about the challenge for me, and whether I'm chasing Aleman or someone further down the league it's all the same.

It's all relative for me ... 60 mins hard cycling is the same whatever the trainer I'm on .... it's still going to be 60 minutes, even the Pro fairy dust can't turn a 60 minute workout into a 45 minute one

Carl, you may find you get stronger quicker than you might have done on the Pro. You will have to dig a bit deeper to achieve the power and speeds you are used but I do think a direct drive gives some advantage not least because you can shift about more, get out of the saddle without wheel slip etc. You will find it easier, after a while, to activate and develop climbing muscles and almost certainly easier to sprint effectively. It’s all good.

 

[peterob]

Rouvey initial thoughts......

In summary to me it looks a useful bit of software for training but won't be suitable for our races.

Good points:
Nice transitions between gradients (no sudden changes that you often get in BKool)
Good clear array of stats during the ride - including HR zone, graphs showing HR, Power, Speed, Cadence etc
Good set of stats available after the ride

Bad Points:
Going between the video view and tab view didn't make any difference, both were essentially blank (one black, one white)
Couldn't get it to display a time gap between riders, only a distance gap (selecting time gap didn't work)
Although you can see a representation of where you (and others) are on the course at the bottom, it doesn't indicate how long (in time) is left

It certainly doesn't have the 'fun' of Bkool for a race (no 3D graphics with other riders) so I can't see this being a replacement. But it looks good to me as a training tool if that's your bag.

I'm sure Keith can add to this as he's used it a lot more than me.

 

[Daddy Pig]

Carl, you may find you get stronger quicker than you might have done on the Pro. You will have to dig a bit deeper to achieve the power and speeds you are used but I do think a direct drive gives some advantage not least because you can shift about more, get out of the saddle without wheel slip etc. You will find it easier, after a while, to activate and develop climbing muscles and almost certainly easier to sprint effectively. It’s all good.

Thats a gripe I have with the bkool unit. I can only get out of the saddle on downhills to have a stretch out and can never climb out if the saddle, and sprints are always sat on my arse...
Let's just say it feels like my nuts get a hell of a work out...

 

[Zidi]

That was a good race! Glad to watch!

 

[Aleman]

That was a good race! Glad to watch!

That is a new definition of the word "good" that I am not familiar with!!! Eff Me! i'm Eff'd!

 

[keithaitch]

That was a pretty lonely furrow ! Thx for the condolences at the end @Whorty, much appreciated.