Team BKool CycleChat

[BILL S]

OMG, just logged on, and you're all talking gibberish! I thought I was going to have to use a translator.
I just about got my head round Geoff's 'brief' version, although even that was an effort.
I might go and play Candy Crush for a bit until the conversation swings back round to something I can relate to....like lighting farts.

FYI. Adam, just in case you have any ideas about improving your speed in the handicap race tomorrow.
I think you're still a bit confused by the fact that the fan blowing air at you does not in fact slow you down on the turbo so just to be on the safe side you still use that 6" diameter clip fan to cool yourself down.
So just in case you're thinking about trying it, I would just like to point out that conversely, the rapid expansion of ignited gas in a confined space, although producing a limited forward thrust, it will not in fact improve your bkool speed.
Just to save you any trouble

 

[berty bassett]

i wish i was clevererer

 

[bobinski]

OMG, just logged on, and you're all talking gibberish! I thought I was going to have to use a translator.
I just about got my head round Geoff's 'brief' version, although even that was an effort.
I might go and play Candy Crush for a bit until the conversation swings back round to something I can relate to....like lighting farts.

Or squeezing bum spots?

It isn't just that I cannot follow the frigging discussion it's also if they - you know who they are!-are right I have been deceiving myself everytime the slope has gone beyond about 10%

 

[BILL S]

Does your speed turn blue on climbs?

Was watching for the blue numbers during tonight's ride and just as Lars said above, they were going blue during slingshot manoeuvres and often going blue at gradients above 10% or so.

 

[AAAC 76C]

PS: Still no sign of the second handicap run.
That's, from the last stage of the last Chaingang, 2 BSim crashes at 48km =96km + 1 BSim crash at 30km = 126km plus the 26km handicap lost total 152km of riding gone from my stats in a week and a bit.

 

[Baldo Mero]

Anybody with Bkool pro uses a speed sensor? How does Bsim speed compare to actual wheel speed in flatish (-1 to +1%) sections? - The problem I am having is that I get blue numbers and slower virtual speed almost everywhere except descents!

 

[Roleur1]

jeez..what are you guys on tonight....bkools about leg pain, lung burn, arse ache and light headedness ....... magnetic fields, ratios, rpm's..... pffttt. :-)

 

[bridgy]

New Chaingang league will be up and running this week in time for the Thursday Race

You can check out the new stages here: http://www.bkool.com/league/showFutureLeagues/72022

Nothing too frightening I think! Nice straightforward 10 mile Time Trial for stage 2 which could well be the next Handicap stage.

Excellent, thanks Rick!

Expect some suspiciously mediocre performances in stage 2 then....

 

[AAAC 76C]

But what I'm wondering is how much of the resistance is self generated and how much is applied by external power. If it relies on self generated power to apply the higher resistance, then the only thing they can do to counter the on/off effect, would be what Zwift apparently have done: use calculate speed in the initial stages of a sprint and then slowly letting it rise as the resistance kicks in and then eventually use the actual speed.

The resistance/braking effect is generated by the flywheel moving past the magnets.
The external power simpy moves the magnets into the path of the flywheel thus presenting more magnet to the spinning flywheel = more braking
Then as the flywheel goes faster the resistance increases even more untill the magnets are 100% presented to the flywheel and the speed of the flywheel has increased to a point where the heat cannot be disipated and so the electrical resistance increases in the flywheel thus maximising the braking power that can be generated by the eddy currents which is when the trainer is at its maximum possible braking force.

 

[Roleur1]

Anybody with Bkool pro uses a speed sensor? How does Bsim speed compare to actual wheel speed in flatish (-1 to +1%) sections? - The problem I am having is that I get blue numbers and slower virtual speed almost everywhere except descents!

yeah.. I use my garmin 800 every session with the garmin speed/cadence sensor ant+ on.. Its the only sensible way to get my Bkool rides onto my Garmin Connect training diary where its easier to see the stats for the ride as they are on separate graphs.

Bkool descents are too fast and blue number descents are way faster than my wheel speed shows. I never see 40mph or over on real speed, but do on Bkool quite often. inclines +0.5 - 1.0 % sometimes feel way too hard and give slower than wheel speed, but not as far out as the descents. I have never seen blue numbers on any ascent yet....I have had black number 12% with about 350 watts...but at 85kg any climb over 6% thats more than a few seconds long will mean 39 x 23 pretty quickly as they really bite on the resistance and make it really hard to keep a sensible rpm.

The pro unit cadence estimates are also optimistic - generally about 10rpm higher than measured reality.

 

[Roleur1]

sooooo...... derrrr......tomorrow its the Liam ride again underway at 20.00? handicaps as saturday?

 

[kipster]

Getting fed up with my health at the mo. Having gotten rid of my cold I then got abdominal cramps, now after a nice steady outdoors ride yesterday I have a badly aching back. It seems to be muscular, not sure what I've done to it, but my planned goat ride went out the window in the hope that it's better tomorrow for the handicap race.

If it's still aching tomorrow evening don't test my blood for ibuprofen or paracetamol

 

[Add]

FYI. Adam, just in case you have any ideas about improving your speed in the handicap race tomorrow.
I think you're still a bit confused by the fact that the fan blowing air at you does not in fact slow you down on the turbo so just to be on the safe side you still use that 6" diameter clip fan to cool yourself down.
So just in case you're thinking about trying it, I would just like to point out that conversely, the rapid expansion of ignited gas in a confined space, although producing a limited forward thrust, it will not in fact improve your bkool speed.
Just to save you any trouble

 

[AAAC 76C]

Anybody with Bkool pro uses a speed sensor? How does Bsim speed compare to actual wheel speed in flatish (-1 to +1%) sections? - The problem I am having is that I get blue numbers and slower virtual speed almost everywhere except descents!

I tried the GPS on my phones Sat Nav and got no speed at all, I can't work it out!!!

What do you mean by a speed sensor, a magnet on a spoke that goes past a pick-up connected to a cycle meter calibrated to the circumferance of the tyre when no one is sat on the bike.
If so thats exactly how the speed is calculated by BKool Trainers except the magnet is on the flywheel and the sensor is on the PCB.
As the roller is an exact diameter that does not change with the weight distribution of the rider it is probably more accurate than the afore mentioned speed sensor.
However when the numbers are blue who knows how fast you are going but you should be able to work it out by your cadence, gearing and tyre diameter.
Try calibrating your speed sensor to some non blue speeds on BSim and see what you get.

 

[Add]

Got you all thinking!.

One of my points is that a few weeks ago I was climbing the Mortirolo and there were some bazaar 25%+ gradients in it.
I was on my, as then, unmodified Classic.
I was bought to a stand up 4 kph grind on these slopes and an individual (ghost) by the name of Bills flew past me at a rate of knots.
The ride would have taken me over an hour but the leauge leaders time was about 30 minutes or less.
I would have been on a 34/29 standing up and the trainer was pushing back big time.
I have now modified my Classic by fitting a Pro PCB and Stepper motor with magnets.
I only changed the stepper motor because that was what was proably used when the, as was, Pro unit was calibrated in the factory, whatever they do to do that, so the only difference between my 'Hybrid' and anyones elses Pro Unit, bar the frame, is the Flywheel.
The Classic flywheel was better made but other than its weight the only differnce there could be that would have an impacct is the conductivity of the ring that is fitted to the flywheel in which the eddy currents are created and I can't really see that they should be any different.
Breaking News, this disc is bonded to the flywheel on the Pro and if the bonding goes it sounds like your flywheel is not balanced.
I wont get onto heat dissipation as the bulkier flywheel would probably win there as well and hence improve the max resistance.
So now with my, what I can rightly call a Pro, Turbo the max slope resistance has been limited but not physically probably more to do with the SW/FW programmes saying we are not going to bother going above (lets say)11% anymore so whatever the rider does simulate the (lets say) 11% resistance untill such time the slope reduces below that level.

Boblinski's point about making a stepped slope session is exaclty what I proposed to do.

However go look at the Goats top ten Zoncolan stats and see how similar eveyones speed graphs are because they are all literally flat and we all know how many slope changes there were that went above 11% so I kind of rest my case, the only question is where is the limit.

I do get Geoffs point about the limitation of the magnetic brake but the flywheel spins pretty fast even at a slow road speed due the circumferance of the roller being only 10cm
Therefore to cover 1km/1000m/100 000cm it has to rotate 10 000 times
Therefore at 1kph it spins at 10 000/60 rpm = 166rpm.
No one rides a bike much slower than 4kph (apart from Whorty) because is becomes more efficient to walk
At 4 kph the flywheel is spining at 664rpm
And at 6kph 1000rpm.
And to add to that the effective circumferance of the flywheel as a 'brake' is about 50cm, 5 times that of the roller so when you're doing 6kph there relative speed of the disc to the magnets is 30kph or 8.3333 meters per second/27 feet per second.

Lets hope one does come adrift as it could shoot of like a rocket