Team BKool CycleChat

[Goldwolfie]

It's amazing how the chain gang and related handicap chase races have become the focus here. Which is fine. I find the handicap chase race particularly fun.

Nobody's really talked about the goats and the horribly painful climbs this time around. I did Ovaro Zoncolan a few days ago. That was absolutely brutal. I thought 5.5 miles, regardless of grade couldn't be too bad. Boy was I wrong. The 17% grades were relentless. After an hour I had to back off the effort dramatically to ensure I'd finish. I'm well over 2X the next slowest rider! The others look like serious grinds as well.

I agree - I'll have to get back into the Mountain Moose league, as I have been focussing on the races as well.

I've only done the one so far, and that was the one you described as the easiest of the lot - goodness knows what the rest of the stages are like then. 10 miles climbing up a mountain will likely sort us heavier models out.

Just as a heads up for any of the newer members - @JLaw has set up a climbing group aimed at the slower/heavier members of the group - Cyclechat Mountain Moose Group. Stages are intended to be easier than those found in the Mountain Goat League, I'll take his word on that as I won't be going near a Goat ride just yet.

 

[BILL S]

7:50 warmup Adam.
And I don't fancy my chances against Rick so making my early excuses
Unlike the handicap, all excuses will be considered .

 

[Add]

I reakon you should have a crack at one of these.

http://renovobikes.com/pages/aerowood

I'll have to look at this later, bumbling along with Welsh 0.5G here! Cyclechat alone takes 10 minutes to load. And yes I know, before you all chirp up, I should be working.
One thing though, Bridgy, I have laughed out loud several times today, just thinking of that newspaper reading emoji you posted in response to me. That has really tickled me, thankyou.

 

[<Tommy>]

The timing was spot on. It's made me laugh again just thinking about

 

[gbrown]

34x28 = 32"

34x32 = 28"

Is it just my OCD that makes this really satisfying symmetry?

 

[Randyberlin]

Blimey, that's proper technical, clever stuff! I'm chuffed to bits if I can get my chain back on! Designing and building your own bike parts?!?
I could make a frame out of wood, but not sure it would be very competitive. And could get some nasty splinters.
But I'm impressed, and slightly envious, CXR, handy skills to possess.

This wood bike is my dream bike.
http://renovobikes.com/

Edit. I skipped a page and didn't see Insomnias post about it.

 

[Randyberlin]

It occurs to me that another way to increase cadence, apart from getting lower gears, is to go faster!

Sounds facetious (had to spell check that), but actually it's more an issue of body mass. I'm truly very impressed that some of our more massive compatriots have the strength and perseverance to get up the longer mountain goats climbs.

Cycling a 100kg body up a steep gradient is around 30% more work than a 75kg body, and you are likely to take considerably longer. Any reduction in body mass will not only reduce the time taken to climb, but also the speed and therefore cadence you will be able to achieve.

Dropping a gear from 34/28 to 34/32 should give the same cadence as going 14% faster. A similar effect to loosing one stone in body mass, but the climb also ends 14% quicker!

I know that most here would like to lose some weight, so this is just encouragement to emphasize the benefits. I dropped from 85 Kg to 74 Kg or so, and the climbs seemed a lot more than 12% easier.

(Unfortunately, not riding this year has seen me revert to nearer 85 Kg...)

Geoff

That's just crazy talk. I will buy something to save a few grams but not cut back on the treats to drop the 20 extra pounds I carry around.

 

[Alfie_Gooner]

Cycling a 100kg body up a steep gradient is around 30% more work than a 75kg body, and you are likely to take considerably longer. Any reduction in body mass will not only reduce the time taken to climb, but also the speed and therefore cadence you will be able to achieve.

Geoff, am i right in thinking though that the resistance tops out at a lower incline % if you are heavier than it does if you are lighter and therefore potentially evening things up a little, as a bloke that weighs 64kg my trainer seems to keep upping resistance right up to around 14/15%, where as i read somewhere on here that other "slighty weightier" people top out at around 6%?

 

[Add]

The timing was spot on. It's made me laugh again just thinking about

Me too, AGAIN!

 

[CXRAndy]

What rear derailleur do you use? Any standard Shimano cage could probably cope with a 12-30, which would give a 7% higher cadence.

I've not seen any 12-32 cassettes, but 11-32 is available, if more of a stretch for the rear cage. You may have to change the rear derailleur to get a medium cage, or you may be able to just change the cage.

Geoff

I have a GS cage. I have bought several cs6800 11 speed cassettes and have mixed them up to make variety of ratios. I have a 14-32 for easy touring. Once you have a 2 cassettes you can make virtually any setup you want. Close ratios for optimum flat cadence or more bigger cogs for climbing. Once you go over 32T you will be moving into mtb components. Most mtb shimano gearing and deraileur fits road bikes if mechanical setup

 

[ginger-shark]

Super tool is the Bkool Pro. Love it. Id like to know what tablets have ANT+ built in so that I dont need an OTG cable and dongle. Any recommendations?

 

[JLaw]

I've said it before and I'm sure I'll say it again, but 17% is much harder on the KICKR!

Last winter we did the short (c. 0.8 mile) but steep (18%-20%) climb from Sidmouth up Salcombe Hill, nasty in real life, it was actually quite easy on the Bkool Pro, and with Bill's sprint off the line technique we got times down into just a handful of minutes (was more like 10 minutes of agony in real life).

When I switched to the KICKR the steeper gradients towards the end were breath-taking'ly harder, as the resistance was no longer topping out around 11% but rising up to more like 17%. Still a little easier than real life, mainly because your front wheel wasn't coming off the ground, but chasing Bill meant I was trying to go a lot faster.

Very impressive that you could keep at it for so long...

P.S. Were any of your speed figures blue? I'm never sure if Bkool have got speed compensation for exceeding maximum resistance in or out of the software!

Geoff

My speed figures were blue often on that climb ;-) And yes, I'm assuming that's a speed compensation for topping out the resistance. It seems to happen around 14-15% for my weight. Current power output factors in as well.

As far as gearing, I'm actually on a triple (52-39-30) and the standard kickr cassette (11-25) -- and yes, that meant I was in the 39 for the race yesterday as it wouldn't shift up to the 52).

I'd like to throw my mountain bike on the kickr which would give me lower gears and allow me to spin more, but I've got a thru axle that isn't supported by the kickr. I may get an older mtn bike with old-fashioned skewers to run on the kickr at some point.

 

[kapelmuur]

I'm trying to understand how the Bkool works and have been reading this thread for enlightenment, but with over 900 pages it's not easy!

There are many things that puzzle me, here are a few.

- speed going blue. I understood from comments here that a blue speed meant maximum speed and continuing to press on the pedals was futile as you couldn't go faster. If so, how come several people passed me last night when my speed was blue?

- weight. I've seen comments about weight and thought it was an in joke, how can your weight affect you when you're sitting on a turbo? I weigh about 5kg more after Christmas than I will by the end of August, should I be continually adjusting my weight on my profile? Also my summer bike is 3 kg lighter than my winter bike. Is bike weight taken into consideration, it's a factor in the real world.

- drafting, I attempted to hold on but people passed too fast for me to do so. But when I looked at the results they were not very far ahead. Is the speed with which they go past on the graphics an illusion, or does everyone accelerate like mad to discourage their opposition?

- resistance. I read somewhere, can't remember where, that the maximum is 7%. Is this true? I've certainly found it much easier to ride up a virtual climb than the same climb in real life which leads me to believe that the turbo can't replicate.steep slopes.

 

[Add]

Firstly speed blue, your correct, pedalling, is contributing nothing at the current cadence. It is sometimes, when going downhill, possible to go white again, if you pedal like you are possessed.

You enter your weight into the Bkool site in your profile. This figure is then used to calculate resistance for you. Heavier folk get it a bit tougher than us racing snakes. Uphill most noticeably, although I do believe you get a slight benefit from gravity on the downhill. Although I'm quite sure Sir Isaac Newton is turning in his grave, as I do believe it should affect all masses the same, if anything there should be more resistance, but hey ho.

Drafting...pfffft....is a mythical concept that only the few have perfected. You do gain an increase in speed for the same input of power, but only noticeable on fast sections, and I only end up yo yoing ahead and behind my target.

With regards people passing you, that is down to your lifestyle choices, poor diet and lack of physical activity in your late teens and early 20's. Substance abuse can also be a factor.

 

[CXRAndy]

I am going to throw my mtb setup on for tomorrow for a little help on the climb at the end